Neil said:
I just checked out a couple of hammock sites. Do I have this straight? I would need:
Hammock
Tarp
Bug Net
Pad
Sleeve for pad
Wings for wideneing pad
Ropes
Stakes for tarp
If weight and cost was the primary considerations, and I'm sure they're not after reading the websites, then 2 people might be better off with a tarp tent.
Two people under a tarp may be a way to go with all the gear you mention, but hammocking is not all that different from tenting solo. Total weight of a typical hammock hanging, excluding sleeping bag and pad, ranges from 1 lb 15 oz up to a pound or so more depending on design. Maybe even a little lighter than a good two wall solo tent at that weight. At a little over $150 the price is also comparable.
Speaking in terms of the Hennessey design, the bug net is integral to the design, just like with a tent. You don't bring an extra one.
Rope? The integral hammock support line is a very thin but strong nylon cord, not rope. Total weight of support line less than that of tent poles. The side and fly tie-out lines are not required to support any substantial weight and are extremely lightweight cord.
The rain fly is also more or less integral with the hammock, comparable to a tent fly. It has the added advantage of being able to be tied low and tight for bad weather, or high and open to enjoy the view.
I get by just fine without extra "wings" by placing clothing, jacket or whatever by my sides. Not really needed in warm summer temps. A fleece jacket and my shirt and pants worked last month in 20 degree temps and I slept warm. I am of normal build, but broader shouldered guys may need to pad a bit more.
For stakes more often than not I find there happens to be a convient tree or shrub to tie out the sides of the fly, no stakes needed. It is not difficult to find an appropriate stick to slide into the ground as a stake, or you can bring lightweight stakes just like for a tent.
Rethink sleeping bags independent of whether you tent or hammock... the insulation you lay on with a traditional bag is compressed and useless, so why carry it? Bottom insulation is provided by your sleeping pad that you would normally carry anyway. With the Big Agnes and other's approach, you save the weight by only having the top half of the sleeping bag insulated. The bottom half can either have a full pocket (two layers of nylon with edges sewn together, open at one end) or in some models like mine it is just 3 simple narrow fabric cross pieces - enough to hold a pad in place, total weight about an ounce. Again, I was warm at 20 degrees, dressed warmly but with only a thermarest for bottom insulation.
I went kicking and screaming into the hammock mode. When I tried a friend's and saw the advantages for my primitive mode of camping it just made sense. There are big gains to be made in my case at least. No more do I search to find a reasonably flat dry spot for my solo tent. I have hammocked on steep slopes, over rocks, witchhobble, undulating hummocks, blowdown, and soggy wet ground. When it rains I don't worry about water drainage flowing under me and into my tent. All I need are a couple of trees about 10 feet apart, and I have never had a problem finding those.
There's another advantage that at first glance seems unlikely. Unlike an old style backyard hammock, you don't sleep in a U shape in an assymetric cut camping hammock. You lay on a diagonal and your body is quite flat with comforable support. I sleep on my side as I normally do, and I have heard of others sleeping on their stomach. The support is great and I never find a twig or rock under my hip.
I don't sell them, I just sleep in them.
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