Yes VERY,VERY carefully.

It's a trick I learned many years ago reading Heinlein's Tunnel in the Sky.

It can be done. In a single large tree or a couple of trees. It is easier if you have a third branch or tree as a standing platform.

I tried it out a couple of time in my young and foolish days. You know that age where you can't die or get hurt stage.

This is the first year the I have used a hammock extensively, they can be set up on the ground as you would a tent if there are no trees available.

My Hennessey has given me some of the best nights rest that I have had in the woods, includng during a rain storm that dumped over 3 inches of rain in 1 night and flooded out all of my tent based friends. I was the only one not drying my gear most of the next day.

Also, the whole not sleeping on the hard ground seems to be easier on my ever aging body in the morning . The nights that I spend in the hammock were around 40 degrees, and I found that putting my sleeping pad under my bag did help keep the warmth in.

The only downside of the hammock that I have found is the lack of storage space for your stuff, I ususally set up a tarp near my hammock to keep my gear dry.

PS Thanks Doug for stepping in and stopping the building flame war. There is good information in this thread and I would hate to see it degenerate.

I find a tent easier for me, as I have some trouble negotiating with hammocks due to my size. For comfort, I like to sleep with my 44 mag and trip lines around the camp. If an unwanted should venture into camp and cause a ruckus, and especially if they come messing around the tent, the 44 should be enough deterrent. If they are still out there after the first round or two, they won't be happy about staying long.

Ben, who often sleeps with one eye open, and focused on the front sight.

Anyone tried this?
The Sock

I prefer a tent myself. I often bring one of those fishnet type hammocks to lounge in when camping, but I wouldn't want to spend a night in one.

The jungle-type hammocks do look interesting tho. A tent still has superiour wind/rain protection.

I've set up my Hennessy on the ground a couple times using a couple sectioned aluminum poles from a yard sale pup tent. More room than a bivy sack and smaller than a pup tent but it works well enough if you have a good ground cloth and an insulating pad.

I'd prefer to hang it so I've been on the scout for a sturdy sectioned pole to use for one end so I can attach the other end to any available telephone/light pole, fence post or tree. I'm postulating that with three well-staked guy lines on the pole the weight will be directed straight down on the pole and prevent it from bending. Still experimenting at this stage however.

Hammock tents seem to wax and wane in the catalogues. The first ones resembled the jungle hammocks from WWII.

It would be fun to try one.

I'd have to get over the worry that in bear country (four legs or two) I'd be wrapped up tight like a pita or a pinata.

Thanks Doug.

As for sleeping arrangements, in the summer I just use mosquito netting hung from poles, tree or bush if I'm camping along sandbars. If I'm in the woods I use a hammock. In both cases I have a waterproof silnylon tarp ready to trough over my setup if it looks like rain. In Texas summers you need all the ventilation you can get and so these systems work great. I've been eyeballing this thing but right now my system works well enough.

In colder (Texas) weather I use aEureka Solitare Solo bivy. It's very sweet.

-Blast

"...a sturdy sectioned pole to use for one end so I can attach the other end to any available telephone/light pole..."

I am not a hammock user, so I have no first hand experience at this, but I have read of the British SAS using two crossed sticks (think wooden hiking staffs), tied near the top in a lop- sided X, then running one rope from the hammock thru the X and down to a ground anchor/stake. Sounds kinda iffy to me, but you could try (and report) if you wanted...

It looks like the original question of hammock vs. tent seems to come down to the terrain being traversed and the weather/climate involved. I'm gathering that most who are experienced with both are of the belief that in a wooded or semi-wooded area in drier, warmer weather, a hammock is worth considering, while in other areas and other weather conditions, not so much.

I admit my experience with hammocks is limited to snoozing in one in my back yard. As for tents, my childhood nostalgia for the old army pup tent nothwithstanding, I get a little claustrophobic in them.

Yes, I guess I've become one of those "tarp people."