I wonder if there is new wisdom about the best adaptations to the changing needs for shelter as the seasons change?

In my neck of the woods we have probably seen the end of any heavy or sustained rain, and snow is only a consideration at relatively high altitudes. I happily leave the rain fly of my tent on the shelf for the end of Spring and for Summer.

However, I also start preparing for bug encounters and take rattlesnake precautions around any campsite, cooking area, etcetera. This means I still use the tent, with its footprint, poles, and stakes for its bug netting and physical barrier snake security.

In the Fall after the cool weather sends the bugs and snakes away, I usually transition to a light tarp and maybe a bivy for my shelter needs.

I am wondering if changing to one of the modern hammock systems should have a place in my game plan. The ability to suspend a hammock, with integral bug netting and rain fly systems, is intriguing. I notice at least one gives the option of being used as a tent or as a hammock. Would a hammock be a faster, easier, and more effective way to go?

So how do you roll on the shelter front as the seasons change?

Thoughts?

Thanks.

Make sure you can Sleep in a Hammock before you buy one,they are not for everyone.I use a tarp or wiggy bag normally year round,& have bug netting w/ coathanger frame for the warmer seasons,works for me!

If light weight is a concern I go with a tarp, ground cloth, and bivy sack. Properly pitched, a tarp can be as rain resistant as a tent, and actually better than some. In winter, of course, a sturdy four season tent is the ticket.

I usually choose a lighter weight tent when privacy is a concern. Snakes are not an issue in deciding between a tarp or a tent - I have never had an encounter with snakes in camp, ever. Mice and rodents, possibly carrying hanta virus and other nasty diseases, are likely to be more of a hazard, and I have gladly gone to a tent when they have been around in large numbers.

A lot of people like hammocks, usually for the comfort factor of getting off the ground. But what do you do when suitable trees are not in your camp? Unless it could be pitched as a tent, I wouldn't even consider a hammock. There apparently is little no weight savings in hammocks vs. tents.

My experience is in the western US - Arizona, New Mexico, California primarily. Things might well be different on the East Coast and elsewhere.

In the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, and their foothills, my firewood wood piles have "buzzed" at me at least a dozen times over the years. I have learned to always carry a hiking staff and to let the staff "investigate" anyplace not open to sight.