Thanks for your comments! There is nothing like finding that sweet spot and sleeping through the night on a backpacking trip. I love my Hammock Gear tarp. I have one with doors and one with out. I generally take the one with doors to help block the wind like you said. To help keep my feet warm, I will some times take a pair of down socks. They weigh nothing and help keep my feet toasty warm. Thanks for watching!

A pair of down booties are definitely on my wish list. Sadly they are impossible to get here where we live.

A pair of down booties are definitely on my wish list. Sadly they are impossible to get here where we live.

Thanks, I appreciate that! Feel free to reach out with any questions about hammock camping. It's what I love to do and trying to make these videos to help people out like others did for me.

Thanks! Once I gave hammock camping a try, I have never gone back to a tent. I now only sleep in a tent if I have too (i.e. no tree around to hang) - and even then I'm still working on other solutions. Good luck with your hammock research. It can be alot to consider but once you figure out what works for you then I don't think hammock camping can be beat.

This past weekend I gave the hammock a try and I loved it, I need to make a few tweaks but I think I’m on the hammock path! Any tips for making the hammock setup lighter?

@@christopherwhite8186 Awesome, glad to hear it! I always say if someone is willing to give hammock camping a try and figures it out they will never go back to a tent. Like I've said in my videos, there is a fiddle factor when hanging a hammock correctly. But once you figure out what works for you then there is nothing better. As for going lighter, I focus on the straps and the tarp. I use whoopie slings, which is one of the lightest hammock suspensions. The only thing lighter that I have found is using something like mule tape and learning the beckett hitch. I haven't quite figured it out yet without my knot getting stuck but still working on it. I also recommend a dyneema tarp. Mine is from hammock gear and weighs around 8-10 ounces. I love it and it has been going strong now for 6 years. But it is expensive. Typically if you want to get more and more lightweight then the gear gets more and more expensive. Another thing you could do is use a sleeping pad instead of an underquilt. I have an 8 ounce sleeping pad which would work but I don't find it as comfortable as my 27 ounce underquilt. And that is where you need to find the balance, between weight and comfort. I'm willing to take a heavier underquilt because I will sleep a ton better than on a pad that moves around all night and never keeps me completely warm. Also, if you don't need a bugnet on your hammock then you could try to the Dutch Netless hammock. Awesome hammock, weighs only a few ounces but doesn't have a bugnet for protection. But I find that sometimes I don't always need a bugnet and works great. Hope this helps.

Obviously I love the Chameleon, it is my go-to hammock. But for friends of mine who do have claustrophobic issues with sleeping in a hammock I recommend the Dutch Netless Hammock because you can see through the material and helps with the feeling of being totally enclosed. Or I would recommend getting a wide hammock. I find that helps with spreading out in the hammock when it is a wider version. My son has the hennesy hammock and loves it. That was my first asym hammock for camping, and it's been a great hammock. But I am now a Dutch guy and love his different styles of hammocks. I agree with your last statement of still trying to get it right. I feel like there is always something new to learn or better way to do something or new gear coming out to try, and I love that about backpacking in general!

Welcome fellow tree swinger! Unfortunately no miracles. I tell people that is the worst thing about camping, tent or hammock, is having to get out of a warm quilt to go pee in the cold. However, I have learned the trick of peeing out of my hammock while laying on my side. I was once caught in a winter storm on the Colorado Trail. I was stuck in my hammock during a mini-blizzard for 24 hours and it was below freezing. I didn't want to get out of my hammock so I learned how to position myself just right so I could pee out of my hammock while laying down, while avoiding any mess on my hammock or my quilt. It took a bit of jiggering around but I got it to work. I was lucky that I was on a bit of a hill that sloped away from me so there was no puddle underneath me. Thanks for watching!

Thanks! It is the medium plus size and I love it. I do carry an inflatable pillow, the Sea to Summit Aeros pillow, weighs around 2 ounces. I've tried sleeping without a pillow and it's okay, just like sleeping with a stuff sack full of clothes is just okay. I like having the support for my neck and it does provide a layer of insulation for my head and I think it helps me sleep better. And since it only weighs 2 ounces I'm fine with including it in my pack. But when I was trying to go ultralight and have my base weight less than 9 lbs., I definitely slept without a pillow. I think now I am just trying to find that balance between comfort and weight.

Hey! Thanks for the questions. The hammock suspension I use are called whoopie slings, extremely lightweight and strong. They are attached to a 1 inch wide kevlar strap which wraps around the tree. I've hammock camped for almost ten years and I've never left a ring mark on a tree. I've knocked some bark off before but nothing where my strap is digging/cutting into the tree. Here is my hammock setup... 1. Dutch Chameleon Hammock (with bug net, hammock organizer, shelf and side sling) = 20.4 ounces (578 grams). If want to go really lightweight I use my Dutch Netless hammock = 10.6 ounces (301 grams). 2. Dutch whoopie slings (includes the kevlar strap, whoopie cord, dutch carabiner (for strap on tree) and dutch hook (to connect to my continuous loop) = 6.6 ounces for both (187 grams) 3. Hammock Gear 12 ft tarp made of Dyneema (or DCF) (includes zing-it rope and Dutch wasp on both ends of my tarp) = 9.6 ounces (272 grams) So my typical hammock setup weighs in at 36.6 ounces (just over 2 lbs) or 1,037 grams. Again, if I want to go ultralight I will use my Dutch Netless Hammock which gets me under 2 lbs. (or under 800 grams). Hope that helps!

I've heard good things about the warbonnet. But I love my Dutch hammocks. They all have been excellent. And even though I typically sleep on my back, I am able to sleep on my side with my hammocks well enough.

Hey Tami! I will be doing a video on that in the near future to show a couple of ways I have tried backpacking with my dog when using a hammock. You are right, I don't want my dog to be exposed during the night when I sleep. I carry her dog bed and believe she would sleep right beneath me but I wanted to give her a bit more protection than that. I've used two different methods... 1. Pup tent: This is a piece of backpacking gear I bought on Dutchwaregear.com (same guy who made all the hammocks I use). It is a teepee style tent that hangs at the foot or end of your hammock on the continuous loop with a carabiner, and then you stake down the three corners to secure it. It has one door entry that allows your dog to see it out of a mesh door. My dog was crate trained so she has no issues sleeping in a confined environment. I simply lay her dog bed in the tent and she sleeps right on that. I simply need to make sure that my tarp is also covering her pup tent so she is fully covered when sleeping like me. This is a light weight option and worked well. I just didn't like that I really couldn't see her very well at night to see if she was doing okay or if she got cold. She never whined or whimpered so I assumed she was doing okay but I didn't like not having easy access to her to make sure she was doing well. So that led me to my second option. 2. Grand Trunk: I can't remember where I got this but essentially this is a huge bug net that fits over your entire hammock that has a ground floor. It has a zipper that allows you access into the bug net to access your hammock. This is a heavier option so I typically take my Dutch Netless Hammock since the Grand Truck provides the bug net I need. I like this option because now my dog is completely sealed into the bug net with me when I am in my hammock and I can easily see her and even reach out to pet her. I still bring her dog bed and lay it right below me so I can make sure she is doing okay at night. This is the option I will continue in the future with her. I've never really worried about other animals attacking her at night or her running off, she always stays pretty close to me. I've even heard that having a dog in camps keeps other animals out because other animals sense their presence and see the dog as a potential threat so they stay away from the camp. That's not a guarantee but I do feel better when I have my dog in camp with me. I'm more concerned about her during the day, especially when I am in moose country. Moose tend to attack dogs, I hear they think that they are a wolf, a natural predator of moose, so they might attack when they see a dog. I hope this helps. I hope to have that video in a couple of months once the weather warms up here in Colorado and I can get some stakes in the ground! 😀