Hammock Camping

Hammock camping is an exciting alternative to tent camping, and more and more campers are discovering the joy of travelling light and sleeping out in this low-key manner.

You don't even need a decent campsite for a hammock ... you know, an area of flat cleared ground you'd want for a tent.

All you need for hammock camping is a pair of poles or tree trunks which are spaced around 12 to 15 feet apart. And it really doesn't matter if the ground underneath you is rocky and lumpy or on a steep slope. A camping hammock can set up and take down in just a few minutes, and it can give you a great night's sleep in the heaviest rains.

What about insects such as mosquitoes and no-see-ums? What about keeping out the rain?

Well a camping hammock takes care of those things by having its own anti-insect netting, and also by having a rain-proof flysheet that hangs above it.

Two well-known and established camping hammocks are the Hennessey Hammock and the Mosquito Hammock. They are both modern adaptations of the U.S. Army jungle hammocks issued to GIs during World War II.

The original army jungle hammock was quite bulky and it was fiddly to set up. However you could get out of it in a hurry, like if your unit came under enemy fire, by pulling a quick-release tab on the zipper — which then dumped you unceremoniously on the ground.

And since then, soldiers and special forces personnel have been making a DIY camping hammock by improvising with the three separate parts: hammock, mosquito net and a rain proof flysheet/tarpaulin. They had been doing this for decades as jungle training, but nowadays most elite troops just buy the ready-made versions I mentioned above.

I personally own both types of hammock, the Hennessy and the Mosquito. I also used to have a genuine US army jungle hammock when I was a teenager, so that's how I know about the quick-release. I have slept in other hammocks of various types from those made in Brazil and even obtained a couple of types from Viet Nam quite recently — one hammock that is all a mesh string design and the other that is a hand-sewn khaki sheet with ropes at each end.

The Hennessy Hammock has a fixed mosquito net that is always attached. You climb into the Hennessy Hammock by pushing your head and shoulders into a slit opening in the bottom of the hammock. Pull the edge of the material under your buttocks, sit down, lie your torso back and then lift in your legs. The slitted opening then closes itself and seals almost magically with Velcro.

The Mosquito Hammock has a separate rope above it to support the rainproof flysheet. You climb into this one by unzipping the side and getting your body inside in a similar manner. You then need to zip up the mosquito net again quickly so the little devils don't follow you inside and make a meal of you once you fall asleep. It can also be used as a kind of bivvy bag.