Hammock campers have an almost cult like following. You either love it or you hate it. Most ground pad sleepers aren’t as excited about their sleeping systems, but some of these pad sleepers are pretty anti- hammock. This post should help you analyze the pros and cons of each, and how to get the best from either option.
Hammock
Hammock Comfort
Hammock camping done right is fantastic. Hammock camping done wrong is miserable. The first thing to learn is how to sleep in the hammock. People’s first thought is to let the hammock fold you in half like a taco. When I was a teenager, first trying hammock camping, this is what I did, and it didn’t bother me. Then again, I could sleep just about anywhere and it didn’t bother me. Sleeping in a hammock in the v shape now makes my back hurt the next morning. It’s tolerable for a bit, maybe an hour, but not for a full night’s sleep.
I’ve learned that you’re supposed to sleep at a slight diagonal in the hammock, so your feet are to one side of center, and your head is to the other side of center. This allows you to lay just about flat in the hammock, so your back doesn’t hate you the next morning.
Another benefit in the comfort department is that it doesn’t matter how hard or rocky the ground is if you’re not laying directly on it. Unless you put a rock in your hammock (don’t), you won’t have one stabbing you in the side or back all night.
Staying Warm in a Hammock:
The second thing is insulation. If you’ve done any winter camping, or camping when its cold outside at all, you know that the ground can suck the warmth right out of you. So you want to get off the ground. Having a Hammock would accomplish this, right? Not exactly. Yes, it gets you off the cold ground, but the hammock then compresses the bottom of your pad, and because you’re lifted into the air, you are then subject to the wind. If its cold outside, Hammock camping requires extra gear to stay warm. The most common and effective method of staying warm is an underquilt. This item is kind of like a loose sleeping bag that drapes below the hammock, essentially providing the insulation to keep you warm. See our favorite below:
Another option some guys use is to actually put a ground pad in the bottom of the hammock. This can be functional, but the pad can slip out in the night, or move around, leaving you without the proper insulation.
Hammock for Backpacking Camping
If you’re going for ultralight for backpacking purposes or space saving purposes, if you’re packing a ground pad anyways, you’re probably better just putting the pad on the ground. If you don’t find ultralight pads comfortable, we get it, but we’d also recommend you look at our reviews and our favorite one here. The main benefit to a hammock is that you can ditch the tent and can opt instead for a simple rain fly to make a shelter with. If I’m summer backpacking and staying in moderate elevation, this is a great option to cut weight. If it’ll be cold, the underquilt or pad you need to pack just about makes the weight different a wash, especially with how light some tents are getting these days. It really comes down to comfort. If you’re more comfortable in a hammock, I’d go for it.
Ground Pad
Ground pads are hard to mess up. They started out as a foam pad and technology has gotten better from there. The best and lightest foam pads are now the inflatable options. The good ones are pretty durable and our favorite one can even hold up to 350 lbs.
Ground pads are the simplest option, because you don’t have to worry about if you’re sleeping at the right angle. It’s just underneath you. You put it down, and lay on top of it. You don’t have to look for a couple trees or anchor points the right distance apart. You can put it most anywhere. Most backpacking pads are relatively small, only about 24 inches wide, so if you toss and turn, or roll around, you might have trouble staying on top of one. Most people use a pad in their backpacking or survival tent, whereas hammock campers are usually under just a tarp or rain fly.
Ground Pad Comfort
The comfort of Ground pads vary, in my opinion, much more than hammocks. Thicknesses vary, materials vary, and quality varies from brand to brand and style to style. If you want to be comfortable, you need to invest in something nicer. I say invest, but its not hard to find something good for around $40. I dare say that a quality and warm ground pad is less expensive than a good and warm hammock setup.
Ground pads get comfortable, in my opinion, once they get above 2″ thick. Less than that and you’re feeling most rocks and sticks under your pad. This makes camping sleep far less enjoyable. Side sleepers, from our research, also need at least 2″ to be comfortable. Our most comfortable pad for side sleepers is actually 2.2″ and can be found HERE.
Staying Warm on a Ground Pad
Ground pads, dollar for dollar, are warmer than hammocks. You can stay plenty warm with both though. I like to pair my pad with a zero degree bag, and between those two, I don’t get cold. You can get ground pads with varying degrees of insulation.
If you’re just camping at a campground, or otherwise don’t have to hike in, and you have room for a bigger pad, get yourself a mattress topper, or a thicker foam pad. I have a buddy that swears by his memory foam mattress topper, and throws it in the back of his truck for all his camping trips. My father in law has what looks like actual mattresses, but lighter. It’s awesome.
My Preference
What is my preference?
I prefer a pad. I’ve got several hammocks and several pads, and if I’m not going ultralight will usually bring a hammock along anyways for lounging and napping, but at night, I like the reliability of a pad. If I’m campground camping, I usually get a cot and put my same pad on top of it.
Keep Learning
Prepping is an ongoing venture. Because of this, we recommend that you subscribe to our bimonthly newsletter to keep prepping, emergency preparedness, and self reliance on your mind. We promise, we’re not spammy, which is why we only email you twice per month. We hope you think about being prepared more than twice per month, but our newsletter is a valuable resource to help you learn new things, and just to keep prepping on your mind. Right now you can also sign up for free. You can also follow our Facebook Page for regular articles and resources.
1 thought on “Hammock vs Ground Pad”
Comments are closed.