ULTIMATE SHOWDOWN! Hammock Vs Tent: Which is Best?
When it comes to backpacking, your shelter is like your home away from home—except it’s squished into your pack and hauled over many miles of trails. Whether you’re on Team Hammock or Team Tent, each has its perks and quirks, and it’s time to pit these two giants of the backpacking world against each other. Grab your camp chair, and let’s dive in.
Round 1: Comfort – Sweet Dreams or Restless Nights?
Hammock:
Ah, the hammock—a fabric cocoon gently swaying between two trees. Hammock lovers will tell you it’s like sleeping on a cloud. No rocks, no sticks, no sloping ground to roll you into the tent corner of despair. Plus, it keeps you off the creepy-crawly expressway of the forest floor. For back sleepers, it’s pure magic. Side sleepers? It’s a mixed bag unless you spring for a hammock with a foot box like the Warbonnet Blackbird XLC. I have this hammock and it is absolutely amazing. More on this later in this article… Stomach sleepers? Good luck—you’re going to look like a taco and awake with all sorts of back pain.
Pro: No pressure points. Your back will thank you, especially in a hammock where you can lay flat or side sleep
Con: If you don’t nail the perfect hang angle, you’ll end up in a U-shape, which sounds more fun than it feels. Finding the right hanging spot is sometimes harder than it may seem and a bad “hang” can ruin your night.
Tent:
There’s a reason tents are the OGs of outdoor sleeping. With a good sleeping pad, tents offer a flat(ish), stable surface for all sleeping positions. Tents also give you room to stretch out, roll around, or flail as you dream of wrestling a bear. But if you forget to clear the ground of rocks and sticks or just miss seeing one before setting up...well, your back will vehemently protest.
When choosing a tent, its is generally advisable to go “one person up” from what the tent allows. For instance, a 1 person (1P) tent really only allows space for your sleeping mat. No gear, no dog, no nothing. Just you. When thru hiking the AT, it was paramount to have a 2P so you had room to move around, store gear on super rainy days where the river under your tent would soak your gear even if it were in a vestibule. The added weight of a 2P is negligible so it just makes sense. Remember, when tent manufacturers spec a tent as 1P, 2P, etc, they are basing that on each person getting 22” of width….Thats not much. So if you are wanting to go backpacking with your significant other, choose a 3P and split the load between you (IE: one carries the tent body and stakes while the other carries the fly and poles). A 1P can make sense in certain situations (pack space or weight is critical, tenting spots are limited and the smaller footprint of a 1P would make easier tent site location, etc), but by and large, backpackers opt for a 2P.
Another consideration in the comfort of a tent is single wall vs double wall. Single wall tents are just the tent body, no separate rain fly. Double wall tents include the tent body (typically the mesh body and the tub you sleep in suspended by the pole system) which is then covered with the separate rain fly. Double wall tents manage condensation (a result of your breathing or humidity) much better than single wall tents, so be sure any single wall tent you choose has vents or a way to manage moisture or you may feel like you are being rained on every time you bump the wall of the tent. Single wall tents save a bit of weight, but if you and your gear get soaked, it may not be worth it. My Durston X-Mid Pro 2P breathes fairly well, but I have not tested it in every climate yet. I fully expect managing moisture will be more challenging than in my double wall tents, but the ridiculous weight savings makes it worth it to me. I'll know more on this single wall ultralight tent when I tackle the last 600 miles of the AT again sometime in 2025.
Pro: Reliable comfort if you pick your spot wisely and get a tent large enough to fit you and your gear.
Con: Your tent floor is only as good as the ground below it. Choose your spot carefully and be sure to manage moisture!
Round 2: Versatility – Trees vs. Terrain
Hammock:
Hammocks are picky little divas—they need trees, and not just any trees. They have to be perfectly spaced, sturdy, and not the type to snap mid-slumber. If you’re in a lush forest, hammocks are in their element. But deserts? Alpine tundra? That vast, treeless expanse of grassland? Good luck. You might end up sleeping cowboy-style under the stars (or the rain, or with bugs). On the AT, I woke on some mornings to realize I had tied off to a dead tree (known as a widow maker), so always inspect the tree you intend to tie off to. Its not just about the diameter!
Pro: Uneven, rocky ground? Doesn’t matter when you’re floating. I cant stress the importance of this. On my AT thru hike, I slept the same every…single….night. Meanwhile, my ground dwelling brethren would complain of sleeping on a slope all night and ended up smashed into one end of their tent or having all the blood in their bodies end up in their head from sleeping on an incline.
Con: No trees = no hammock. Sad times. But, the reality is that in most places you go, there will be trees.
Pro Tip! Research where you are going! Many state and national parks do not allow hammocks. For instance, on our rim to rim hike in the Grand Canyon, they only allow hammocks ABOVE the rim. Once you are down inside the canyon, they do not allow hammocks even if you could find a tree. My wife hiked the Colorado Trail and in her 500 miles, she had a handful of nights where there were no trees and she needed to tie her rain fly off to bushes and cowboy camp under it or just sleep on top of it. Another example for thru hikers...National Parks like Smokey Mountain NP require you to sleep at or around the shelter. You are not permitted to stealth camp anywhere you desire. If you are doing the AT thru hike within a large "bubble" of people, the shelters can be pretty overrun with hikers. We did not experience an issue setting up hammocks on our 2021 thru hike, but its worth consideration as you make your shelter choice.
Tent:
Tents are the “anytime, anywhere” option. Sand? Cool. Rocky mountain ledge? Sure, as long as you don’t roll off. Snow? Pitch it! Tents don’t care where they go, as long as the ground is vaguely flat. Their versatility makes them a solid bet for unpredictable terrain.
One main consideration in choosing a tent is free standing vs semi-free standing vs Non free standing. Most tents have a pole system and are either free standing (IE: Big Agnes’ super popular Copper Spur tent) or semi free standing (IE: Big Agnes’ Tiger Wall or Nemo’s Hornet). In the case of free standing, the tent will literally be able to be slept in with no stakes at all so long as it is not windy. Semi free standing still uses poles to give it some shape, but it requires at least 2 stakes to set up for sleeping. The final type (and one gaining in popularity the last 10 years) is the trekking pole tent. In these cases, the tent is ultralight since it does not come with poles and sets up using your trekking poles which you are carrying anyway. Its an ingenious way to get your pack weight down, but these tents absolutely require, at minimum, 4 stakes and do not have any ability to free stand (however, Zpacks does make a kit for their popular Duplex tent that allows it to free stand). I can’t overstate how helpful having a fully free standing tent can often be. For instance, if you are camping in really rocky ground where you cant drive stakes, a trekking pole tent can be a real pain to pitch as you need to tie your tent corners off to large rocks, etc. A trekking pole tent may be ideal on trips along the AT where driving stakes is easy, but it would be far more difficult above tree line in the Rocky Mountains. My trekking pole tent is a Durston Xmid Pro 2P and I absolutely love it, but in some areas (think: a place that requires you set tents up on a tent platform), it can be a real pain. Just bear these differences in mind and realize that, as an avid hiker, you may need several different tents (I own at least 3 plus my warbonnet hammock) so that you can change things up as your trip location dictates.
Pro: Works in nearly any environment.
Con: Uneven ground still sucks, no matter how fancy your tent is.
Round 3: Weight – The Ultralight Fight
Hammock:
Hammocks are usually the featherweight champions…with some caveats. A simple hammock, straps and bug net can weigh less than a pound, making your pack gloriously light. Add an under quilt for insulation (a must) and a tarp for rain protection and you’re still likely lighter than many tent setups. But beware—the grams can creep up fast if you start adding extras like full covergage tarps or fancier suspension systems. And tarps can add some serious weight. A minimalist tarp can save some weight, but they offer no privacy. Full coverage tarps with doors can make it feel like you are swaying in your hammock while inside a tent, but these tarps are expensive and heavy (1-2 lbs) unless you choose to purchase a Dyneema tarp. My Warbonnet Superfly tarp I used on the AT was awesome, but it was silnylon so it was heavy (especially when wet). My complete Warbonnet Blackbird set up (Hammock, Whoopie Sling suspension system, Superfly Tarp, stakes, ridgeline and guy lines) weighed in at just under 4 pounds which is HEAVY by today’s ultralight standards. Lighter options exist and it is possible to build a system that weighs in at or below what an ultralight tent would weigh, but you may need to give something up (IE: a minimalist tarp or spend $500 on a Dyneema tarp, etc).
Pro: Lightweight and compact, if you are a minimalist or shop carefully
Con: The accessories can pile up faster than you’d think.
Tent:
Tents are like that one friend who insists on packing extra snacks and a portable speaker—useful, but can be heavy. As an example, a well known backpacker favorite is the Big Agnes Copper Spur which is just about 3 pounds (before you add in a footprint).
However, you can save huge amounts of weight with a trekking pole tent. My Durston Xmid Pro 2P weighs in at a ridiculous 18 ounces, 26 ounces with stakes and a groundsheet. Thats a full pound lighter than the Big Agnes tent. For long hikes like a thru hike, one extra pound is a TON of weight. So, the weight penalty on tents can be negligible and tents can actually be lighter than a decent hammock set up…but the cost on Dyneema trekking pole tents (like the Durston, Zpacks Duplex or other similar tents) is outrageous, generally $700-800 or more for a decent tent which is nearly double a tent like the Copper Spur.
I wont get into what Dyneema is in this article, just know that it is an incredibly durable, light and waterproof fabric for tents and tarps (as well as packs) but is expensive to work with and has its own drawbacks. Research these expensive trekking pole tents before you commit to one. They also can be much fussier to set up and get a good pitch than a simple free standing tent
Pro: Everything you need, all in one package and can be very light.
Con: Tents are bulkier (even the lightweight ones) and can be much heavier than hammock setups if you skimp on the tent you choose.
Remember: With a tent, you will need a sleeping pad which will generally run 1lb or more for a good inflatable. For hammocks, an under quilt is required, but these generally run less in weight than an inflatable pad. So, while you may be adding weight to your shelter system with a robust hammock set up, you can save those ounces on your sleep system (your sleeping bag/quilt, sleeping pad/under-quilt, and pillow are considered your “sleep system” and ideally should not weigh much more than about 3 pounds total).
Round 4: Weather – Rain, Wind, and Chill, Oh My!
Hammock:
Rain? No problem, as long as you’ve got a good tarp. Wind? Hammocks laugh in its face—with a good under-quilt or insulated setup, you’ll stay cozy.
But hammocks have a nemesis: the cold butt syndrome. Without proper insulation below, you’re going to freeze your buns off. Even in temps as high as 65 degrees, you will still find yourself shivering at night due to the amount of heat loss below you, especially if there is a wind. While you can throw a sleeping pad in the hammock, the pad tends to slide out from under you. A far better option is an under-quilt which is basically a quilt that hangs below you and is supported on both ends by the hammock itself. This lofted insulation layer wraps around you, won't compress because it is under the hammock, won't move out from under you, and creates a ton of warmth when you spec a quilt that lines up with your sleeping bag or quilt temp rating (IE: if you are using a 20 degree quilt or sleeping bag, you would generally use a 20 degree under quilt).
Also, tarps don’t always provide the full enclosure of a tent, so if there’s sideways rain, you might get soggy. This is why I chose a full coverage tarp with doors when I did the AT. The tarp comes to within 6-12” of the ground (depending on how low you want to pitch it) and the doors on either end creates nearly as much privacy and rain protection as a tent would have. I can’t stress enough the importance of a good tarp. I wanted full coverage badly enough that I was willing to accept the weight penality. If I were to do the AT again, the only thing about my set up I would change is exchanging the SuperFly Silnylon rain tarp with a Dyneema one from the likes of Hammock Gear. It weighs half a much while still providing doors and full coverage and, very importantly, it is highly water repellent and does not absorb water when it rains (thereby making it heavier) as all silnylon tarps will do.
Pro: Good for rain and airflow in warm weather, or even cold weather if you choose your under quilt and top quilt accordingly. Check out Shug on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/user/shugemery). This guy has TONS of videos on hammocking and even camps in his hammock in temps as low as -35F degrees!
Con: Keeping warm requires extra gear and planning, but so would cold camping in a tent. During high wind events, you are suspended from trees…the very things that want to fall over. You cant pitch your shelter away from the trees.
Tent:
Tents are little fortresses against the elements. Rain? Bring it on. Wind? As long as it’s staked properly, you’re golden. Cold? Zip up and hunker down. Tents generally offer better all-around protection, especially a 3 or 4 season tent, but they can get really stuffy in hot weather. No airflow means you’re basically marinating in your own sweat…and your partners. A tent with good airflow (vents at the peaks, doors that tie back, etc) is hyper critical.
Because tents can more easily be staked out with guy lines, they generally keep their shape better in high winds as well. A large fly with no poles on a hammock set up will act like a sail in high wind and the fly will press into the hammock. Tents don’t suffer this drawback and regardless of the wind, you will still be able to rest in comfort without the tent closing in on you. This is especially true if you are using a double wall tent. In the case of my Durston (a single wall), I faced some pretty stiff 30 mph winds in the bottom of the Grand Canyon in the fall of ’24 and the tent body pressed inward a bit and flapped in the wind. Because we were camping in a pretty desolate area, the best I could do was to tie off the extra guy lines to some rocks. It worked, sort of, but the tent did not retain its shape the way my Big Agnes or Nemo double wall tents do in the same wind.
Rain is rarely an issue with a tent, but some single wall or trekking pole tents that don’t use a fly can suffer from rain splattering up under the bottom edge and into the tent. Also, nylon tents have seams in the tub that must be resealed periodically or you will find the the tent will take in water and soak your gear. On my AT hike, we were caught in a 3” rainstorm on the third day and chose to not hike in it. My hiking partner had a tent and the water was literally flowing under his tent. Thankfully, it was new so it did not leak, but I was suspended off the ground in my hammock, blissfully unaware that the forest floor had become a small pond around (and under) us. Had Mark's tent been older or not seam sealed well, he would have had a miserable night.
Pro: Solid protection in all weather conditions. Better in high winds. Can be pitched AWAY from trees during high winds.
Con: Can feel like a sauna in hot climates. Needs to be seam sealed and tested to ensure prolonged waterproofing of the tub seams.
Round 5: Space – Living Large or Traveling Light?
Hammock:
Hammocks are a one-person affair. While casual hammocks such as ENO’s double nest allow for two to snuggle while you sway by the beach, you cannot sleep this way. Backpacking hammocks are made for solo sleepers only.
Gear storage is also tricky, as you’ll need to keep your pack on the ground (think: rodents) or suspended from your hammock rigging under your fly. This never posed a problem for me on the AT, but that was mainly because of my huge tarp with doors allowed me to hang it off the ground and still be out of the rain. If you opt for a minimalist tarp, your gear is very exposed to the elements, especially items like shoes, etc. My Warbonnet also has a very cool storage loft inside the hammock that allows you to keep your phone, charger and other incidentals neatly stored with you out of the way of nature’s wrath.
Pro: Minimalist, sleek, and cozy for one.
Con: Not great for couples, dogs, or gear storage.
Tent:
Tents are the social butterflies of shelters. Whether you’re solo or traveling with a partner, there’s room for everyone and everything. You can stash your pack, boots, and gear and even have space to sit up and play cards on a rainy night. Tents win in the space department, hands down. I used to envy people who could wake up and make coffee on their camp stove without leaving their tent (your stove sits in the vestibule on the dirt, NOT in the tent itself. Be smart, be safe). My daughter would hang out with others in their tent and watch movies on their phones, journal, etc. As a hammocker, you have one position available to you…lying down. And if you want to watch movies, you are doing so on your own. Sure, you can still cook on the ground below you or sit in your hammock like a chair and bend over to work the stove, but its not near as comfortable or convenient as a tent.
Pro: Spacious and great for storing gear, hosting a friend, and enduring long, inclement days.
Con: More space generally means more weight.
Round 6. Set-up Considerations
Hammock:
Hammocks take a bit to get used to and your first few attempts usually result in you folded like a taco, sliding to the low end of the hammock, or dragging your bum on the ground. However, once you learn the nuances of setting up your particular hammock (consult your manufacturer as every hammock is different), you can erect the hammock itself in under 2 minutes. However, you still need to set up the tarp and its associated Ridgeline (if applicable) and stake it down. You also need to attach your under quilt. Still, even with all this, I found I could set up my hammock at least as fast as my hiking partners could set up their tents. Where I always came out ahead is the under quilt versus a blow up pad. It took me seconds to clip on my under quilt, but it took them 2-5 minutes to inflate their sleeping pads
Another huge benefit I found was having a standalone tarp over the hammock. On rainy mornings, I could pack up my hammock and all my gear into my backpack and then the very last thing I did was take down the tarp and stuff it into an outside pocket of my pack. Meanwhile, my tent mates had to pack up their packs inside the tent, then set their pack outside in the rain while they broke down their tent, then stuffing the soaking wet tent bag into the top of their pack. Meanwhile, my perfectly dry hammock was nestled in my dry backpack and the only wet thing I had to contend with later that night was a damp tarp. I cant stress enough how awesome this feature of hammocking is. And, as a benefit, if there is no rain in the forecast, you don’t even need to deploy your tarp and instead are treated to a gorgeous and unobstructed view of the night sky as you lazily sway back and forth.
Pro: Fast and easy (with practice), dry pitch or teardown of the hammock, ability to not use a tarp at all which, as opposed to a tent that requires poles even without the rain fly, can drop your set up time to under 2 minutes easy.
Con: Can be fussy to learn to set up, finding the right trees can take longer than finding a spot for a tent.
Tents:
Free standing tents are generally simple to set up, but choosing a good patch of ground can be a trick: Will you have a rock or root in your back? Is the site level or will you be crumpled into the corner of your tent come morning or siding off your pad all night long? Non free standing tents require even more consideration as far as your pitch goes: Can you drive stakes? If not, are their rocks or logs to tie off to? Tents also require poles and poles can break. A good tent comes with a repair splint, but if you already used yours, lost it, or your tent did not come with one, you have yourself a problem.
One major benefit of a freestanding tent that I really like is the ability to pick it up by the poles and shake it upside down to get debris out or to dry the tent off by “pumping” it in the air for a few minutes. My Durston does not allow this and I find that the tent gets a lot of debris, goose down feathers, insects and other things gathering in the tub that are harder to sweep out than to just dump out by holding the tent aloft and shaking it with the open door facing down.
Pro: A repeatable process. Once you learn how to to set up your tent, the process and the end result never vary (although the quality of your sleep will, based on the ground you pitched on). The ability to lift a freestanding tent off the ground to move it to a better spot, dry it off, or clean it out is very appealing. You can't “cowboy” camp as easily as the tent body still needs to be set up with poles, etc and if it starts raining in the middle of the night, attaching the rain fly is much harder than with a hammock where you simply let it drop from your ridgeline and then stake it down.
Con: How you sleep is very dependent on how old your tent site is (flat, dry, smooth, can drive stakes, etc)
The Verdict: Which Should You Choose?
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Go Hammock If: You’re traveling in a forested area, sleeping solo, love lightweight gear, and want to sleep like a forest nymph swaying in the breeze. Just make sure you’ve got insulation below for those chilly nights. If you have a hard time sleeping on the ground (common issue as we age), try a hammock. You might find you sleep better than in your own bed. I know I did!
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Go Tent If: You are hiking with a partner or a dog, you’re heading to open or unpredictable terrain, you need maximum weather protection, or just like having room to stretch out and stash your gear. Also, if camping with a significant other (you can split the tent up between your packs and really drop your pack weights down). As use case scenario, I love to moto-camp on my adventure motorcycle. While I always prefer to hammock, I take my tent on the moto trips because I never know what kind of camping spot i will get. Many campgrounds do not allow hammocks or even if they do, trees are much more sparse and you could end up with a site that does not have hammock-able trees.
At the end of the day, both hammocks and tents have their pros and cons. Whether you’re floating among the trees or nestled on the ground, it’s all about finding what fits your style of adventure. Just remember: the best shelter is the one that keeps you happy, dry, and dreaming of the next trail. To be honest, if you are an avid outdoor person, the answer is not a tent OR a hammock. The answer is to have well sorted versions of both so that you have your bases covered no matter what the situation.
As a parting comment and opinion, I would choose a hammock every single time if i could be guarnateed of trees. I sleep much better, feel better the next day while hiking and absolutely love the "nestled in" feeling. But you can't go wrong with either shelter system. I can only encourage you to do a lot of research on the gear you choose. It's not an inexpensive investment and the trial and error can hurt. Below are some links to manufacturers we love and trust (none of this gear is sold on our site, unfortunatelty. Some are cottage companies that started their business' as a result of their own thru hike experiences. But, their website, videos and comments on blogs are super helpful as you prepare for your inevitable purchase. I can say that, in the case of my Durston Gear tent and my Warbonnet Outdoors hammock, the owners of these companies and their presence on forums answering questions from people like me endeared me to them and the quality of their gear. You may spend a little more, but you are buying a quality product that will give you a ton of enjoyment for many years.
Some helpful links:
Some Premier Hammock Manufacturers.
Some Premier Tent Manufacturers
A great resource to learn about hammocks and hammock camping (and the guy is a flat out riot to watch! His love of life is infectious)
Shugs Hammock Youtube Channel
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