Why am I taking a hammock?

 As i've said before, I'm taking a hammock.
But why?

There are a few reasons.  Firstly, the floor is dirty.  It can also be wet.  Worst of all it can be both.  I'll be hiking for, hopefully, several months through wind and rain.  The ground will, at times, be absolutely horrible; it might be difficult to set a tent up or the tent itself might get washed out or soaked even with a waterproof bottom.  Instead I'll comfortably hang above the dirty, wet, muddy floor.  This also means I don't have to worry about finding a flat spot devoid of rocks and roots, that I'd otherwise hunt for to lay down on.  Instead I just need any two trees the right distance apart and I'll be in a frikking huge wood.  There's a lot of trees.  I'll actually have an easier time setting up my hammock than I will a tent.

There are some drawbacks though....
Weight is maybe one of them, maybe not.  We'll discuss that later on.  The drawbacks I will mention right now though are it can be more expensive or harder to get warm.  Instead of a rollmat and thermarest, plus a sleeping bag, I'll be taking two very expensive (very fluffy) down quilts.  One goes over and one goes under.

So this is a rather unconventional approach to camping but it isn't unknown anymore!  And with the some great hammock resources online (like Hammockforums and the hammock subreddits), and on youtube (looking at you, Shug); there's a lot of help in working out how to tackle this less conventional camping.

One last issue is that some people don't like the lack of structure.  Not counting my tarp, I won't have walls.  Even with my tarp, there's a lot to flap around in the wind unless I really cinch everything in tight.  Subjectively some people might feel a little less secure in a hammock set-up.

What's about the ground though?
The ground is the default for a reason.  It's the traditional method of camping and there are tonnes of options for everything you need on the ground.  Subjectively it can feel more structurally sound and that can be beneficial for peace of mind.  I'm not too much of a fan of this for my hike, as it does give me fewer options on where I could camp but it won't be hard to pick up a tent whilst I'm out there if I were to change my mind.

But let's talk about weight. 
Ground systems are lighter.  But....  These very light ground options might be sacrificing a lot.  They're often thin, maybe missing walls, require hiking poles to use, and so on.  Some of the lightest options are barely recognisable as tents.  My tent is heavier than my hammock; but mine isn't the lightest of tents, though my hammock isn't the lightest either.  For me, the extra weight reduction from the ground systems isn't worth it compared to the benefits of being in the air.

Gear List Part 2: The Big Three

So.  The big three.
Traditionally, the three heaviest and perhaps most important items are the backpack itself, the sleeping system and the shelter.  Most people use a tent of some form and a sleeping bag.  I am not most people.

Sleeping/Shelter Systems
I shall be using a hammock camping system.  I have the Warbonnet Blackbird XLC, which is a lovely 11' long hammock, with a gear shelf and footbox; which makes it a little on the heavier side or so I hear.  Why though?  Well, I don't want to sleep on the ground.  There are bugs and creepy crawlies and stuff.  Seriously though, it means I won't need to look for flat, clear spaces to sleep and instead I just need two trees.  I'll be walking in the woods, there are plenty of trees.  The hammock itself won't keep me dry though, so - again from Warbonnet - I have the Superfly tarp.  It's a huge, but lightweight, tarp that can keep the wind and rain off me from all directions.  To stay warm, I'll be making use of the Enlightened Equipment Revelation and Revolt.  Both customised for the best  warmth and weight, for me.  The Revolt hangs under the hammock and hugs it from below to prevent me from losing heat there.  The Revelation goes in the hammock with me, and keeps me toasty warm.  If these are too hot at any point, I can send them home and replace them with Warbonnet's Wookie unerquilt, which is only torso length, and with my Rab Neutrino 200 which is a wonderfully light but not quite so warm option.  All of those are down, not synthetic insulation; so I have to be extra careful about keeping them dry.
So that's my sleeping and shelter system all in one nice bundle.  Onto my backpack.


Backpacks
I simply adore the Osprey range of backpacks.  I have too many four.  The Daylite XL, the Talon 44, the Talon 33 and the Aether 70. No prizes for which I'll be hiking with.

I'll of course be hiking with the Daylite XL Aether 70.  It's a little larger than what's necessary, and isn't the most recommended and I bought it before finalising my gear....  But!  I have been using an Aether for my longer hikes for almost a decade - since Year 10 way too many years ago.  I'm on my third version of it; the first got replaced for a defect after two years of use and I upgraded to the newest version for the AntiGravity system this year.  Normally, it is recommended to choose what gear to use before choosing what bag to pack it into to avoid buying things to fill the bag.  I knew though that I'd be using my favourite backpack for this hike before hand, and it is hard to run out of space in it so I can buy whatever I need.  Not whatever I want, though, if I am to remain lightweight.

The version I have comes with ways to stow trekking poles whilst on the go, which is nice but not very useful in my opinion.  Similarly it has a front J-zip  access panel.  I have never found those to be necessary, and only really use it to adjust the separator in the bottom of the bag.  Amongst the useful features I've found so far are the slightly more durable bottom and side pouches - I had torn holes in my very first Aether.  As with pretty much all Osprey backpacks, it has wonderful integration for water bladders, which I am toying with using.  The Osprey brand water bladders are especially nice but any water bladder works well too.  More on those in another post.

Like a lot of modern backpacks, the Aether 70 has a top access and bottom access, with a removable panel in the middle to divide it into two compartments.  I think I shall store my hammock, tarp and all things needed to set them up, in the bottom section - except for the quilts.  The hammock and tarp have their own drybags, whilst the suspension can get wet without much issue.  The top section will have a bag liner and then everything will be shoved into that, with their own dry bags potentially.

I've not used my new pack enough to fully judge it, as it's not been used for more than a week hike so far, but the AntiGravity system in that week was really nice. It improves the ventilation on my back and makes it feel nicer to carry.  The whole revamped hip belt and back panel are just lovely.  The model I had before this didn't even have the zip pouches on the belt!

Bare in mind, all of this might change when I get out there.