No-See-Um No More Hammock Bliss
A packable hammock with built-in mosquito netting is a genuinely good idea and Hammock Bliss still makes versions of it.
What it is for. Sleeping off the ground in warm, humid, buggy places where a tent is stifling and flat dry ground is hard to find. In the right environment a hammock is more comfortable than any pad, and the integrated netting is what makes it usable rather than a novelty.
What people get wrong, and it is always the same two things:
- You get cold from underneath. A hammock compresses your insulation exactly where you need it, so a sleeping bag alone does not work below about 20C. You need an underquilt, or a sleeping pad inside the hammock, and this surprises everyone once.
- You need a tarp. The netting keeps insects out and nothing keeps rain out. A separate tarp is not optional kit outside a dry season.
Hang it properly: straps rather than rope, around a 30-degree angle from horizontal rather than pulled tight, and lie slightly diagonally, which is the trick that turns a banana-shaped night into a flat one.
Use tree-friendly webbing straps, which is the change in practice since this review. Rope and thin cord cut into bark and damage trees, and many parks now require wide straps or ban hammocks outright. Check before you plan to sleep in one.
Where a hammock does not work: above the treeline, in the desert, and anywhere the rules say otherwise. Always know what your fallback is.
Part of the guide to tents and shelter.