My Hammock Setup
My background
I like hammock camping. It’s much more comfortable for my neck/back than sleeping on the ground with a sleeping pad, though admittedly that may be because I don’t have a comfortable pillow that works with that setup (compared to the same pillow which works great in a hammock).
I primarily car camp, almost exclusively with my scout troop. I pack everything into my internal frame backpack because I got tired of making multiple trips to unload, but I’m not as concerned with bulk and weight as backpackers would be.
I also haven’t extensively compared options: I have a setup that works, and I’m not going to buy new things just because. I discovered Onewind when looking for a cheap underquilt and have been happy with their stuff, so most of my gear is from them. That said, there are two main things I dislike about them, both website-based:
- There are sometimes nearly identical products on the site and I don’t know what the difference is. A new model, maybe? I’ll call it out below when I’ve run into it.
- The videos attached to products are typically either high level promo materials or a link to someone else’s YouTube video, and in both cases don’t always show me how to use the product.
Disclaimer: I haven’t been paid by Onewind, or given any of my gear in exchange for a review, but that may change in the future. I’ll always be clear if that’s the situation. And none of the links have tracking data in them: I won’t earn a tenth of a cent if you click on them or anything.
Hammock/bug net/tree straps
Onewind 11 ft hammock with integrated bug net
I admit that I need to do more work on laying diagonally to sleep flat. I previously had a shorter ENO and could get away with laying straight, but I do tend to wake up in the fetal position in the middle of the hammock. Which is my problem. I’m going camping tonight: maybe I’ll try staking out the sides as well.
If you’re going to hammock camp, you need a structural ridgeline. Period. It took me a few times to get the length where I wanted it, but setup is now extremely simple. I assume most hammocks with ridgelines are just as easy.
I don’t love the integrated bugnet. It works! I like being able to move the zippers to enter on either side. And in the winter I’ve kept it rolled up with no problem. But since it zips to the lip of the hammock it means that I can’t reach down to my gear hammock (see below) once I get in. Since it doesn’t cover the bottom of the hammock like a non-integrated one would I suspect I could be bitten from underneath, but as far as I know that hasn’t happened. I could also probably treat it with Permethrin if I really wanted to.
My least favorite part is the cinch buckles that attach to the tree straps. Having to completely undo a strap if you forgot to attach something that slides over the hammock is frustrating. They work fine, but I’d like to explore other options.
Onewind loves their double ended stuff sacks, to make it easy to set things up without anything touching the ground. And it works! I like having one of the buckles sticking out of the end, then grabbing the stree straps from the other end and getting to work.
Underquilt/top quilt
A Onewind underquilt/top quilt combo. I’m not sure which one I bought: probably the 4 season one (but in blue)? I bought it in December 2021, and when I got one for my son in December 2022 I either got the wrong one or they changed the design, because they came in smaller individual stuff sacks instead of one slightly larger one for both. It still works, but is slightly less convenient as I attach my single sack to the straps at the bottom of my pack.
It works wonderfully. In the winter I attach the two together with the built in snaps and use a 0° sleeping bag as a top quilt. I’ve done two “Klondike Derby"s with my scout troop in January with this setup: the first got as low as 5° and I was still nice and toasty. In the other three seasons I unsnap the two and have an underquilt and blanket in one package.
When I got the set for my son the blanket and UQ had snaps that didn’t line up. I contacted support and they verified which one he should have and sent it to us, telling me to keep the “wrong” one. I use that as a blanket if I ever have to slum it in a tent.
I’m sure other underquilts work just as well, but this is inexpensive and keeps me warm in very cold conditions, so I don’t see myself ever trying another option.
Tarp
I believe I have the Onewind 12’ square tarp, though I don’t remember if it was ultralight or not.
It took a while to figure out what to do with this: I think it may have come with instructions but by the time I tried to set it up a few months later all I had was a pile of ropes, loop aliens, and carabiners. The linked video on their product page starts with “but I changed a bunch of stuff about it for my needs”, which is… not very beginner friendly.
I eventually found a YouTube video that explained it better, though of course I didn’t save the link. Essentially: tie the cords to each end (which has a loop), then run it around the tree and use a loop alien to tighten. Run the remaining four cords through the tighteners at the ends of the shock cords (the ones that aren’t on the corners), then stake it out and tighten. Add a carabiner to the end of the shock cords on each corner and set up in whichever configuration you want.
Once you have it set up once it makes a lot of sense and is easy to set up in the future. I now love this thing. The corner carabiners let you do a number of things depending on your need:
- attach the corners the same side of the hammock together, allowing air to flow through and easy entry
- attach the corners on opposite sides of the hammock together to make “doors”: this creates a totally enclosed area
- “porch mode”: loosen both stake outs on one side of the hammock and prop up with trekking poles
On Memorial Day we had people over and I set it up sans-hammock in porch mode for more shade.
If you have the tarp high enough then when you have doors on both side and close them you can stand up and change in privacy, the lack of which is one of the bigger downsides to hammock camping.
I tend to have my foot end in door mode all the time and switch between being open and being a door during the day and at night, respectively. I’ve camped in a huge downpour and not only was all my stuff dry, but the ground under my hammock was completely dry as well.
The one problem with doors is that you have to reach under your hammock to open the side you’re trying to get out of. At night I tend to just use the elasticity of the shock cord to open a gap between the two and step out.
Other stuff
Pillow
I have a Klymit Pillow X. It’s fine! Nothing to write home about. I tend to only need it blown up to ~50% capacity to be comfortable in a hammock.
Ridgeline organizer
I haven’t used it yet, but I picked up the ENO Talon organizer from REI. Apparently the hammock I have is supposed to come with one but it didn’t: either it was added in a new model or the Amazon listing didn’t include it (I typically purchase directly from Onewind, but this was a prize in my company’s Hackathon and Amazon was easier for them to purchase from)
I suspect my review will be “yep, sure does hold my phone at night”. In hindsight I could have made this with some scrap fabric on my sewing machine. It comes with a ridgeline, but my hammock already has one. I may use it as a clothesline or something to save me the hassle of tying two knots.
Gear hammock
This is absolutely a QOL upgrade but I really like it. Another instance of “which product did I actually buy?”: it’s one of the two here (not the peak organizer).
Having one place to have all my gear, contained and off the ground, has been really nice. I typically take things out of my pack and don’t put them back in, so by the time I take down my hammock it’s collected a bunch of items.
I probably need to untie the loop aliens so I can more easily run the cord through my straps, but I make it work as-is.
I haven’t used it as a pack cover, as my pack has one, and I did use it as a chair once. It worked well, and held my not-inconsiderable weight, but it won’t replace a camp chair: since you need to tie it to trees you can’t be right by the fire, for instance.
But: for under $20 it’s a great stocking stuffer. My life would be fine without it, but is better with it.
Wind sock
The Onewind Hammock Winter Windsock. I consciously chose the bottom-entry, pull-closed version over the zippered version so as to have fewer moving parts that can fail. (I have torn the zipper on an ENO bugnet in the past: I can probably repair it but haven’t taken the time)
I’ll probably only use this once a year, at my scout district’s Klondike Derby. In January in Western New York I’ll take all the wind resistance/microclimate gear I can get.
So far I haven’t used it with a tarp, but that’s because I was rolling the dice: it has mesh to allow your breath to escape and not cause condensation, but if there’s any precipitation you’re in for a bad time. That includes snow: I had a little bit on my pillow one night and was lucky that we didn’t have more snow fall. To be clear, this was my doing: I was too lazy to set up my tarp, and this is clearly not meant to be your only protection.
It was a little claustrophobic in there, because by its nature you won’t be staking it out or anything. But for winter camping I’m fine being snug in my little cocoon at night.
There’s one end that’s larger than the other: it took me a bit to realize that lets me slide my hammock/underquilt out and have easier access during the day, then redeploy the sock at night. That wouldn’t work with a gear hammock, though.