Most people think a hammock is a hammock is a hammock.  They think all hammocks are about the same.  Well if you had never slept in a bed and you bought a bed of nails and slept on it do you think you would become a convert?!? When someone says buy this cheap hammock and see if you like it I cringe. There are 3 main types of hammocks.
1 Banana hammocks usually the cheapest.  They bend you like a banana and are usually narrow and frequently tippy.
2 Asymmetric hammock lets you lay on a diagonal much flatter than a banana and wider. Still not a completely flat lay but most people can lay on their sides.  Usually more spacious than a Bridge hammock.
3 Bridge hammocks hang the sleeping surface from ropes like the road surface is hung from cables on a suspension bridge. The sleeping surface can be completely flat from head to foot but tend to come up sharply on both sides of the sleeping body.  This is frequently called a pea pod hammock because there is a feeling of being held in place like you were in a pea pod.  Some bridge hammocks have spreader bars that opens the peapod up a little.
If you are considering a hammock go to Hammockforums.net and look under Forums/hangout, canpouts…/Your area.  Find a hang in your area go there and ask questions.  People are glad to show you there gear and tell you what they like and don’t like. You may even get a test hang. Or reply in the thread to see if anyone would bring an extra hammock along so you could sleep in it.

I agree with KevinL's comments.  In recent years, I have used the very same shelter solutions... hanging (when alone or in an odd-numbered group) & a CCS Lean 3 shelter for a larger party. 

My answer to the "insulation" challenge has been my Clark Jungle Hammock (see: (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links) ).  It's pricey but I have gotten more than my money's worth with various iterations of this product over the years.  Among its many fine features are the six huge pockets on the underside.  I fill these pockets with my wool socks & other clothing.  Even when I woke up in a nasty snow squall last May I was quite warm and comfortable... as long as I remained in my hammock!

Other hammock models have their advantages, too, but, during cool nights in the summer and the "shoulder seasons", I find that the Clark Jungle Hammock solution (stuffing the underside pockets with my extra clothing) works plenty well and I don't have to carry any extra insulating blankets. On REALLY cold nights I have gone the additional step of stuffing my life preserver underneath my sleeping bag AND hopping into a CoolMax liner (adds an additional 10 degrees) while inside my 20 degree sleeping bag.

Positioning the hammock in an area that is well-protected from the likely night-time wind direction can also save you from substantial thermal loss.

Re: "angles" & "spacing", my words-to-the-wise are: watch those videos that KevinL mentions AND practice, practice, practice.  I've strung my hammocks for years, now, and I'm STILL practicing.  When the angle isn't right, it can be a frustrating experience; you can't always find trees exactly where you want them.  "Skill" eventually grows as you play around with your hammock in varying environments and conditions.  It's seldom the same set-up twice.

Anyhow, when done right, it can be some of the most comfortable sleep you will ever experience in the wilderness.

Jimbo   

Solo, I'm a hang'r or in groups of three.  When I go with my son, we use a CCS Lean 2+.

I sure wish that I could have found someone close to home before I started hanging, but could not.  I watched a lot of YouTube videos and joined a couple different hammock forums and did a lot of reading.  There are also several good books Including “The Ultimate Hang” by Derek Hansen.  Most of this book is also available on his website for free if you do some digging.  (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)

I have a Warbonnet Blackbird and a Superfly tarp.  Then I have the Hammock Gear under quilt and top quilt.  I have had this setup for 5 years now. 
Hanging you have not rocks, tree roots, hills to bother your and can have a stream running under you to bother your sleep.

Guess the best advice that I can give to anyone is practice. Getting angles right for different spacing between trees    You must have insulation under your back side if it gets around 60 deg, you end up with "CBS" cold butt syndrome.   With the Blackbird there is a double layer of material that you can put a sleeping pad into for insulation, but the under quilt backs smaller and it stays put.  The Blackbird also has a foot box that allows you to get on a diagonal for a flatter lay. 

Sturgeon_7 wrote on Jan 24^th, 2016 at 12:47am:


I just looked at the speck on one of those tree tents and it was 19 pounds.  That would be before adding under insulation and a sleeping bag. 

This last trip we took three of the ENO hammocks with bug net and rainfly and used it every day and left the tent in the pack. We used under inflated insulated therm-a-rest mattresses in the bottom to cut the cold on the back. I will be tent free this year and either use the ENO again or may go with a tree tent like these. (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)

Jimbo wrote on Jun 24^th, 2015 at 8:44pm:


As the jungle hammock spokesperson, a shoot of that commercial would have sold millions.

To clarify, I'd spend the extra bucks to buy their "Vertex" rain tarp.  This model comes with XL but, in my opinion, their largest option (designed for their Vertex model hammocks) is worth the extra $20. 

Case in point, right about this time last month I was trying to get changed during a snow squall which hit our camp on the Maligne River.  The extra few feet of coverage would have been appreciated right about then.  Snow & sleet on bare legs... brrrrrrr!

Jimbo   

It's top-of-the-line and, therefore, "pricey" but, for my bucks, it's the best product on the market:  (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)

Recommend spending a few extra bucks to get the XL overhead tarp; great for cooking under, etc.

Have extolled its many virtues on many similar QJ threads so I won't bothered reciting that litany yet again.  If interested, try the "Search" function and look for "Clark Jungle Hammock."  OR, simply contact me. 

That company should make me a paid spokesperson!

Jimbo   

I have the Hennessey and really like it.  You'll want one with an undercover, and the insulation system is a plus as well.  Doesn't have to get too cool at night to make the under side a bit chilly, also they keep the skeeters from biting through from underneath.

i ordered the blue sky one from amazon after reading this thread. i had been interested in a covered hammock for a while and even started acquiring materials to make one. however, the fabric for the bottom, nylon ripstop, was more than this entire thing!