Many of us relax instantly at the mere thought of climbing into a hammock mounted between two girthy trees, with a sprawling lake or a dense forest to gaze at wistfully. As reality would have it, not knowing how to set up a camping hammock ruins that blissful vision in a flash—your hammock collapses under your weight before you even settle in properly, and now you’re on the ground, and your day is spoiled. With our guide, you’ll learn how to properly set up your camping hammock so something like that never happens to you. You’ll find all the answers to your hammock-mounting woes below.
Why Your Hammock Setup Matters
Camping hammocks offer a wonderful bit of variety to the traditional way of sleeping in a tent. It involves hanging a hammock between two trees, and, optionally, laying a tarp over it to protect you in the night if you opt to go down that route.
Whether you’re committed to full-on hammock camping or simply want to add one as impromptu furniture during your next trip, you’ve got to do it right. An inadequately prepared hammock could have you on the ground, flat on your back, in just seconds after setup. Injury risk and hammock damage aside—it’s just not something anyone would want to deal with.
How to Set Up a Camping Hammock: Step-by-Step Instructions
This is all you need to know to properly set up your camping hammock:
Choose the Right Trees
Before doing anything else, you’ll want to consider your choice of trees to hang your hammock up between. They should be spaced around 12 to 16 feet apart, feel strong and stable, and have no visible signs of decay present anywhere.
Also, take a good look at the branches above where you would be deploying your hammock. If any appear to be dead or decaying, they might buckle and fall on top of you after a particularly strong gust of wind.
Work out the Angles
Your hammock should hang around 4 to 6 feet above the ground—the right balance between feeling like you’re dangling dangerously high and excessively low. Of course, preferences play a part here, too, so feel free to adjust.
As for the angle between the straps and the tree, aim for around 30 degrees to keep your head comfortable. Thanks to the slight sag, your body will fit in the hammock better, resulting in overall greater support and a cozier feeling.
Secure Tree Straps Tightly
Once you’ve visualized where the hammock will be, start securing the straps and knots of the hammock around your two chosen trees. For the most camping safety, go for a tight and secure fit, supported by solid carabiners built to withstand the weight of your body. For that same reason, your straps should be at least one inch wide. This also helps prevent unnecessary damage to the tree, keeping you in line with eco-friendly camping tenets of Leave No Trace camping.
Add Accessories
If you only want to use the hammock to lounge around during the day, you can freely skip this step. However, if you want to keep yourself safe, warm, and comfortable at night, you’ll want to add more to your hammock.
A thick underquilt will help with maintaining a toasty temperature so you don’t end up losing body heat to the cold air beneath you. Since, unlike tents, hammocks don’t provide insulation from below, an underquilt is essential for ensuring comfortable nights.
Another critical addition for camping hammocks is a tarp draped over the hammock. Whenever you’re camping out in unpredictable weather, it protects you from the wind, rain or snow. Set it up at an angle using guy lines so that the condensation can drip down easily.
Conversely, for warmer months, you’ll likely want to set up a bug net to keep the nasties at bay, allowing you to get a restful night’s sleep without constantly swatting away pesky insects.
Test Stability
After setting everything up, press down gently onto the hammock’s center with most of your bodyweight. Try to spot any weak spots or issues with the knots or straps, and re-fasten them if needed. Testing stability like this helps prevent unnecessary falls and accidents, so that you can relax in your comfy hammock with full peace of mind.
The Takeaway
How to set up a hammock for camping? All you need is some forethought, securing the straps tightly at the right angles, a final test to check the stability and you’re good to go! Nothing comes close to relaxing in a camping hammock as far as trips in nature go. By following the steps laid out in this guide, you guarantee yourself a wonderful time.
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