What is hammock camping

There’s a new, incredibly practical and fun trend that is getting more and more popular when it comes to camping and, more specifically speaking, free camping: hammock camping!

As every other outdoor activity, it does have its tricks: it’s an art that can be mastered until turning your hammock into the perfect shelter for all your outdoor adventures.

But what is hammock camping really? What gear do you need when hammock camping? How does it work? And most importantly, why is hammock camping better than tent camping?

Today on Madera’s Blog we’ll try to give an answer to this questions and cast a better and more clear light on this awesome activity, which can also become a way to make a change and improve other people's lives.

What is hammock camping

In a nutshell, hammock camping is a way of camping that uses a suspended hammock instead of a tent to sleep. This means you don’t need a camping mat either and that it allows you do decimate the weight in your backpack.

“But how to sleep in a hammock when it’s bad weather?”, many may ask. The answer is the hammock camping gear that completes the core piece (i.e. the hammock itself) and that allows to turn this swinging object into the perfect, coziest outdoor shelter.

A tarp can be suspended above the hammock to keep it nice and dry when rain pours, as well as bug nets help you keep bugs and mosquitos out of the way.

Why hammock camping is better than a tent?

As we said, hammock camping gear is lighter and less bulky, which is great when it comes to the difference it makes for your backpack.

Many hammock campers also state that hammocks are much more comfortable than a camping mat, adapting more to our body shape and the position of the spine.

Also, they don’t harm the environment as much as tents do: they don’t damage the ground and its ecosystem and they don’t leave any trace. In fact, thanks to removable hammock straps, also called tree-huggers, they leave no trace, making it easier to respect the environment and not have too much of an impact on it during our outdoor endeavors.

Also, being suspended, hammocks help to keep your sleeping place dry, protected from ground-dwelling animals and insects and also from unpleasant bumps, roots, rocks and all kinds of uneven or uncomfortable conditions that can jeopardize your rest.

Also, hammock camping is more comfortable and easy to set up. It doesn’t have poles and in general its structure is much more simple and easy to arrange. Of course you have to learn the art, like any other outdoor activity, but once that is mastered and you understand how to set a hammock properly, together with all the hammock camping stuff you need, you are going to sleep better and more comfortably.

Some hammock campers honestly find hammocks even more comfortable than their own beds, which can be attributed to the incredible capacity of hammocks to fit all sorts of bodies and adapt to all sorts of sleeping necessities: it is only a matter of how you set it up.

Last but not least, it’s much easier to find a spot where to hang your hammock, which releases a lot of stress when looking for a place to camp for the night. 

How to make a difference when hammock camping

Moreover, thanks to Madera’s hammocks, your hammock camping time can become a moment of help, collaboration and change. Since it takes two trees to plant an hammock, Madera collaborates with Trees of the Future to plant two trees for every hammock sold.

These trees get planted in endangered, deforested areas of Africa, making a change for the lives of many people and giving them the opportunity through sustainable practices and productive lands for future generations. The main areas of interest are Uganda, Senegal, Kenya, Tanzania and Cameroon, where families are provided with sustainable sources of food, livestock fodder, fuel and forest products that can be used to consume and sell at nearby markets, in order to improve their lives and make a change.

By choosing to hammock camp with a Madera hammock you choose to do good, living by the spirit of nature.