Hammock Tents

What a hammock tent is

A hammock tent is a camping hammock with a net or a roof built round it, so you sleep off the ground, away from damp, roots, stones and crawling insects. Nearly every hammock in this range has a mosquito net sewn in. Some add a rain fly overhead, a few have light poles that hold the net clear of your face, and one is a full hanging tent for two or three people. You need two strong trees or posts a sensible distance apart, and most come with tree straps and carabiners.

Net, rain fly, poles or a hanging tent

• Mosquito net hammocks are the biggest group here, in 210T parachute nylon or 70D nylon. Many turn over to use as an open hammock on a dry day. See mosquito nets.
• Hammock and rain fly sets include a tarp: one is 230 by 210cm and rated 2,000mm, another a 140 by 140cm canopy, and one bushcraft hammock offers a 360 by 300cm tarp as an option. See tarps.
• Hammocks with poles use aluminium alloy poles to hold the net open. The 3-in-1 tunnel hammock adds a 3,000mm rain fly and weighs 1.8kg. See sun shelters for the one with a silver sunshade.
• A hanging tree tent, 400 by 300 by 90cm, for two adults and a child, with a PU 3000 Oxford floor. See camping tents.

Lying flat, and the weight it holds

Lying straight along a hammock bends your back. Hung with a gentle sag, you can lie across it at an angle and lie much flatter, and one hammock here has a diamond-cut base made for that diagonal position. Longer and wider hammocks make it easier: the ones here run from 250 by 120cm to 335 by 140cm.

Most give a safe load of 200kg, and one says 660lbs. Some quote a far higher figure for the buckles, such as 500kg or 800kg each, but that is the buckle, not the hammock, so go by the hammock's own load.

Rain, wind and the cold underneath

A mosquito net keeps insects off, not rain. If the hammock does not come with a rain fly, hang a tarp above it. Air moves under a hammock, so on a cool night you feel cold from below even in a good sleeping bag: put a sleeping mat inside, as the bushcraft hammock's optional air mattress does. Hang from healthy trees with wide straps, never from a dead tree, and look up for loose branches first.

Questions people ask about hammock tents

Can two people share a hammock tent?

One hammock here is made for two and the hanging tree tent takes two or three. The others are for one person each.

What if there are no trees?

One can be laid flat on the ground with a mat and pegs, and the sunshade hammock turns into a small ground tent. Otherwise take a tent. See 1-man tents.

How long does delivery take?

Delivery is included in every price and tracked to your door. Each product page says when that tent usually arrives, so check it before ordering for a set date.

More to look at

• Tarps and tarp shelters
• Mosquito nets
• 1-man tents
• Backpacking and trekking tents
• Survival bivvy bags
• Guy lines
• Guide: Wild camping in the UK: where it is allowed
• Guide: Emergency shelters and survival bivvies