Given the choice between sleeping on the ground in a tent and sleeping in the air in a hammock tent, I’d take the latter every single time. In the decade and a half since I started sleeping in hammocks so many brands have added to this wonderful world of sky camping and a recent favourite of mine is the Haven Tents range.
The Haven motto is to “make sleep the highlight of camping” and while that might sound simple, it’s a lack of perceived comfort that tends to put first timers off spending time in the great outdoors. And when it comes to hammocking, somehow a stigma has grown that sleeping in them is a surefire way to earning a bad back.
At home on the Mississippi River. Join me next time I go!
I’ve always figured that if you can happily read a book in a hammock on holiday then enjoying a good nap in the same spot isn’t a big leap, and whether your hammock has spreaders or forces you to pretend to be a banana, the sensation of swinging in mid air is an extra sensory experience that you can’t really find anywhere else. Except maybe in space. But a hammock is cheaper than a rocket, so let’s start on earth, or at least a couple of feet above the surface.
Em rolled up the fly and bug net for a full-immersion Mississippi River experience
There’s plenty of faff on the Internet and I’m not here to research what other people think. Instead, after over a thousand nights of sleeping in hammocks here’s what I know makes for a comfortable night in suspension, for me at least.
Lie flat. Insulate the underside. Avoid claustrophobia. Stay warm and dry. Don’t get bitten. And have fun, lots of fun!
Robyn Green loving a snowy hammocking experience in Montana!
Haven is one of the hammock brands that ticks each of these boxes, and visually it also illustrates the essence of what makes hammock camping brilliant, which is why their hammocks not only feature heavily in this blog, but why we recommend the first time hammock adventurers visiting our campsite at the Big Sky Hideaway try a Haven first.
The dimensions vary a little between the three sizes of Haven tent (the Original, the XL and the Safari) but each one is designed on the same principle. It is shaped around a thick sleeping mat, the lying position is flat and not banana-shaped, the spreader bars inside offer a really spacious feel, the bug net is incorporated into the hammock body and the rain fly can be separate, or bundled up together with no extra fuss.
When I first saw a picture of a Haven Tent I felt excited that in a world of a thousand hammocks there was one that looked different to all the others; the design made complete sense to my hammock enthusiast’s brain, it looked cool - like a floating sleeping pod (I have a fascination with sleeping pods) and most of all, in the Haven I saw something that would appeal to hammock skeptics.
The Greybeard Adventurer Dale Sanders falling in love with hammocking!
Recently I travelled to the USA and stayed at my good friend Dale Sanders’ house. He’s an all-round adventuring legend, but started his adventurers relatively late. At 80 years old Dale became the oldest man to paddle the full length of the Mississippi River. Then he became the oldest man to walk the Appalachian Trail. And then he became the oldest to walk the Florida Trail, and also walk the Grand Canyon rim to rim to rim. While he was doing all that an 84 year-old guy paddled the Mississippi, so this year (in 2022) Dale went back and did it again, aged 87! As Em and I set up our Haven Tents in his garden Dale strolled over with the immortal phrase "I've never liked sleeping in hammocks" and with a grin I said, “ok my friend, jump in." Within a minute he said, "well, you know, I might just like sleeping in hammocks after this!"
Cold mornings are no worries when coming a Haven Tent and a Selkbag (a wearable sleeping bag!). Want one to save on your winter energy bills? Use the code SELK-BIGSKY15 to get 15% off
The same sentiment has been echoed this year by those visitors to our campsite who spent a night in the Haven Safari. Next year we’ll have all three sizes of Haven available to rent and I’m ready and waiting with answers to our hammock guest’s most frequently asked questions:
Will I fall out?
Those hammocks in movies that have those spreader bars, you might fall out of one of them. But the Haven is unflippable because the sleeping area is below the tree straps, or wherever the hammock is fixed.
Will I sleep well?
If hammocking is new to you then there’s a good chance you’ll wake up a few times during your first night, but you won’t regret any of it because in the morning you open your eyes up above the ground, below the forest canopy, with a big smile on your face.
Haven have a bunch of accessories, including a USB-powered string of ridge lights and a gizmo that inflates the mat in double quick time
Is it cold?
The key is to insulate a hammock sleeping platform and there a couple of ways to avoid the ghostly cold that tends to tickle your underside in a non insulated hammock. There are a few ways to do this but two are most effective: use an underquilt (which attaches and swaddles the hammock from the outside, trapping a layer of air between quilt and hammock) or choose a hammock with an inflatable mat, which offers insulation and also encourages a flatter sleeping platform. (Added bonus to the Haven Safari, is that the sleeping pad is deliciously soft and comfortable!).
Is it comfortable?
Way more comfortable than sleeping on a thin mat on the ground where all your pointy bits are aching in the morning. The flatter the sleeping position in a hammock, the more comfortable you’ll be.
The Haven Safari has a super soft sleeping mat and lots of space for gear and general hanging out
Where do I put my stuff?
Either put bags underneath the hammock and rain fly on the ground (or a mat), or hang them from a tree strap. In most good camping hammocks there will be a pocket or two for smaller items, the Haven tent has six pockets and also an internal ridgeline which makes hanging kit easy.
Is it easy to put up?
Once you know how it takes a minute or two to put a hammock up. Choose a good, strong tree and use tree straps to protect the bark and prevent your hammock from slipping downwards. We tend to have our hammocks at Big Sky ready to go for guests but I’ll always demonstrate how easy it is to take them down if they ask. When I’m travelling with a Haven I’ve got set-up time down to 90 seconds, and take-down time less than a minute.
I’ve slept in hammocks all over the world, in all the seasons. Riverbanks and forests, south American boats, hanging off the arm of an industrial digger or a castle in a kid’s playground, the mooring chain of an ocean-going ship or on an island in the middle of a huge Scandinavian lake. The view is superb when you rise up a little and cocooned in a suspended temporary home, swinging with the wind and feeling protected no matter what the elements, hammocking is a really fun, good-for-the-mind, flood-free and happy go lucky way to spend time outside.
Em hanging out by the Mississippi River in an original Haven Tent
If you’ve never hammocked before and have a little curiousity, just try it. Before spending lots of money see if you can borrow a hammock from a friend or rent one at a campsite nearby. If you’re willing to travel to Lincolnshire, England we have a hammock village full of different ways to sleep between two (or three) trees and I’m always delighted to welcome in a first time hammocker. Over 100 people tried hammocking for the first time at the Big Sky Hideaway this year and I can’t wait to meet more of you.
Oooh and one final thing, I’m working on plans for the UK’s first ever hammocking festival to be held at Big Sky in 2023 (and hopefully every year after that). I don’t have all the details yet but there will be talks, hammock related prizes, trees if you have your own hammock and hammocks to rent as well. Sign up to the Big Sky Hideaway newsletter and I’ll share details as soon as tickets are ready to go!
The alpacas at Big Sky enjoy a hammock, too!
Links
Try hammocking at our 15 acre camping farm in Lincolnshire, England!
Take a look at the Haven Tents website
Here’s an interview I did with Derek, who invented Haven Tents.
Ps. Haven sent us their tents because they believed in our mission at Big Sky. They didn’t pay us cash or ask us to do anything in return. I wrote this blog because I thought it would be a nice way to say thank you, I also think everyone should try hammocking at least once and Haven makes that experience very comfortable indeed.
Pps. Other hammock brands do exist, and I like plenty of them. If you have any questions about any type of hammock or aspect of hammock camping just drop me an email or write a comment below. Thanks for reading :)
