Hammock Camping and Lesovik Hammocks

Setting up my Lesovik Draka hammock above the uneven and rocky ground. This really shows how versatile this kind of shelter is.

So what exactly is “Hammock Camping”?

Well, traditional camping shelters and methods basically have you sleeping on the ground, in a tent or under the stars and using a camping pad or inflatable mat to insulate yourself against the cold ground. Hammocks allow you to avoid all that nonsense and sleep above the cold ground, suspended between two trees. Now, everyone has probably lay in a hammock before. Maybe you were in your garden or on a beach somewhere and you dozed off in the sun in comfort. So while the concept of a hammock is not new to most people, the idea of camping with a hammock for your primary shelter probably is. How do you keep out of the weather? How do you keep the bugs away? How do you stay warm on a cold night? These are all completely valid questions that I asked when I first became interested in camping with a hammock and as I answered these and adapted by camping style, it has become pretty difficult to sleep on the ground.

The first time I camped with a hammock, it was summer and I was on a rocky island in the middle of the Helsinki Archipelago on a sea kayak trip. There was limited flat space on the island, but there were a few trees and a friend let me borrow his hammock to try out. It was an incredibly simple hammock, more for lounging in than camping in the back-country, but it was a warm night and I had a fantastic sleep. Contrary to what I had thought, I could toss and turn, I could stretch out, I could basically sleep however I wanted and I didn’t really have to worry about sliding off a mat onto the cold ground. The big thing, was that I didn’t wake up with any back pain or stiffness for the first time when camping. Usually the first couple nights out, I am getting used to the harder ground, but with a hammock I slept like a baby right from the start. I was hooked and I went out and bought my first actual hammock for camping.

Now since then, I have upgraded and perfected my system to what I like. I started with a DD Frontline hammock and then upgraded to a Hennessy Hammock before finally setting on a Lesovik Draka Hammock, which has become my favorite shelter and the shelter I always recommend to folks on my trips.

Why Lesovik? Lesovik is a relatively small company, based in Poland, where they produce all of their hammocks. They are run by a small but dedicated team that has provided me some of the best customer service that I have experienced, every step of the way. If you have questions, they have actual answers. They are all avid outdoors-people and they all use and believe in their products. They produce everything in Europe and their stuff is not just high quality, but also full of small details and design features that make the experience of hammock camping that much more comfortable and fun.

The Draka with Heksa tarp and Otul underquilt. The whole system works flawlessly together.

I bought my first Draka hammock four years ago and is still in great shape, in fact it is currently strung betweeen two birch trees down at the lake where it has been lashed by wind and rain for the past week. It just dries out, no worse for wear. So far the only damage that has been done to my hammock after years of camping and hunting with it, is my dog tore a hole in the mosquito net trying to murder a squirrel that had the audacity to run up the tree I was using.

Now, the Draka is a full featured, 800g hammock. Meaning it comes with a suspension and integrated mosquito net. It is ready to use right out of the bag, all you need is a tarp and underquilt, which Lesovik sells as well. Now, you might be tempted to just use your sleeping bad underneath you instead of buying an underquilt, but I would discourage this. The main issue with using a sleeping pad, is that you will eventually slide off of it in the middle of the night and develop what we in the industry call, “cold butt”. Meaning that once your butt touches the hammock and no actual insulation, the lightest breeze will interrupt your sleep. The best way to combat against this is to use a underquilt, which is basically like a blanket that wraps around the outside of your hammock to keep your heat in and the cold out. There are a few great options out there, but I really recommend the Otul quilts from Lesovik. They are well made and fairly priced. As for shelter, you would want to string a tarp up above your hammock to keep the weather off of you. You can simply buy the cheapest, hardware store tarp you can find and it will work well, providing you know your knots as any good outdoorsman/woman should. However, you could also just get a hammock specific tarp from Lesovik as well to complete your system. In my case, I use the Heksa tarp. This is a hexagonal tarp, specifically designed for hammock camping. It has a really clever system of tie-outs which make setting up and tightening, much faster and easier. This is something you will appreciate in bad weather. Even if I am not hammock camping, I always bring this tarp. I can throw it up in seconds to get out of the weather and I love using it as a hang-out space or kitchen when I am using a tent to camp. At 480g it is absolutely worth the weight. To be clear, there is nothing wrong with using any cheap tarp you can find, the Heksa is just lighter and more convenient.

What you get with all of this, is a brilliantly comfortable shelter system that should weigh around 2.1kg or less, depending on what kind of tarp and underquilt to pair it with. If you decide to get something like the Larva, which is a sort of integrated cover for the whole package that replaces the individual stuff sacks of different items, you can basically have this hung up and ready to comfortably sleep in just a couple of minutes. It is easily one of the best systems I have ever used to sleep in the backcountry and everybody that I turn on to it, says the same thing.

The comfort is just undeniable, even when you aren’t ready to sleep, a hammock is just a phenomenal place to sit and watch the water

The biggest Pro to me with hammock camping, will always be comfort. That is by far the Number 1 draw to me and why I use a hammock. The other highlight, is that in a country like Finland, which is both densely forested and lumpy as all hell, you can basically set it up anywhere. No more swampy ground, no more rocky ground, no more stomping around the bush to find the one single flat spot that fits your tent. You look for a couple trees that are reasonable distance apart and string up your Draka. Further, in many national parks, tent space is at a premium and a hammock allows you to safely set up your shelter somewhere else, without taking up too much space or disturbing the nature.

I can talk endlessly about why I love hammock camping and my Draka in particular, but the system isn’t without it’s faults and it would be disingenuous to ignore them.

Firstly, living space is obviously limited. You can of course hang out in your hammock, under the tarp and it is very comfortable but if you are used to the interior space of a tent then it will be an adjustment. When the weather is bad, or the mosquitoes are brutal, you don’t have many places to go. Also, if you have a fair amount of something like hunting gear, you basically just tuck it all underneath you, typically on a ground sheet. This exposes it a bit to the elements. However personally none of this has been an issue for me. I love how cozy my hammock feels when it rains, I love how open it feels with the tarp up and I don’t mind laying my gear or backpack underneath me on a groundsheet. Lesovik also sells an “under-hammock” or “gear-sling”, which is basically a small hammock that hangs under you so that you can keep your kit off the ground.

Secondly, while all of this very lightweight, its not “ultralite” and that could turn off some folks. The total weight of this system is comparable to a light weight 1p tent. Can you go lighter? Absolutely. I am sure you could get the system down to around 1kg or less but that will come with some trade-offs like giving up on a mosquito net or using only summer-weight underquilts. For me, I am trying to cut a little weight off my own system, using down instead of synthetics for example, but I won’t be getting rid of my mosquito net in the Finnish backcountry. If you are someone who wants the absolute lightest shelter humanely possible, then there are specially designed ultralite tents to use. But you could also just use a heksa tarp and two hiking poles to make a shelter that is under 500g, if that is your thing.

Third, while not impossible to hammock camp in the dead of winter or in awful weather, it is not always the ideal solution. Now, I have personally hammock camped in below zero and in vicious storms and I have been comfortable and fine. You just have to take the time to make sure your tarp is set up tight and tied down well. Stringing a hammock above the snow is doable, but takes some work to clear snow and you would do this anyway if you were camping with a four-season tent. If you are an open-shelter sort of person, then you might be used to having a fire in front of you and that is difficult to do with a hammock, but again, not impossible. In order to keep warm, you might have to use double underquilts, which can take up valuable space in your pack. I am happy to use my hammock through late fall, but once the snow comes heavy and fast then I often prefer a basic open shelter that I can build and maintain a fire in front of.

Fourth, if you camp as a couple then obviously it might not be ideal. You can hang a couple hammocks next to each other, but many people prefer to share a tent.

Those faults aside, it will always be worth using a hammock to me and it is the first shelter I will consider when planning trip. The comfort and quality of sleep that I get in a hammock, is worth more than any negatives I can think of. Since my first time using a hammock, I became a die-hard convert and since discovering Lesovik hammocks, I have been a loyal customer. I purchased everything with my own money, they aren’t paying or asking me to recommend them, I just honestly believe they make a phenomenal product for the money and are a company with values that I share. So check them out at lesovik.eu

Taking the time to properly tie everything down ensures a perfect “hang”