• Country

The Best Hammocks for Bikepacking

By Filippo Mari

When going bikepacking, it is important to plan how you are going to sleep at night. If you are going to sleep indoors, it is easy – all you need is your credit card and pyjamas. But if you plan to sleep outdoors, a bit of thinking is needed.

As I mentioned in my earlier article about how and what to pack, if the weather is uncertain, I normally go for a tent. But if the weather is going to be nice, I love to use a hammock. It is light and it gives me a sense of security as opposed to a tarp as I am not sleeping on the ground. So this article is about the best hammocks I had the chance to see and try out there. I like to sleep in a king-size hammock because the extra fabric allows me to cover myself if needed and gives me extra space for moving around.

Quechua Basic Blue hammock

Quechua Basic Blue

The first hammock I had was from Decathlon. I was not sure if I like sleeping in a hammock, so I didn’t want to invest too much money. Quechua Basic Blue costs only 12 euros so it is a perfect entry-level hammock. Once I found out I loved this way of sleeping, I gave it to a friend because two things about this hammock bothered me: it was hard to install (I always had to read instructions because it was complicated) and ropes were too short so I always had to find trees that were at the perfect distance, which limited my options.

Weight: 540 gr

Dimensions: 300×150 cm

Price: €11,99

Ticket to the Moon hammockTicket to the moon hammock

These are the hammocks I use at the moment. I love them for their lightness and ease of use. They are made of high-grade parachute nylon. You can upgrade them by buying a storage bag, carabiners, nautical ropes, straps, bug nets and many other accessories but the basic products are already top quality. They come in 25 colours (you can play around with them with a cool configurator on their web) and have 6 sizes. I personally got a king-size that I also use with kids in the garden or whenever we are travelling.

Weight (original size): 600 gr

Dimensions: 320×200 cm

Price: €59,95 (hammock only)

ENO Sub 6 hammock

ENO Bikepacking Hammock

This is the lightest hammock I had in my hands. It is only 164 grams! It was not the perfect fit for me as I move a lot at night to change sleeping positions and The Sub 6 is quite small compared to the other hammocks. Otherwise, it is an amazing product. It comes in 3 colours, orange, lichen and charcoal.

Weight (original size): 164 gr

Dimensions: 270×120 cm

Price: €59 (hammock only)

Sea to Summit Pro Single hammock

Sea to Summit Hammock

The Pro Single from Sea to Summit is another great light and ultra-resistant hammock I had the pleasure to try. It is constructed from soft ripstop Nylon with high strength, quick-connection plated steel buckles and it comes in a CORDURA® Nylon compression bag. It comes in 4 colours, blue, lime, olive and red.

Weight (original size): 560 gr

Dimensions: 300×150 cm

Price: €70

ENO Skylite hammock

ENO Skylite hammock

If you have more budget and are going to ride in places where mosquitos are an issue, I recommend ENO Skylite. It comes with an integrated mosquito net but that is not the only feature that makes this hammock fantastic. In fact, it has a game-changing ergonomic design that offers a flatter and more supportive sleeping experience, unlike any other hammock.

Weight (original size): 900 gr

Dimensions: 210×100 cm

Price: €144

Conclusions

Sleeping in a hammock is not for everyone. Some of my friends sleep like babies, some cannot really sleep at all. I am in between. You need to try in order to know in what category you belong. I hope that this article will help you navigate through options. Enjoy sleeping outside!