If you’ve never tried camping in a hammock before, you should get on it ASAP. Particularly for those who find sleeping on the ground uncomfortable, spending the night suspended in a hammock can feel like being cradled by a cloud. Hammock tents equipped with bug nets and rain tarps have even become mainstays in every major retailer’s outdoors section, but alas, their use is still limited to places with plenty of trees.



The Tammock Freestanding Hammock Tent, fully set up.
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If you want to make a trek out to a desert, beach, alpine plateau, or simply a place where hammock camping isn’t allowed, you’ll have to pull out your conventional tent and sleep on the ground — unless you get yourself a Tammock, of course.


Fresh off a round of crowdfunding on Kickstarter and Indiegogo, the Tammock is exactly what its name suggests: a combination tent and hammock. But unlike the kind that uses straps to hang from trees, this one is freestanding, making it versatile enough to go with you just about anywhere. A group called LIT Outdoors came up with the idea for this hybrid while camping in the Southern Utah desert, where trees can be hard to come by.



The Tammock Freestanding Hammock Tent, fully set up.



A young man reclines in his Tammock



The Tammock Freestanding Hammock Tent, fully set up.


The company explains: “Our goal was to design a portable solution that would allow outdoor adventurists to use their hammocks anywhere in the world, whether it be a desert, beach, music festival, hotel balcony, bedroom, or your very own backyard. As development began, we discovered many hammock-lovers shared the same problems we faced, such as unpredictable weather, storage needs, bugs, and animals. This gave us the idea of putting a protective tent around a relaxing hammock. And so, the Tammock was born. You can now take your hammock adventure anywhere.”


The Tammock comfortably accommodates one person using a sturdy metal frame for support. Large openings on either side allow you to sit sideways and longways, allowing you to enjoy the views around you in whatever position you find most comfortable. Minus the rain fly, the section of tent directly above the hammock is almost entirely mesh, so you get plenty of air flow throughout the night and can gaze up at the stars while you drift off to sleep. Plus, setup is simpler and takes less time than the average tent, since there’s only one pole to handle and the frame unfolds into place with zero assembly required.



The Tammock set up without the tent component.


A mesh storage pocket directly overhead offers a place for sensitive items like phones and keys as well as tent lights, but you can also keep your valuables in another pocket on the side. The waterproof rainfly is easy to throw on if it starts to sprinkle. You can also use the hammock by itself, if you like, making the Tammock a double-duty piece of gear that would be pretty nice to have at pretty much every outdoor event.



Putting away the Tammock Freestanding Hammock Tent.


If there’s one major downside to the Tammock, it’s the size and weight once it’s packed up in its carry bag. The packed size is 44 inches by eight inches, and it weighs in at a cringe-inducing 20 pounds, so it’s definitely not for backpackers or anyone else keen on traveling light. Still, if you don’t have far to hike or don’t mind toting the extra weight around, it’s a worthwhile investment.



The Tammock Freestanding Hammock Tent, fully set up.


LIT Outdoors raised $175,466 to get the Tammock into production, with backers of the crowdfunding campaign expected to receive their rewards in September 2019. That means the rest of us can probably snag some up for ourselves this fall.