Baltimore Sun Sunday

Hanging air hammock makes sleeping a breeze

- By Jeff Banowetz

Even people who love camping can admit that sleeping on the ground isn’t necessaril­y the most comfortabl­e option.

Sleeping pads and air mattresses can help, but more and more folks are discoverin­g the camping hammock as a way to get a comfortabl­e night’s sleep outside. The drawback, of course, is that you need two well-placed trees as anchors. But unless you’re camping at high altitude or the desert, this isn’t usually an issue.

The Quarter Dome Air Hammock from REI solves another potential issue in camping hammocks: feeling claustroph­obic when you’re snuggled in like a burrito.

The permanentl­y attached poles structure the hammock in a wide-open position so it won’t collapse on you. The canopy features a large entrance to get in and out with ease, but the bug-stopping mesh will keep you comfortabl­e at night (and a nylon rain fly is included for bad weather).

Each of the four corners features a guy line with tension adjustment to create a relatively stable sleeping surface. When collapsed, the hammock weighs just over 3 pounds and stores nicely in a backpack.

For hikers on multiday trips, a tent just may be a thing of the past; $219,

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