Hammock Gear Wanderlust Review: An All-in-One Hammock Camping Kit

Introduction

Hammock camping usually means assembling a system piece by piece: a hammock, a bug net, a tarp, a top quilt, an under quilt, and a suspension that fits the trees you actually find. The Hammock Gear Wanderlust removes most of those decisions by arriving as a single kit built around a netted hammock, a Dyneema tarp, and a matched 20-degree insulation set.

That packaging is the real selling point. The components are color coordinated, the tarp hardware is already sorted, and the insulation is sized for the hammock rather than adapted from a tent setup. On an overnight with temperatures in the high 30s, the system kept its occupant warm with no cold spots, which is the part that matters most once the sun drops.

The lay of the hammock itself is a different story, and it is the reason this kit rewards a little patience and a willingness to experiment. That trade-off is worth understanding before you commit.

Who This Hammock System Is For

The Wanderlust is aimed squarely at people who are new to sleeping in a hammock and do not want to research every strap width, quilt temperature rating, and asymmetric lay option separately. Buying one kit means the insulation, the bug net, and the tarp all arrive matched to the hammock instead of being guessed at.

It also suits backpackers who care about packed weight. The Dyneema tarp is genuinely light for the coverage it provides, and the complete 20-degree setup is described as fairly lightweight for what it includes. Anyone stepping up from a basic parachute fabric hammock slept on top of a pad will notice a substantial difference in warmth and weather protection.

Warmth and Insulation Performance

Insulation is where this kit earns its keep. The package pairs a 20-degree top quilt with an under quilt, and together they handle the cold that creeps up through the bottom of a hammock, which is the classic weak point of hammock sleeping.

In temperatures in the high 30s, the top quilt performed exactly as needed and the under quilt, once positioned correctly, produced no cold spots through the night. Getting that under quilt dialed in is a matter of finding where it needs to sit relative to your body, and the effort pays off in a noticeably warmer sleep.

Once the under quilt is positioned, the temperature side of hammock camping largely stops being a concern. The remaining variables are all about how you lie.

The Dyneema Tarp and Pitching

The tarp is one of the strongest arguments for the kit. Dyneema keeps it very light, and the pitching hardware is unusually forgiving for anyone who has never set up a hammock tarp before.

Bright yellow cordage runs through metal line locks, and small titanium carabiners clip around the tree trunks, so the anchoring points are obvious at a glance. The cord length gives you room to work with different tree spacings, and the line locks let you tension the tarp without untying anything. The color coding across the system turns setup into something close to foolproof, which is exactly what a first hammock should be.

Suspension and Adjustment

The suspension is the one part of the Wanderlust that asks for a compromise. It uses a daisy chain system, and the spacing between the individual loops is wide enough that finding the perfect pitch and the perfect lay becomes harder than it should be.

That matters more than it sounds. A hammock sleeps best when the foot end sits slightly higher than the head end and you lie on a gentle diagonal, and small adjustments are how you get there. A whoopie sling with a toggle allows that kind of fine tuning, which makes the fixed loop spacing on this kit feel limiting by comparison.

The fix is mostly technique. Choosing anchor points carefully, adjusting tree spacing, and accepting a slightly wider tolerance on the pitch will get most people close enough to sleep well. Just do not expect to dial in the last few centimeters as precisely as a fully adjustable suspension would allow.

What New Hammock Campers Should Expect

The learning curve is real, and it has less to do with the gear than with your own sleeping habits. Side sleepers in particular will find that rolling onto a side, tucking the knees, and staying put is not automatic. There is a tendency to slide toward the middle of the hammock, and the legs can feel the difference the next morning.

Small details still stand out in a good way. Glow-in-the-dark zipper pulls make a genuine difference during a middle-of-the-night exit, when finding the zipper by feel in the dark would otherwise be a fumble.

The honest framing is this: the system is impressive, but it does not erase the adjustment period that comes with sleeping in a hammock for the first time. Expect a few nights of experimenting with hang height, under quilt position, and your own diagonal before it feels natural.

Buying Advice

As a complete package, the Wanderlust is priced under $1,000 for the standard 20-degree setup, which covers the hammock, bug net, tarp, top quilt, under quilt, and suspension in one purchase. For anyone who would otherwise buy those pieces individually and hope they work together, that is a reasonable trade.

The case for buying is strongest if you are new to hammock camping, if you want a light tarp without shopping for one, or if you value a system where every part is already matched and color coded. The case for hesitating is narrower: if you already know you want a fully adjustable suspension, or if you are a committed side sleeper who needs maximum control over your lay, you may prefer to build a setup around a whoopie sling system.

For everyone else, this is a well thought out kit that removes the guesswork from a category known for overwhelming newcomers.

Conclusion

The Hammock Gear Wanderlust succeeds at the thing it set out to do: give a new hammock camper one purchase that covers shelter, protection, and warmth without a research project. The Dyneema tarp is light and easy to pitch, the 20-degree insulation held up in the high 30s with no cold spots, and the thoughtful details, from color-coded hardware to glow-in-the-dark zipper pulls, show a company that understands how these systems are actually used.

The daisy chain suspension and the inherent learning curve of hammock sleeping are the honest caveats. Neither is a dealbreaker, and both improve with practice. If you are ready to spend a few nights dialing in your hang, this is an easy system to recommend and an easy one to keep using season after season.