>>579902By cross bars, are you talking about a hammock like this?
If so, it makes a world of difference. Spreader bars are the work of the devil, they destabilize the hammock and make it a lot less comfortable because it prevents the hammock from conforming to your body. As far as usefulness, you couldn't really use a hammock like pic related to camp with, it doesn't pack up neatly and would suck ass to try and sleep on. Actual camping hammock, they don't flip at all like spreader bar ones, it's nearly impossible to fall out of them.
tl:dr Hammocks like my pic = utter shit, hammocks like OP's pic = god tier comfort
