On Hammocks and Patents.

[Rapt]

Very interesting and highly informative (about past shenanigans)...

As has been stated suit in a patent case typically limits compensation to damages (lost revenue) and possibly reasonable licensing/royalties. The reason is that the patent process was put in place to ENCOURAGE public dissemination of information by providing some protection in the marketplace. So while it technically is within the rights of the patent holder to sue individuals its highly impractical since the awards would be minor.

Many also believe that acting like an A$$ is essential to being a successful business owner and operator. Sadly many major corporations follow this model, choosing the biggest a$$es to be their CEOs. However, there a number of privately held companies that have been extremely successful and have operated with a MUCH higher moral and ethical standard. One example is Malden Mills the makers of Polartec fleece.

Some manufacturers should consider this when deciding who to pattern their behavior after. Especially telling for me is the choice of overseas manufacturers in countries where they not only are not bound by North American intellectual property (IP) laws, but have a history of blatant disregard for it and freely use the information provided to them as part of their manufacturing. If people TRULY were concerned about maintaining their IP they wouldn't have their products made there.

[nickelanddime]

Some manufacturers should consider this when deciding who to pattern their behavior after. Especially telling for me is the choice of overseas manufacturers in countries where they not only are not bound by North American intellectual property (IP) laws, but have a history of blatant disregard for it and freely use the information provided to them as part of their manufacturing. If people TRULY were concerned about maintaining their IP they wouldn't have their products made there.

I was just thinking that the other day, how long until there are chinese asyms everywhere for half the price?

[kohburn]

this book is from 1904.this ridgeline definately affects the comfort curve. loosen the rope and the hammock will sag more tighten it more and it will sag less.

that old book doesn't seem to affect th's ridge line however it does seem to affect his patent on the side pullouts.

but like everyone has said. its only cannon fodder if a law suit takes place.

[R00K]

WOW. Can I say wow? This might even deserve an 'awesome'.
This thread is like living history. So much information about HF culture at what seemed to be an interesting period of time for the community. Five years ago. The decline of popularity of HH and the rise of support for WB was seen in some clear ways through-out this thread. TH's comments on the thread are no longer at FORUMFEEDBACK which was sort of a let down. I was interested to hear his defense. Brandon from WB's first post (can't say why I find reading his comment a bit... interesting? Maybe that's not the right word.) Anyway, there was someone who made an account "Rebel Without a Cause" just for this thread so they could troll without blowback. Would be funny to find out who! Also - Every mod I can think of makes an appearance, including Cannibal, who recanted some sort of 'rant' that I also would have loved to read! Probably would've been pretty funny after all this time. They did a great job of keeping this one from getting out-of-hand. Dutch even makes an appearance!

[Cannibal]

Every mod I can think of makes an appearance, including Cannibal, who recanted some sort of 'rant' that I also would have loved to read!

To be fair, I wasn't a Mod back then. I still had opinions, many best left recanted.

[angrysparrow]

Yeah, that was a long time ago.

I'd only been on the forum for a month, and Cannibal just joined. I think Jeff may have been the only mod at the time.

This was one of the only contentious threads from the early days.

[R00K]

I found it trying to find info on those $9 Army mesh-net hammocks - got a little more than I bargained for but I'm glad I stumbled across it. Interesting, informative and a little funny!

And mods with opinions?!

My original post said something like "and since the mods are always working so hard now-a-days to keep everything positive (unless you want to start a sub-something haha!) it's sorta refreshing seeing them post positive AND negative personal opinions."

[Jazilla]

Oh I remember this thread. It raised a lot of hairs on the back of my neck. If you sit and really think about it, warbonnetguy at this time in HF history really opened a lot of doors for the DIY and cottage industry guys to make a go. This forum has really come a long way since then.

[ftroop94]

It's an interesting read for sure. I stumbled on this thread about two years ago when I had just sold an HH Expedition (on eBay) and picked up a Deep Jungle in his fall sale.

I only stumbled into hammock camping when I hit the trail with a buddy over at BGT earlier that spring. He had a DJ and I was intrigued, but I didn't want to drop that kind of cash right up front for such a 'mysterious ' form of camping. It was easy to pick up an entry level Hennessy at REI on their member sale. Granted, I purchased a zippered version...wonder where he got that idea?

Both fortunately, and unfortunately I found this very thread and the forum about a week or two after I bought the Deep Jungle. I say fortunate because the DJ is a good product, even Cannibal will attest to that, and it appeared Tom listened to his customers on both the zipper and double layer idea. I also learned a great deal about hammocking with it and fell in love with the activity and began to silently troll this forum and glean tons of information.

It was somewhat unfortunate in that had I read the thread and known of the forum in advance I most certainly would have ended up with one of Brandon's hammocks at the time.

This forum has taught me so much about hammocking and good natured folks. Even if there was debate in those days. I've been elated to support cottage industry vendors like Adam, Stu and Dutch. I outsource staining the deck for crying out loud. If I ever sat down at a sewing machine to do a DIY project I'd probably stroke out! That being stated I love to support these folks that make a go at it.

I've used a GT UL all winter long on the advice of Dejoha and his fine book to cut some weight off the HH but get a little more squeeze than a 'portly' (cite-Brandon) guy would like, so when I saw a 1.7 SL on the For Sale thread I had to pull the trigger. I loved it so much that I got a 1.1 DL within a week. Will I unload the Hennessy? Probably not, I tend to hoard...still having 6 tents, my 11 year old Boy Scout poncho and CF mat from that era sitting in my gear closet. I did just make enough posts to get into the Pay It Forward thread, so I intend to add something there without even requesting an item. I say so because this site is great!

One day someone will invent a product that makes the BB obsolete. That's great because innovation makes us all better. Till the I will hang in my new Blackbird(s) and be happy.

Sorry if this was long winded and off key, but I found it comical when I stumbled upon it AGAIN as I sit here on daddy duty this weekend while my wife is on a girls' weekend and I pine for the woods I get to hang in next weekend!

Ftroop94
~Steve

[old4hats]

I too, stumbled onto this thread, and so glad I did. I think I now better understand some things and even more so, appreciate what I have read and observed on HF. I read every page of this thing just to see where it would go. Some great innovators involved in our "pass time", I hope to get to meet each and everyone of you some day.