So it is a big day for me. I have been working for a long time on the Chameleon and today is the day.
First off I am launching it on Kickstarter. Why Kickstarter? I already know there will be some critics and some people don't like crowd funding and I certainly don't want to make that the topic of discussion on here. I have had good and bad experiences on Kickstarter and I hopefully will be able to alleviate any fears by being a reputable vendor and someone who will follow through and not drag out promises for months. I have two goals in mind with Kickstarter, first one is be able to stock all the different components so you can order this hammock and all its components and they will ship out immediately. That has been my business model all along and I want to keep with that tradition. However I want you to be able to buy a blue Hexon 1.0 body and a Dark Olive ARGON 90 top cover and have it ship within 24 hours. This hammocks enables that to happen. Also you can buy a Body now, get the bugnet when the bugs come out, and if you decide this winter to brave the cold, you can get the top cover and it will fit. That is one of the beauties of this system that is based on the patent pending zipper. You can have a body with a net and a top cover, but your friend wants to hang so all you have to do is buy another body. All the components will be interchangeable. In order to do that I need to stock and overwhelming amount of product. This will be good for everyone in the long run and mass producing these will make them more affordable. The second reason I want to launch on Kickstarter is I want to hit a broader audience. There is a whole world out there that doesn't know what Dutchware is and unless you are on HF you have no idea what Dutch Bling is. There are companies such as ENO and Kammock that don't have near the product line I have. I think my products including this hammock are top notch and TOS prevent me from making those comparisons. They do something much better than I do though and that is marketing. You will see I put a lot into professional video and animated graphics for this product. I want to hit the weekend warrior that doesn't spend a lot of time researching and just want to try hammock camping. There is a huge amount of people on HF and believe me, your support has been very humbling. This will always be my first love. It is time to start acting like the big boys market like they do. This will reach so many more people.
So what does the Chameleon do...
I wanted to make it completely modular. You can buy a body today and a top cover next winter and it will fit. I put a lot of thought into how to accessorize it later so it can be the one hammock that will work in every circumstances. There will be organizers, bottle holders, and peak lofts. You can get grey body today and and blue top cover because you are a Dallas Cowboy fan and if you decide next year you are a Raiders fan, you can replace the top with a black top. You can buy as little as you need today and expand it as your needs change.
Adapts to your environment. They way the top flips over you don't have a dedicated direction that you have to lay. This is really important if you want two hammocks side by side. You can go without a top to be light, take a bugnet, or if the weather is cold take a top cover. You can have a light weight body for hiking and a heavy duty one for car camping that use the same tops. Everything is modular so you can assemble just what you need for the kind of hammock camping experience you want.
Patent pending Beetle Buckles- I wanted a new buckle system for this hammock. One that is easy to use and would work with a spreader bar. It is designed much like the cinch bug suspension but it is much easier to operate and receives a spreader bar. If you want to hang two hammocks side by side on the same trees all you have to do is add a spreader bar. If you get mad at each other during a hike, then the hammocks will work fine independently. Try to be the one that packs the tarp.
There are many more features of this hammock, we put together a good vid to explain them for you. We have two patents on the components of this hammock .The Kickstarter page had a great deal of information.
Thank you everybody for your support, now and over the years. This has gone from being a hobby, to a passion, to a business and I have so many of you to thank.
The first 100 backers will get their hammocks sent out by March 1st!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...k-by-dutchware
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