Why Are hammocks not more main stream ?

[TrailSlug]

Kinda haughty attitude, wouldn't you say? Hammocks are great, but after 15 years of hammocking, I'm now more likely to bring my tent than my hammock. Plenty of pros & cons to any sleep setup, but no right answer except what's right for you. And the worst thing of all? Proselytizing - of any kind - on the trail.

Now I'm done venting.

You're on the wrong forums to do this kind of venting

[Need2noCallahan]

I think I can answer the question, “Why are hammocks not more main stream”.

Cause no one wants to sleep directly over water!!! DAAAA


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[carmen2kayak]

My friends call me a Hammock Evangelist. And I have converted a few among the willing; however, they were already tent campers and WW kayakers so it was sort of like preaching to the choir. My converts have all been women and I built some of their kit. Plus, I have helped them decide on products, coached them in their set up, etc. Sleeping in my hammock is the best, but it is also part "sport" for me. Noodling out ideas, trying them, going back to the drawing board, stealing ideas from the forum, and refining ideas are all entertainment for me. None of my friends find that the least entertaining. And even with so many years of doing this, I have yet to get my hubby interested.

Hammocks are more intentional than tents and sleeping pads. Picking out a tent and a sleeping pad is way easier than figuring out which hammock, tarp, UQ, TQ, and do-dads you want. Then finding properly spaced trees is a whole 'nother issue. Change is hard and in this matter, expensive.

So, try to convert a few of your friends but don't despair if they don't embrace hammocks. It leaves more trees for the rest of us.

Nancy
Hammock Evangelist
Whitewater Goddess

[OCDave]

I am 64 and have only been hanging for two years. As most of you, I will never go to ground unless forced.

I sleep in my Hammock every Friday and Saturday night and always wake up with no pains and very minimal stiffness.

I was at a family reunion this weekend and chose to hang outside rather than sleep indoors on a bed , Every morning I come in and they would ask me how I slept and I try to tell them like a baby and they look at me like I am lying.

I try to preach the benefits of the hammock to everybody I come in contact with and I think they just think I am a eccentric old man. Mentally I am 35 !

My wife complains about her back all the time , I got her to talk a nap in the hammock one afternoon and she said she was amazed how good her back felt. I asked her if she wanted me to set up the bedroom with two hammocks and she said no she die not want people to think she was a weirdo.

What is wrong with people ?

OK done venting , I guess as long as we all know !!

I disagree with your premise. Hammocks are every bit as popular as small backpacking tents. While those who carry the 6-8 person, 15 lb tents with garages are a different breed more akin to the RV tourist. For those who travel light and fast I'd bet that hammocks are represented at a level you would consider "main stream".

In addition, take a walk around any of the metro lakes and you are certain to see more than a couple if not dozens of hammocks hung. Let me know when you see a tent pitched next to Lake Harriet, Nokomis or Bde Maka Ska. ... ​(Note my signature line)

[old4hats]

When I encounter the skeptics I just say if they will give me 45 minutes with one of my hammocks I will make a believer of them. This said with a smile on my face and confidence in my voice will usually at least change the conversation. Once in a while I have to make good on this, haven't failed yet.

[OneClick]

Since 2012 I've watched this blow up. At least in IN and MI I just don't see many tents when I'm out. If I do, there is ALWAYS at least one hammock in the party. Even if it's just for a day-lounger.

I made a post years ago about the popularity and how it would affect rules, bans, etc. Lots of changes since then, more vendors, tons of options.

1. For camping, it's just another tool. I think most people that don't give it a chance simply think "if it's not broke...". Their tent works and they stick with it.

2. For nightly sleeping at home, it's weird giving up a mattress after using one every night for 20, 30, 40+ years of your life. But I recently posted elsewhere how I started sleeping in mine every night out of necessity (lost the mattress in a divorce). It was a blessing in disguise. Again...knock on wood...but my lower back pain is TOTALLY gone. It's been coming and going for the past 4 years or so. But after 3 weeks straight of nightly hanging, I can't even detect the slightest hint of pain. Physical therapy, MRIs, X-rays, pain killers, muscle relaxers...nothing. But the simplest solution seemed to do the trick.

One of the most obvious examples of hammocks exploding is the cheap knockoff stuff on amazon. There must be 100 random companies selling pretty much the same hammocks and accessories. And for a few years now, they've been sold at all kinds of stores from Kroger to Meijer to all the major retailers like Target and Walmart. And of course outdoor gear retailers.

[SilvrSurfr]

I don't even count the chinese Amazon knockoffs, or Target and Walmart selling hammocks, because those hammocks are usually short, and they don't even sell insulation options or decent tarps. So those kinds of hammocks rising in popularity is kinda like Hula Hoops - just a fad. After a couple of uses it will go into someone's garage and get moldy.

As for campers, I still don't see many hammocks here in the Northeast. Occasionally, I'll see someone in a Hennessy, and there's always somebody who brings an ENO (strung with zero degree hang angle, no ridgeline) for lounging.

[OneClick]

I don't even count the chinese Amazon knockoffs, or Target and Walmart selling hammocks, because those hammocks are usually short, and they don't even sell insulation options or decent tarps. So those kinds of hammocks rising in popularity is kinda like Hula Hoops - just a fad. After a couple of uses it will go into someone's garage and get moldy.

I agree but the point is, the world of hammocks has spread like wildfire. Even all over ads...beer, clothing, the local chamber, travel, you name it.

Grand Trunk is in almost every store. Still often short, but decent quality hammocks.

[Tyroler Holzhacker]

Sedona Summit Hammocks.jpg


Some resorts have hammock lounge areas. Check out the Sedona Summit Resort in Sedona for their website photos...pretty cool stuff. Now if only more hotels offered hammocks as well as beds options in rooms.. That would be the bomb diggity.

[kentmatt]

I got into hammocking because I drank the Kool-Aid and bought into the hype that hammocks are more comfortable that tents. after 6+ months of trying, what's going to eventually drive me away from hammocks are the extremely painful pressure points I get in my shoulders and hips and the fiddle factor of trying to tweak it to "fit".

I started for the same reasons (it seemed to make so much sense, and I've always loved my backyard net hammock) - and had the same negative experience. Being tall, broad-shouldered, with bad knees, I experienced every discomfort that comes along with hanging - shoulder squeeze, knee hyperextension, foot scrunch.

Then I got a Ridgerunner, and added a Nemo Tensor Insulated Wide (25") pad. Phenomenally comfortable.

I sometimes wonder if the fact that gathered end hammocks are the default option is part of the problem. While there are many who find them very comfortable, I wonder if this is not the case for the majority of the populace. It seems like a lot of chatter on this forum is devoted to finding solutions to the above problems - knee pillows, changing hang angles, trying different fabrics, etc. (although I am sure there are those that try bridge hammocks and prefer gathered end (I'd be curious to find out why - maybe I should start a thread).