Random.org picks the winners. Yes, your odds are increased if you enter daily, do the Youtube video, etc.
Random.org picks the winners. Yes, your odds are increased if you enter daily, do the Youtube video, etc.
As for size... Tammy's quote is "I love my hammock because it lets me snuggle up close to my guy when we are hanging in it."
So what would be the idea "double size" and what is a reasonable price point?
Most tree straps are made from polyester. Just take a look at the vendors that sell hammock suspensions and they will have the correct stuff. Strapworks is also another vendor that sells the proper webbing for tree straps.Originally Posted by Infinity Outfitter
Cheers
Brian
Good judgment comes from experience, and often experience comes from bad judgment. - Unknown
Nylon straps will be the first thing switched out, for most. You asked for advice...Its Poly.
Doesn't take much to sew a couple loops. Outside of possibly heat treating the ends, you shouldn't need or use heat to bond them. If the suspension hardware is "melting" them It's not right either. Nylon straps will lower the value of your product. Just look to Eno. They still sell lots of hammocks, but few run their suspensions, because you end up on the ground.
Two people in ANY hammock will get that snuggled up feeling. This is not really an accomplishment.
We have a couple members who pull it off, at home, but for hikers planning on sleeping in one night after night, we consider them mostly one person rigs.
Up to 60" in width and 10' to 11' seem to be where most individuals, are finding their sweet spots. Its a little different for each person, but adjustable Ridge lines, and Whoopie sling adjustments, will allow most to find it, at those lengths and widths. I also see weight as being somewhat of a problem. Its not like it's massively overweight, at 17.6 oz, but that is where most of the cheaper imports weight in, and could through a flag up, to the well advised.
As for pricing, proper set up, and possibly, even business model, I would encourage you to take a look at someone like Butt in a Sling (BIAS) Hammocks. There are many others, but they have been the last group to hit this forum and really take it by storm. They did much the same as you have, Introducing themselves to this forum, and asking for input.
They gave us what we asked for, and then some, and are getting rewarded accordingly, with plenty of business.
Maybe I'm missing the point on the contest marketing. Sure if you own an Infinity, then you will HAVE a video and a review possible for extra entry points. However those people already have your product, and you should already have all the info necessary to properly market them. Even if you have a Facebook account, already marketed individuals have the best chance to win another unit.
How is this attractive to new customers? Why should anyone have to purchase something, for a better chance to obtain a free sample of the same?
Last edited by Rolloff; 07-29-2012 at 11:28.
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I looked at your web site and was impressed. I then looked at the size of your hammocks and knew I wasn't interested.
I like long hammocks close to 11 ft. My Lite Owl is 58" wide and very comfortable, but it's also 11 ft. long. I don't sleep in my Black Bird much anymore because it is 65" wide X 10 ft. long and not as comfortable. I think the longer lengths is what works for me.
Hope this helps.
Keith
If you figure out how two people can sleep comfortably all night in a hammock, you'll have figured something out that nobody on this forum seems to have figured out. While there is a miniscule minority who try to make it work, the consensus would seem to be that it doesn't work.
The Clark Vertex is the closest thing I've seen to a two-person hammock that works, but it looks neither practical (requires three trees), nor intimate (storage area separates the sleepers). So Clark has figured out comfortable, but they're stumped on intimate and practical. This seems to be the nature of the quest for a two-person hammock.
The stretchiness of nylon straps will be a non-starter for most people - only the greenest noob would buy them. Also, you might consider lighter hammock suspension options like Amsteel whoopie slings, as most all hammock vendors who are popular on this forum do.
The hammocks that you offer are heavy, not particularly popular with the hikers (and especially ultralite hikers). You hammocks weigh in at near 18 oz., and for that weight I could get a Warbonnet Blackbird 1.1 single layer with integrated bugnet.
You hammocks are also pretty short at 9 ft., unlikely to be comfortable for anyone over 5'10" and I can't imagine how they would be comfortable for two people.
Another vendor, Anna's Hammocks, introduced themselves to the forums in the last year. Their products were obviously not made with the intention of gaining HF members as customers, and your products are similar in that respect.
Most of the focus of this forum appears to be on hiking and camping with hammocks. However, your products seem more focused on casual backyard hammockers. If that's the niche you want to focus on, that's fine.
Welcome to the forum and best of luck. You'll find a great resource here and lots of advice and information, but take it with a measuring stick based on your business goals and objectives. A lot, if not most of the members here LOVE their hammocks and use them beyond recreational lounging. Some even sleep full-time at home in hammocks, preferring them to traditional western mattresses. We toy and tinker to the point of ad nauseam.
Thanks to the tinkering, there has been a lot of innovation arise in regards to hammock camping (e.g., integrating bug netting, insulation, and weather protection). There also seems to be a trend with longer hammocks, as we have found a relationship between longer being more comfortable. That's not to say a smaller hammock can't be cozy, but all things being equal, a longer hammock will eliminate leg hyperextension more easily, provide a flatter diagonal lay, etc.
There are also a lot of vendors out there selling "parachute nylon" hammocks, so the market is getting thick. Oft times when we see these style of hammocks we are looking for something unique about them that will differentiate you from the competition.
For a good comparison chart, check out my parachute nylon hammock list. For a comprehensive list of hammock manufacturers, check out my blog.
Author and illustrator: The Ultimate Hang: An Illustrated Guide To Hammock Camping
Last two posts probably sum it up, as well as providing enough hard data to get a good grasp.
This community is one of the most laid back....and informed. Not to ring our bell, but......At HF you'll find the cutting edge, of Hammock use and camping to it's extreme, and someone is always threatening to crush the envelope, let alone push it, on almost a daily basis.
It's also pretty reserved.
As a new vendor entering the market, this is the place to go...Before you purchase that first shipping container of items, and are basically locked into the product you have.
If you come looking for info and advice on how to choose that product, for future successful sales, you may indeed do very well. Especially within this community itself. Many members own more than just a single hammock, from a single vendor. Several, many more than that!
However if you come in here with a set product similar to, or no better than, current mass produced offerings, it will be a roll of the dice.
Infinity is close, but right now, no closer than the same products, that drove most of our members, to the cottage vendors, that can and will produce what is needed for the best performance, durability, weight vs cost.
Suspensions, Dimensions, Weight, and Materials are where the problem exist currently, with these hammocks. FOR OUR APPLICATIONS. Doesn't mean there aren't a few other tweaks to be made, or that you can't sell the heck out of Infinity hammocks, as is.
We do look at it as pitching a product out to a good sized consumer pool, and hoping it floats, under the guise of asking us how to "improve" it, when sales are obviously the primary purpose.
When vendors come in here to find out what will sell, instead of just seeing if they have something that will sell. It usually works out wonderfully and profitably all around. We have a term for it. It's called being "Roched"
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Here's an impressive introduction of a product on our forum, soliciting input from HF members on design. I don't know if their product will be highly successful, but their approach certainly is:
http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/s...ad.php?t=56909
Many seasoned hammock campers started with the ENO brand which is very similar to your product. Although some still use them in the back country, many usually switch to the cottage vendors here because their products are better suited to their outdoor endeavours where materials and design really come into play. I think your product will sell to the backyard/lounging crowd if you can compete with the numerous other brands that sell similar hammocks. Good luck with your venture.
Don't let life get in the way of living.
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