ROPE HAMMOCK = ZERO COMFORT CREDIBILITY
 

A plantation owner from North Carolina introduced the common rope hammock to Americans in the late 1800s.  This entrepreneurial gentleman, was undoubtedly familiar with real, comfortable hammocks, which originated in Central or South America over 1000 years ago.  

The man, and the families primarily involved in spreading the rope hammock scourge, shared strong ties to the tobacco business.  It is no surprise that such folk could create a prosperous side-business around the ultimate sham hammock. 

It looks like something good, you buy it,  you try it, and you lose. 

Rather than investing the time and energy required to make comfortable hammocks, they "developed" a minimalist hammock version known today as the common rope hammock.  They knew that the idea of swinging horizontally was novel enough to sell their rope shammocks to Americans. 

A romantic version of their story claims that a boat captain invented the rope hammock so he could sleep on it.  Anyone who ever tried to sleep on a rope hammock  knows that story is a complete fabrication.  The rope hammock was made TO SELL.

The addition of 2 wooden "spreader bars" provided a framework for a "lazy sketch" of a hammock.  They eliminated the tight weave, and most of the work required to make comfortable, traditional hammocks. 

Entrepreneurial, it was, but at such a cost:  the total loss of comfort.  The rope hammock, with its wide-open holes, could be produced in a fraction of the time. 

People bought it!  It was a novelty and people loved it.  They didn't know what they were missing.  Without a direct comparison, there was no way to know that comfortable hammocks had already been perfected over a 900-year period, and that they were buying an utterly inferior knockoff.   

The prevalence of rope hammocks in America until today is the result of slick marketing, public ignorance, and a giant profit margin.  Profit margins are so huge that now every mass retailers in the world is buying direct from China, selling you the shammock myth however they can, to keep it going as long as possible. 

Two companies dominated the rope hammock trade during the last century.  The marketing of the Pawleys Island Rope Hammock Company and Hatteras Hammocks was admirable.  Several others have copied their business model in the last few years.  There is no patent on a rope hammock, and it's easily reproduced for low cost and sold for high profit.  This is especially true in China and India, where the bulk of rope hammocks originated during the last decade.

Comfort has never driven the success of the rope hammock, but at the hands of one man, two original companies and their successors have embedded an empty image in the minds of Americans by way of viral marketing and television.  They continue to profit from the ignorance of the American public today. 

The shammock scam began with greed.  It is the the ultimate corporate displacement of value - the destruction of pure comfort for profit. 

Public corporations are bound by their duty to shareholders to sell you the least comfort for the highest profit - it's either your money or your comfort.  Which do you want to give up?  AVOID MASS RETAILERS.

Travel anywhere else in the world where people sleep in hammocks - you won't find them made of rope! 

The rope hammock is an icon but it is an empty image.  It is a SHAM.

Don't be fooled by their cousins either:  Quilted hammocks, pillowtop hammocks, trampoline (Textiline®) hammocks, camping hammocks,.  These are just mutations of the same uncomfortable shammock disease, and none of this junk even existed 10 years ago.

Shammocks look like hammocks to most people... someone made it, someone sells it, and you buy it. 

The important missing feature is COMFORT!

Most people see a rope hammock and wrongly assume that there is an intrinsic connection to leisure and comfort. 

Sadly, people who buy shammocks don't realize they are missing their comfort potential, and many give up on the hammock concept altogether.

Fine, tightly-woven, hand-made Mayan hammocks have been around for over 1000 years.  They provide perfect support by design, and restful, therapeutic comfort.  These hammocks are woven by people who understand the nuances of design and the ergonomic requisites for comfort.  These people and their ancestors have slept upon hammocks and used them every day for a millennium!

No one who is concerned about comfort would make a hammock from rope.  No one who is concerned about your comfort would sell one.  Rope eliminates most of the benefit that a true hammock can provide.  Real hammocks are not made of rope. 

Rope hammocks are a quick sketch of the real thing.  A poor copy of a copy of a copy of a copy.   

You can buy a comfortable hammock with wood spreader-bars, or without. Everyone has a preference on this point.  The presence or absence of spreader bars is more about stability than comfort, though these two factors are connected, since you really can't be totally comfortable if you feel less than 100% stable and secure in your hammock. 

The spreader-less, Mayan Style hammocks, are the most stable.  For sleeping comfortably, the Mayan hammocks are unmatched.  They are nearly impossible to roll out of, and provide perfect back support when used properly (lay at an angle).  People who complain that these hammocks "wrap them up" are doing it wrong.  Your body is the spreader in a spreader-less hammock.  Plant your posterior on the exact center of the hammock, lay back at an angle (relative to the ends of the hammock)with head and shoulders at the upper "corner," and with heels tucked into the lower corner of the hammock.

However, if your Mayan hammock is not hanging properly, that is if the end points are stretched too far apart, you will still be disappointed.  Hang the typical Mayan style hammock so the end-loops are no more than 10 to 12 feet apart and about 5 to 6' above ground.  The hammock should have a nice natural arc to it, and the bottom of the hammock should be at your knee height, for ease of entry and exit. 

If you must hang your hammock from points closer together, that is no problem.  Mayan hammocks are quite versatile, made to hang in a pinch.  Better to hang it from 2 points closer together than from 2 points beyond the 12 foot maximum spread.  In order to lay flat in situations where the loops are closer together, you will change your orientation in the hammock, your angle in the hammock will be greater in order to achieve a "flat back position."  That angle depends on the distance between the end-loops. 

Hammocks with bars provide an “always open” look, and this is what some people really want.  Unfortunately, 99% of them are shammocks, and provide support without comfort.  Some people with challenged mobility find these easier to navigate.  But they are easier to fall out of as well, and pose a hidden danger.  The spreader-bars make the hammock unstable and "tippy," as compared to the spreader-less hammock. 

The comfort factor isn't so much about the spreader bars- it is the weave of the hammock body that makes all the difference.  The tight “open weave” hammocks are most comfortable, provide the most air circulation, and body conforming support.  Mayan hammocks are the best example of the tight open weave hammock.

Cotton is the best.  Synthetic materials never compare on comfort.  

Duracord® and Textilene® are fancy names for synthetic materials that subtract comfort from a hammock.  Synthetic materials don't outlast cotton to a degree that makes them a good choice.  All you get with a synthetic material is an uncomfortable hammock that lasts longer.  

Metal and wooden stands for shammocks are abundant.  You can find dozens of bulky, overpriced, disposable contraptions to support shammocks. 

NONE of these properly supports the Mayan or "spreaderless" hammock properly, though most shammock purveyors will gladly sell you one anyhow.

INFINITY™ is The Universal Hammock Stand -the only stand which accommodates any hammock properly (even shammocks).

There are no shortcuts to comfort!  Pay attention, or you'll pay too much and you won't be comfortable.  If you are aiming for comfort, buy hammocks DESIGNED for comfort.  Every retailer claims their hammocks are comfortable, so few companies can back it up.

Support established independent professionals who don't sell rope hammocks.  These are the people who care about the comfort standard, and the integrity of the hammock.  Ask lots of questions before you buy. 

Shop smart.  You CAN pay less and get full comfort value by avoiding the rope hammock and companies promoting that empty image.  Whether you pay $13 or over $200 for a rope hammock, you have paid too much.  Buyer beware.

The trend must be reversed to protect the integrity of the hammock concept, and the comfort and peace it provides humanity. 

Learn more here.