Hangouts Hammocks &: Hanging Chairs General InformationHangouts Hammocks &: Hanging Chairs General InformationCOMPARISON OF MATERIALS FOR DURABILITY: We rate our hammocks for one, two, three, or four person capacity. Each type of hammock is made of different types of materials. Some of the materials are made from fine string, some are thick string and others are made from fibers which are woven into solid fabrics. Some hammocks made with thin strings can hold more weight than a solid fabric hammock, however, the indivual strings can be easily broken if the user is careless. One recommendation we have is that people who have a tendency to careless or who do not want to take the care necesssary to maintain a thin string hammock should choose either the thick string type or the solid fabric models. The same recommendation is true for those with rambuncious, energetic children. The thicker string hammocks and fabric hammocks are less prone to damage by careless users.
The thick string cotton hammocks and the solid fabric cotton hammocks are 100% cotton and resist deterioration from sunlight and ambiant UV light. The thin string Mayan hammocks are 100% cotton beds and have synthetic nylon arms. The synthetic materials will gradually break down from exposure to light.
COTTON vs. NYLON: Advantages of cotton are: greatly increased comfort due to the natural resilency of cotton; cotton has a softer feel against the skin; the very best resistance to breakdown from UV light present in daylight (both in sunlight and indirect light); damage is more easily mended. Advantages of nylon are: the material dries quickly; if you are backpacking a wet nylon hammock holds very little water whereas, a wet cotton hammock has a much more substancial weight increase. Disadvantages of cotton: the thin strings can be broken by careless users. Although water does not harm the material, it is necessary to make sure the hammock dries within several days of getting wet. If, for example, it rains in the morning and the afternoon is sunny then the hammock will probably dry in the afternoon. Mildew only propagates when the materials never dry out. It usually takes several days to a week and a half for mildew to begin growing. Of course if you hang the hammock when you use it and take it down afterwood and store it in a dry place, then there is no chance of mildew. Disadvantages of nylon: the synthetic nylon materials have a much harder feel and detracts from the comfort of the hammock. The cotton hammocks are much more comfortable than the nylon. However, the 'Backpacker's Dream' Nylon, because it is a very thin sheet of nylon, molds much better to the user's body than the string nylon hammocks.
GIFTS: Customers are very pleased with our hammocks and we often get many folks who return to purchase hammocks as gifts for weddings, father's day, mother's day, house warming gifts, etc.
LIFESPAN: We have many customers who return 10 or 15 years later to purchase a new hammock. These are the people who follow our care instructions, which are included with every hammock. There are others who return more often, some folks get a new one every year. The lifespan depends on how the user cares for the hammock and if, when it is used outside, they are left hanging or taken inside after use.
SAFETY: Are hammocks safe? Certainly, it is obvious that safety depends upon the user. However, some types of hammocks provide safer use than others. The Mayan and Brazilian hammocks do not have wood bars at the ends. This increases their safety because they can not tip. This non-tip feature is extremely important because there have been many injuries caused by hammocks which tip unexpectedly. For instance, if two people are sitting in a hammock and one gets up, the wood bar hammock could dump the other on the ground. We have heard of people breaking collar bones or getting a concussion who used the wood bar hammocks. Kids often play pranks on each other including tipping over the occupant of a hammock and this can lead to injuries. In comparison, one would not want to ride a bike which tipped over easily. Another disadvantage of many wood bar hammocks is the weave spacing on the American style is very large and thus there is very little surface area that the body rests on. Therefore, the materials cut into the body and back. After, laying in these for even short periods of time the user begins to develop sore points which can eventually lead to back problems. If a hammock with large weave spacing can tip then the users arms or legs can get caught and be twisted such that injury might occur, including broken arms or ankles. Why risk this when the safer non-tip Mayan and Brazilian hammocks are available.
The Mayan and Brazilian have been proven to give comfortable support even if the user stays in for days. (See 10 day "Guiness Book record breaking using Mayan Hammocks" ...soon to be published). Mayan and Brazilian give excellent back support and can even be used in relaxing the back muscles, thus improving the healing process for sore backs and necks.
The instructions we include with our hammocks explain how to use them safely and we urge people to read them, even if they have used hammocks before.
QUALITY CONTROL: All our Mayan & Brazilian hammocks are the best quality handmade hammocks available. We have been working with the same hammock-makers for 20 years and have two levels of quality control. In the country of origin, each hammock is checked by an individual other than the hammock-weaver after the hammock is finished. Before, the hammock is shipped from Hangouts in the USA our employees also check the hammock for defects in materials, workpersonship and shipping damage.