(Sorry for the lack of blog posts as of late, Trek Light Gear has been keeping me busy and I promise to make every effort to make blogging a more frequent affair)
I came across this article yesterday which had some great parts worth sharing:
“The next time you’re out of gift ideas for someone, maybe you’ll consider a hammock. “I couldn’t imagine a better Mother’s Day gift,” says Cranch, 56, the program director of the Retired & Senior Volunteer Program in Fresno, Calif. “It’s total relaxation” when you’re in it. Tom Boehm of Madera, Calif., also received his first hammock as a gift. His wife, Tammie, gave it to him almost a decade ago for his 40th birthday. “It kind of surprised me, but it’s a pretty cool idea,” says Boehm, 49, co-owner of S&J Lumber in Madera. “I never really thought about having one, but I really like it and use it quite a bit.” As Cranch and Boehm have discovered, once you’ve experienced the weightless, rocking sensation that comes with resting in a hammock, you might not be able to do without this leisure activity again.”I especially got a kick out of the part about how hard it can be to get in and out of a hammock:
“Once you’ve found a hammock to your liking and put it up properly, getting in and out of one can be a balancing act if you’ve never attempted it before. John O’Connell, the executive vice president of sales and merchandising for Long-Island-City, N.Y.-based 1800mattress.com, has found himself on the ground trying to get into a hammock. The company sells one style of hammock in addition to mattresses. The hammock had just been set it up in the showroom. “I said, ‘This is kind of neat.’ I never sat on one before, and the whole thing flipped. I just didn’t really read or listen to the instructions.” Now he knows. Stand with your backside facing the hammock in the middle of the hammock. Then “I pull the edge to the back of my knees, position myself in the center, spin my backside and then lay (down) my feet,” he says. “If you don’t do it that way and sit in the center, you’re going to flip.” Any newcomers who want to climb into the hammock at Cranch’s family cabin will get tips on using it first. “We give people a quick tutorial about getting into it,” she writes in an e-mail. “Aim your fanny at the very center of the hammock. Sit down, then quickly fling your arms and legs into position and make minor adjustments in balance with your fanny. “I can’t tell you how many people have been ejected on their first attempt at getting into the thing, but once you have the knack, it is heavenly comfortable.”
Obviously they’ve never experienced the joy of the Trek Light Gear No-Flip hammock design.
I’ve met so many people who are genuinely afraid to get in a hammock because of the number of times they’ve been dumped on the ground by other hammocks. To me a hammock shouldn’t be about keeping your balance or needing an instruction manual to get in it without getting hurt. How are you supposed to relax when a wrong movement can send you flying on the ground?