Venture beneath the trees and into the aura that surrounds the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park’s Amphitheater Stage (oldtimers still call it the “Mushroom Stage”) and something becomes clear. People here love their hammocks. Depending on the music festival or concert, they can number into the dozens strung from the Florida live oaks that are a unique part of the musical production. It’s a sight to behold – laser lights shining through the trees and hammocks hung between them.
Whether at a music festival or out camping among nature, it’s easy to become part of #HammockLife. Cop a hang in someone else’s vacant hammock (Unofficial SOSMP Rule: any open hammock and or festival chair is yours to use until the owner returns), or string up your own, hammocks bring a kind of oneness with the venue.
Here at RoadtripMojo, we’ve been big fans of hammocks since before RoadtripMojo was a notion conjured back at the campfire after some late night set. We had a coupla mature trees in front of our suburban Fort Lauderdale home, so we hung a hammock. Subtropical winters make the yard outside a year-round extension of homelife. So, our hammocks get ample use.
(Pro Tip: Keeping your hammock hung permanently is discouraged to avoid UV and rain damage that can shorten your hammock’s life or make it less safe to use – major buzzkill for impromptu sessions on the homefront. If your hammock gets wet, a few hours of sunshine before stuffing it back in its sack can avoid smelly mold and mildew, and ensure years of festival use).
Today, we keep hammocks, hanging straps and carabiners in our RVs and tow vehicles. Because, you never know when opportunity and spirit will converge to create some hang-time. (BTW, no trees to be found? The Hammock Hitch Stand is strong, easy to pack, and ideal for hanging a hammock – or two hammock chairs – from the hitch of your tow vehicle).
With that as a preface, what do we look for in the ideal hammock? First, a distinction: hammocks come generally in two styles. One is the rope hammock made of soft, thick cotton or UV-resistant polyester rope strung through sturdy wood supports. The wood holds wide open the woven fabric that provide ample support and comfort. It’s durable, but heavy and bulky and not for the typical tenter or other space-starved camper.
Then there’s the perfect camper’s companion hammock. Small, light, durable, and easy to stuff in your pack, trailer, or truck, today’s hammocks are tailored to meet varied uses. Consider the Kammok Roo. Fun, functional, and comfortable, the Roo and Roo Double for two are stylish and well-made. Their small size belies the Roo’s healthy dimensions. At 10 feet long and almost six feet wide and triple stitched along seams, the Roo has a weight capacity of around 500 pounds, offering ample space for solo campers or couples, according to some reports.
Anyone who knows these “parachute nylon” hammocks knows how simple and sporty they can be to carry and use. Scrunched snugly in their attached stuff sack, just pull them out, unfurl your Python straps and climbing-grade carabiners (actually called a “suspension system,” with both included with some purchases), and string them up. Light, long, and strong, Kammok’s 10-foot Python straps feature 18 attachment points or loops sewn in to adjust the length based available trees, light poles, or other post-anchors. They’re not a new innovation. But as a life-long hammock fan, their creation was nothing short of genius.
An added safety touch, Kammok’s straps have tracers woven in for high visibility in low-light conditions, like a late-night campsite deep in the woods.
Here at RoadtripMojo, we’ve come to love our Kammok hammocks. So much so, that they’ve become our giveaway of choice for various music festivals and promotions.
What promotion winners and newbie hammockers alike discover is that hammocks aren’t just for the Mushroom Stage or some afternoon siesta at the campsite or suburban homestead. With tarps and rainflys, hammock camping is becoming a fixture of the camping sector. Kammok also sells rainflys, tarps, insulation, and blankets to make wet- or cold-weather hammock camping more humane.
Even for this RV “glamper,” hammock camping is kinda alluring. A hammock camping trip might be in order down the road.
Others think the same thing, including they guy who we woke to find asleep in one of our campsite hammocks a few fests back. Obviously he was versed in the unwritten festival rules. Sleep on, friend…