4A Wednesday, September 7, 2016 The Stayton Mail
R1
Life in the
Valley y
sanews@salem.gannett.com
HOOKED ON
HAMMOCKS
PHOTOS BY ZACH URNESS/STATESMAN JOURNAL
Hammocks make a great way to relax with a mountain view, in this case the Three Sisters.
Hanging beds popular among
hikers, campers and hunters
ZACH URNESS
STATESMAN JOURNAL
A few weeks ago, I was packing for a
week-long camping trip with my fam-
ily.
We had the tent, sleeping bags and a
cooler ready to roll. The propane stove
and matches were stowed in the trunk,
along with air mattresses, flashlights
and sunscreen.
But as we pulled from the driveway
and began driving east, I realized that
we had forgotten something that’s be-
come as essential to camping as mos-
quito repellent.
Hammocks, or, more specifically,
the newly designed styles of hammock
offered by brands such as Eagles Nest
Outfitters and Therm-a-Rest, have
sparked a revolution in the way people
relax between the trees.
The new styles of hammock have
made it so easy to get airborne — as
long as there are trees — that this old
idea is gaining purchase with a new
generation of outdoor explorers.
The appeal of the hammocks is they
turn good situations — like an after-
noon hike — into a great situation.
After hiking 4 miles to a mountain
lake, you can spread your hammock
and read a book (or take a nap). They
can become a slice of tranquility at a
crowded music festival. And, of course,
you can use them in backyards large or
small.
Some even forgo a tent while back-
packing, in favor of these under-the-
starts nylon or polyester beds.
“I don’t think it will ever replace
camping with a tent,” said Kelly Bauer,
who works at Salem Summit Company.
“But they make enough extras now, like
mosquito nets, tarps and under-quilts
Hammocks and the outdoors
What: New style of hammocks that you can
bring hiking, backpacking or even hunting
Cost: ENO’s single hammock costs $59.95
while a double goes for $69.95;
Therm-A-Rest is $69.95 for a single while a
double goes for $79.95; straps are $20 to $30
Where: Salem Summit Company and REI or
online
for warmth, that if you really want to,
you can convert to just hammock camp-
ing,”
Two of the most popular brands
include Eagles Nest Outfitters and
Therm-A-Rest.
ENO uses a nylon, parachute-style
material that’s a bit lighter and a bit
cheaper, said Conor Foley, who also
works at Salem Summit Company. A
single hammock costs $59.95 while a
double goes for $69.95. The straps —
what you use to attach to a tree — goes
for $20 to $30.
Therm-A-Rest uses a nylon material
that’s a bit softer and a bit more expen-
sive, at $69.95 for a single and $79.95
for a double.
The only difference between a single
and double is the amount of material.
People who sleep in the hammocks
typically put their sleeping pad and bag
into the hammock, creating a sort of
nest.
“I’d recommend a single if you’re
just using it in the backyard and a dou-
ble if you want to fit more than one
person or sleep in it,” Foley said.
Bauer said the popularity of ham-
mocks have skyrocketed in recent
years. While it began as a fun niche
Hammocks make a great way to have a place to relax while visiting a lake.
Double hammocks have enough material to hold two people within the same hammock.
used primarily by millennials, the af-
fordable price, light weight and com-
fort has expanded their appeal to every
demographic.
“It’s popular with just about every-
body at this point, even groups I might
not have expected,” she said. “It has
really caught on with hunters, for ex-
ample, and now they make hammocks
with camouflage colors.”
The trick to the hammocks — or at
least what makes them so much better
than older models — are the straps and
weight. The hammock and straps break
down into small and light bags easy to
toss into your backpack. The straps are
easy to wrap around trees and have
multiple points to attach your ham-
mock. The multiple attachment points
mean it’s far easier to adjust the ten-
sion of the hammock without unrav-
eling the entire setup.
If your butt is hitting the ground, in
other words, you can unclip the ham-
mock and move it up the strap for a
tighter fit.
“The hammocks we had growing up,
you kind of had to retie them three or
four times,” Foley said. “These are just
super easy to adjust.”
There are plenty of extras you can
add to a hammock setup. Mosquito nets,
overhead tarps, “drip strips” — that
stop rain from entering the hammock
— can all be bought separately. You can
include battery powered lights, as well,
along with a brace to stop a sleeping
pad from sliding around.
Hammocks, for many, have become
an essential way to experience the out-
doors.
That includes me.
My experience trying to backpack
and sleep in the hammock was so-so —
it was hard to get used to. But I do use
hammocks on all camping trips and
many day hikes. It’s a piece of equip-
ment worth turning the car around for.
Zach Urness, who borrowed a ham-
mock from Salem Summit Company but
did not receive any free gear or extra
money for writing this story, has been
an outdoors writer, photographer and
videographer in Oregon for eight years.
He is the author of the book “Hiking
Southern Oregon” and can be reached
at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or
(503) 399-6801. Find him on Zach Ur-
ness or @ZachsORoutdoors on Twitter.