Selecting the Perfect Hammock Is Often Anything But a Breeze
April 28, 2011
Easy, maybe, but picking a hammock is hard. That stalwart of summer sloth, the hammock, has become a high-end luxury accessory available in a bewildering variety of styles, materials and even points of origin. Swings & Things of Orlando, Florida, offers Mayan hammocks, Brazilian hammocks and Taino hammocks (different styles, materials and designs), each for about $65 to $99, along with the standard rope hammock. Hammocks Etc. of Ormond, Fla., sells hammocks from six countries, while Mcanally Laws of Greenville, N.C., offers hammocks with Velcro-attached pillows for the ultimate in lolling about. ''Every executive on Wall Street should hang one in his office,'' says Michaele Cushing, owner of Hammocks Etc. ''For stress relief, you can't beat it.'' Many American rope hammocks come with spreaders or stretcher bars: wood bars at the end that prevent the hammocks from rolling up into a cocoon. Most South American hammocks don't and have more of a womblike feeling. Hammocks got their name from the hamack tree, native to South America; natives made hammocks from the bark of the tree. Early sailors, including Christopher Columbus, picked up the practice in the West Indies, and it soon became routine for sailors to sleep in the slings of suspended knots, the waves rocking them to sleep. Hammocks are a common Father's Day gift, although uber-homemaker Martin Sung also suggests them as fine wedding gifts. Among the biggest manufacturers is Hatteras Hammocks, which sells its wares through L.L. Bean, among other outlets. Its extra-large deluxe hand-woven cotton rope hammock, with oak stretchers, a rustproof stand and an attached pillow, sells for $244. For $1,500, you can buy a Hatteras hammock with a ''French arc'' elaborate wrought-iron base. At Hammocks Etc., would-be slackers can order a custom-designed hammock, handmade with the design and colors of their choice, by Yucatan weavers. It is large enough to cradle three people, costs about $225 and takes three months to finish. Ideally, the hammock should be tethered between two leafy trees spaced 10 feet to 16 feet apart. Most hammocks will require some tinkering before they are secured: too taut, and it feels like a bed of nails, but too loose, and it's a lawn-scraping bean-bag chair. Hammock manufacturers advise that the outdoor sofas should be hung low enough so that a person doesn't have to lunge or hop up backward to get in, and high enough so that getting out of it is enough of a bother to discourage movement. --Alexandra Peers
