We've seen hammocks on truck hitches, hammocks on car roofs, and even hammocks inside of pickup beds. But what if it's pouring rain and you still want to hammock? Well, you can either get soaked outside or string your hammock up inside your car with the Car Hammock. Forget the mosquito net and tarp and protect yourself in a climate controlled cocoon of solid sheet metal.
With the hammock explosion that's been going on across the US, the market has branched out into all kinds of weird hammock and hammock-related products – from hammock hot tubs to hammock boats. It was only a matter of time before someone brought a hammock into a car, and Car Hammock has done it.
An interesting idea that's hit some bumps along the way, the Car Hammock serves as a lesson for startups in the digital age. The company initially got a small batch of 100 hammocks to market in 2016/17 before the internet got a hold of the idea of hammocking in the car and sent the hammocks flying off shelves much faster than Car Hammock could keep up. The company tried to place a larger order with its manufacturer, but the manufacturer countered by raising pricing and Car Hammock was stuck – the type of folks excited about hammocking in cars don't tend to get excited about big price hikes.
So Car Hammock went back to the drawing board, redesigned its product based on feedback, added a larger model for SUVs, found a manufacturer that hit the sweet spot in pricing and quality, and is now relaunching its product via Kickstarter. It hopes to raise the capital it needs to buy materials in sufficient quantities to get hammocks flying into cars all over the land.
The Car Hammock is about as simple as it sounds, which is probably a good thing – who wants to put in a lot of work before surrendering to a suspended siesta in an Altima? The rectangular fabric has adjustable corner and side straps that run out the doors, wrapping and hooking to the vehicle for support.
Set-up will vary by vehicle model, but Car Hammock's video shows the front straps of its OG model wrapping around the windshield, with anchor straps hooking to the front edge of the hood. The side straps wrap around the roof, and the rear straps wrap around the rear window and anchor to the trunk. The newer SUV Car Hammock XL model sets up a little differently using multiple roof straps.
Once the straps are in place, you can close the car doors over them, jump into your hammock and enjoy lounging over top your reclined car seats within the protective comfort of your car cabin. Like so:
Stringing a hammock up in your car could be great in a lot of situations: camping overnight, particularly on impromptu trips when you don't have a tent, escaping the heat to grab a little rest in the air-conditioned car cabin, waiting out a quick rainstorm, or just generally chilling out during times you can't or don't want to sling a hammock between a pair of trees.
The Car Hammock is not the cleanest design we've ever seen and leaves us wondering if those straps are going to scratch up the paint or otherwise damage the vehicle after continual use. But we guess if you really want to set up a hammock inside your car, your options are pretty limited. Compromises.
The original Car Hammock was designed primarily for use with four-door sedans, but its creators say that it can be adapted to other vehicles, like trucks, 4x4s and vans, while the new Car Hammock XL is designed for SUVs. Car Hammock does not have a solution for two-door coupes but says it's working on it. There are also certain vehicle features that will interfere with mounting, so anyone looking to buy one should probably take a look at Car Hammock's fitting page first.
Car Hammock launched its Kickstarter campaign on Thursday and is offering the smaller OG version for pledge levels starting at US$59 and the XL starting at $76. The campaign is on a slow but steady march toward its $8,760 goal, having surpassed the $1,100 mark as of publishing. If the campaign is a success, and everything continues along as planned, deliveries will begin in September – a good time of year when nighttime temperatures start to drop to the point at which you might prefer a hammock in the car over in the trees.
Source: Car Hammock
