http://www.outdoorgearlab.com/Hammock-Reviews
I usually think OGL has really helpful reviews. Unfortunately, when they wrote this article about hammocks I just don't think they tried very hard.
Any google search about camping hammocks delivers links to HF which is a treasure trove of information. It takes at most five minutes to find half a dozen hammocks which are often considered better than the ones they reviewed.
I wonder if someone should reach out and contact them, politely, about this.
s
In their defense they tested hammocks that can be bought off the rack in nearly any outdoor retailer. So ease of acquisition was probably a deciding factor in what to present as that is where most people start, by picking up that hammock from REI on a whim.
*Heaven best have trees, because I plan to lounge for eternity.
Good judgement is the result of experience and experience the result of bad judgement. - Mark Twain
Trail name: Radar
2014 Smoked Butt Hang Planning Thread | Sign up Sheet
while true the over all tone of the review seemed to lean towards the negative and one has no business reviewing something they seem to have no clue about. in other words they were not qualified to perform the review they did. just my 2c worth......Originally Posted by Catavarie
quote:
"In general we find that several of the tested models, especially when strung tight (a necessity to get rid of extra sag that will result in back pain in the morning), have a tight center ridge line and/or tight sides that wrap up around us, pouring our mass into the center and creating quite a claustrophobic sleeping experience."
"We fully acknowledge that sleeping in a hammock is most definitely not for everyone. In fact, we strongly recommend against it for anyone with general back or neck pain,"
OutdoorGearLab usually does a much better job than just running to the nearest retailer. For example, they've reviewed stuff from enlightened equipment, jacksrbetter, and zpacks. I wish they were as thorough in their hammock reviews as they were in their other reviews.
It hurt looking at the picture of him laying straight down the middle...
I may be dumb, but at least I'm ugly!
I've done so much, with so little, for so long, now I can do anything with nothing.
It's not peer pressure, it's just your turn.
Makes you wonder if the whole operation is run out of someone's dark dingy basement. Seems they told some joker to go buy whatever hammocks he could find and do a review however he wanted. Definitely no expert. My 12 year old son could've done a much better job.
Disappointing, Outdoor Gear Lab
Expect the Best,
Prepare for the Worst
Attributed to some poor guy who ran into Murphy,
Too many times
Outdoor gearlabs is part of Outdoor magazine. If you did through the history of the magazine they are result of someone with deep pockets buying all the serious competition and rolling them into one magazine. That put them into the position of controlling much of the advertising thus collecting most of the advertising dollars. In order to keep the dollars coming they need to make their advertisers happy. Who are the advertisers? ;-(
If you think I am picking on Outside you are missing the point. The same thing happened with several other areas where there used to be competition and real information. Any magazine review will focus on what they can get from their vendors. Possibly there will be a token cottage source. Possibly. All hobby fields have a plethora of small producers with a better mousetrap who do not advertise because it is not in their budget or their pocket book. That is why I take all reviews with a grain of salt.
YMMV
HYOH
Free advice worth what you paid for it. ;-)
Clearly a review done by folks who know little or nothing about our world.
I am going to politely contact them and let them know that they may want to do a follow-up after properly researching the subject and expanding the scope of models tested/reviewed. I will also recommend that they spend some time on hammockforums.net in order to review the various threads written and responded to by countless thousands who have figured this whole thing out. Frustrating to read their conclusions when it is abundantly clear that they have little or no practical trail experience in a hammock.
The current review is something that, in the vernacular, could be compared to:
"overloading your hummingbird *** with your alligator mouth".
Just saying..........
All the best to my fellow hangers.... Hoorah !
Gil
Just Hanging Out !
Eh, its a review, and reviews are pretty much just an opinion anyway.
Example of any publicity is good, even when long list of items author could have done much better at, and he wrote stuff that made us cringe repeatedly. He obviously does not like to read/research. Hopefully readers will search internet and find HF and better ways to strap to trees, sleep, UQ, and better tarps etc. I laughed at idea of 6 months hiking with all hammocks in pack entire time! Could he not leave some at base camp, occasionally? Obviously he does not have a military or technical background. Bottom line this article could get people interested in hammock camping and then they will join HF and learn enough to be successful and eventually become experts for life.
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