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Hammock swing

Hammocks are an increasingly popular item of outdoor furniture for good reasons. They are inexpensive, readily mobile, resistant to the effects of weather, breezy and comfortably accommodating. Hammocks provide a surface suspended between upright structures (e.g. trees, posts, etc.) on which a person may lie suspended above the ground. They are especially useful because they may be suspended from trees, poles and many other types of structures, and this feature makes them advantageously adaptable for use in many different types of outdoor environments. Hammocks may thus be used in locales where tents and other types of rest providing equipment may not pragmatically be used due to rocky terrain, excessive vegetation, wet ground surfaces, etc. Consequently, hammocks have been widely used in conjunction with camping and other types of outdoor recreational activities. Because of the recreational popularity of hammocks, numerous types of foldable hammock supporting structures for holding the hammock in an outstretched position have been suggested. The structure of a hammnock is defined as a swingable sheet of material suspended between two attachment points adapted to support a user for the purpose of swinging and relaxation. Hammocks are typically constructed of a sheet of material, often flexible (e.g. canvas, netting, ropes, etc.) gathered at the ends and suspended from upright structures by ropes, straps or like means.  Perhaps one of the most common forms of hammocks is the rope sling hammock. The rope sling hammock is made up of intermeshed rope, usually cotton cords, connected to a pair of spreader bars at each end of the hammock bed. The ropes also interconnect to a chain at each end of the bed with each chain extending to a connection element, such as a hook, on a hammock stand to thus provide two points of connection between the bed and stand. Typical hammocks comprise a sheet of woven materials including two ends secured to trees or posts. In order to support the hammocks, fastening means should be secured to the trees for supporting the hammocks. However, the fastening means may damage the trees. For camping and other recreational activities, different hammocks have been developed to provide shelter from insects, ground dwelling creatures and inclement weather. Being suspended above the ground, hammocks provide a more comfortable, dry, warm and clean surface than do tents.

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