Crowdfunding Campaign for “Hot Tub Hammock” Raises $42,000
OutdoorHub Reporters 07.13.15
If there is one thing a lot of people miss during long hunting and camping trips, it is access to hot water. Sinking into a nice, warm bath will have to be something that most people put aside until they get home, but one Oregon-based inventor wants to change that. Earlier this month Benjamin Frederick launched his Kickstarter campaign for the “Hydro Hammock,” a contraption that essentially turns a high-tensile-strength hammock into a portable heated bathtub.
“The idea for this came to me by chance. I ordered extra durable material to make an ultra-strong hammock for suspending high in the trees,” Frederick said in a trailer for the crowdfunding campaign. “The heat of that day and the security of the hammock gave me the idea to add water. It worked.”
You can watch the trailer below:
The Hyrdo Hammock claims to be highly portable: as long as you are near a source of water, the hammock is good to go. It works by using Frederick’s portable heater system, which draws water from a stream or a lake, filters it, heats it, and then pumps it into a insulated hammock. Basically, the system allows a hot bath wherever you can lug the heater system.
“The Water Heater System also works as an outdoor shower which with a basin and strainer/filter one may take a 2 hour shower with less then 3 gallons of water,” states the Kickstarter campaign.
To many outdoors enthusiasts, that sounds like a dream come true. Yet this luxury does not come cheap. At the pre-order retail price, a Hydro Hammock can run from $480 to $680, while the heating system can cost $1,950. However, those who order from the Kickstarter campaign will receive a significant discount. The Hydro Hammock may also be too heavy and bulky for some uses, weighing in at a hefty 60 pounds for just the heating system, and about 15 to 20 pounds for the individual hammocks.
Regardless of its price tag, the Hydro Hammock seems to have drawn its fair share of fans. With 15 days left in its campaign as of Monday, the Hydro Hammock already raised $42,000 of its $50,000 goal.
“It is a unique invention which offers so much to the future,” Frederick said.
The inventor added that the initial run will be about 1,000 hammocks.
What do you think? Would you take one on a camping trip? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
