Hammock accessories are essential. Without the clips and hooks you would not be able to hook up most hammocks. The care and maintenance of your hammock is very important. It does not help you if you pay for a hammock hang it up and leave it there to rot. Things like clips to be able to remove the hammock easily, and covers that you could pull over the hammock to protect it all work very well. I have compiled a brief list of the more common accessories that are available to you for the use with and care of your hammock.
Wall hooks.
Wall hooks come in many shapes sizes and strength. But essentially they do what they say. Clip your hammock to an eyebolt mounted onto the wall. It allows you to remove and re-hang it quickly. It also allows you to have a few places that are pre setup to hang the hammock.
Cushions.
Cushions are something that if you do not have and use then you run the risk of getting a serious pain in the neck.
There is a large variety of cushions that you can get. Choose wisely, it will affect your happiness.
Footrests.
Footrests generally are for the hanging chair or hammock chair type of hammock. These have the advantage of turning a chair shaped experience into more of a lying down hammock. The beauty of this is that when you have got tired of lying down you pack the footrest away and bingo, back into a chair.
Ceiling hooks.
As I am a little larger than the normal sized person, the strength of ceiling hooks are very important to me. I prefer the bigger rawlbolt type hook. There are many options. Choose with care. I did pullout a ceiling hook once, bounced flat onto the floor, and never spilt a single drop of my beer.
And the beer was in a mug, and full to the brim.
Springs.
Springs are a personal choice. I found that they tended to make the experience a little too busy. Everything bouncing and swaying, until I wanted to scream. Having said that they save the hammock from tearing as a huge amount of people think a hammock must be dived into. Why they blank out and lose all their brain cells beats me, but I have seen it happen millions of times. The spring will absorb that initial shock. Naturally that specific individual with an IQ of 12 will probably jump into it again as it bounced. Kick him out and send him home!
Hammock stands.
These not only work very well, but generally look fantastic. The fact that you very seldom have two perfectly placed trees means that this stand is a must. And fairly portable.
Hammock chair stands.
Same principle as the above, with one added advantage. You can put this stand in front of your T.V. so now would somebody telephone my wife and please tell her that you give me permission to put my hammock back into the lounge.
Smart rope & outdoor straps.
This term covers an ingenious pre built but adjustable attachment and works very well. It would be best if you simply go and peep at the picture. It will make sense.
Tree straps.
These are designed to give you two functions, one they protect the tree by not cutting deep into the tree, and two, they allow you to hang the hammock up easily and quickly. They do also tend to grip the tree very well.
Hammock storage bags & protective covers.
These hammock storage bags are simply a way to keep your hammock and all its clips etc in a single well cared for bag or a cover that pulls over a hammock that you leave hanging out permanently.
Hammock canopy & Mosquito nets.
Hammock canopies are 99% of the time designed for the hiking and camping lightweight hammocks. These create a sort of tent over you as you lie in your hammock. It protects you from rain dew, insects and fish that fall from the sky.
Carabines & swivel hooks.
Pretty self explainetory. These are important as they tend to stop your hammock having strain placed on it in the bunching areas. Carabines also allow for the easy removal and re-hanging of your hammock.
Tripod stands & tripod & portable trees.
The tripod stand is something I use very often, as it allows me to pile up the chairs around a fire or similar place. Now I must say the “portable tree” thing is brilliant. I once designed the idea from scratch, without having ever seen one and was so pleased with myself when it worked so well. And was so sad to find out that it was already all over the hammock world already. Either way it is very clever.