Case study: Hennessey Hammocks

History of the Hammock

Nearly all sources of hammock information mention Christopher Columbus in the discovery of the hammock. However, the hammock actually dates back more than 1,000 years ago to Central America, far before Columbus was alive. The hammock was used as a form of protection against harmful creatures on the ground. Christopher Columbus was introduced to the hamaca (hammock) during his travels at the end of the 15th Century by the Taino Indians, a Haitian tribe, in which he brought a variety of hammocks to Europe where they gained appeal. During this time, European weavers began crafting hammocks out of cotton, canvas, and other cloths, as well as sending these materials to weave hammocks in the New World. By the mid 16th century in many parts of the world, the hammock was used as an alternative to the traditional bed. Around 1590, hammocks were adopted for use in sailing ships; the Royal Navy formally adopted the canvas sling hammock in 1597. (History in Headlines, 2011)

Hamaca (hammock)

Source: http://revistapesquisa.fapesp.br/en/2012/08/30/science-to-create-a-nation/

Hammocks quickly gained widespread appeal by both the wealthy and the underprivileged, and by the end of the 19th century, the first commercial, mass produced, hammocks were available.

Today, we have expanded on the traditional hammock with improvements to design, materials, and comfort. Some hammocks are still used for weather and insect protection with the addition of enclosed nets and a rain flysheet, and some are simply used as a luxurious relaxation portal. Hammocks today often represent relaxation, serenity, and comfort. (History in Headlines, 2011)

Naval Hammocks

Source: http://www.steelnavy.org/history/items/show/137

The Modern Camping hammock

The modern camping hammock, like many modern products, owes its origins to military applications. The United States Army developed their own version of the jungle hammock, complete with rain proof fly and sandfly netting for use by U.S. and Allied forces in tropical jungle regions such as Burma during World War II. Later U.S. Army hammocks issued during the Vietnam War were thought to reduce the incidence of disease and illness.

WWII Jungle Hammock

Source: http://bushcraftusa.com/forum/showthread.php/52123-Old-Photo-WWII-Jungle-Hammock

The Hennessy Camping Hammock

The HENNESSY HAMMOCK was invented by Tom Hennessy, an industrial designer living on Galiano Island off the west coast of Canada. At the age of 16, Tom would make 200 mile, weekend bicycle trips out of Washington D.C. into the Appalachian Mountains. He carried a minimum of food & water, a light sleeping bag and a WWII surplus U.S. Army jungle hammock. After losing the hammock at university he decided to duplicate his old army hammock from memory during a winter vacation.

Over the next six years he made over fifty different prototypes for his winter ventures into the Everglades, Costa Rica and Mexico and by 1998, it was finished, he could not add or subtract any features which would further simplify or improve the design.

Up to that point, Tom was working on this as a personal design problem but when finished he began to think that this was something that could be marketed and that other backpackers might enjoy as a substitute for a tent. Tom demonstrated the product to Canadian and American outdoor chain stores and they both enthusiastically decided to carry the Hennessy Hammock. They sold over 2300 units that first year, more than any other new product at that time and Tom was credited with created an entirely new segment in the outdoor industry. (Hiking in Finland, 2010)

Modern Hi-Tec Camping Hammock

Source: http://user.xmission.com/~jungle/models/nx250/index.php

In 1999 he decided to start a web page and sell hammocks online. A web site is one of the best first things a small home-based business can do to find a market before they move into retailers. Because of all the feedback he has received from users, Toms website has grown to about 130 pages of tips and information. He has Canadian, U.S. and now international patents on many of his innovative improvements in hammock design. All Hennessey Hammock products and information on hammock camping can be found at Toms web site: http://hennessyhammock.com/

Originally manufactured in Washington USA and assembled and packaged in Canada, Hennessey Hammocks still produce small runs of some products in the US and Canada, but after a couple of years their US manufacturer could not keep up with demand so many of their most popular models are now made in China. (Hennessy Hammocks, 2014)

Hennessey Hammocks in New Zealand

In 2004 Tom decided that two summers were better than one, bought a little cabin in the mountains in Athol near Queenstown, New Zealand and set up a design studio to start prototyping as many ideas as he could. Although his hammocks are still made in the US and China most of his new design ideas come from his New Zealand design studio.

Hennessy hammocks now stock 11 different designs of hammock and numerous hammock accessories from under hammock insulation to rucksacks and cookware. (Hennessy Hammocks, 2014)

the Hennessey Hammock story.

Procedural Knowledge

Procedural knowledge is the knowing of design processes, problem solving, strategic thinking, and includes understanding of technological principals within a given context (Turnbull, 2002). Tom Hennessey was an industrial designer and as such would have had existing experience in the design process. This high level of procedural knowledge would have allowed him to focus his time more efficiently and possibly also explain the high number of prototypes required for his final outcome. Prototyping and trialling are a significant part of the design process and a good example of procedural knowledge. Much of modern design is supported by computer software yet for a product whose main function is comfort, a 2D model of any sort has limited use. Tom sewed his own prototypes as working hammocks thus allowing him to test the aesthetics, functionality, size and comfort plus working models allowed his friends and family to field test them all to gain valuable feedback. De Vries and Tamir (1997) talk about this , “often there is a gap between idealised theory in science and the practice of engineers, a theoretical scientific concept has to be transformed to a more practical component in order to be usable by engineers”. Tom’s technique is obviously successful and his extensive use of prototyping has given him the knowledge of ‘how’ his hammock should work, ‘how’ it could be improved, ‘how’ it should look and feel and ‘how’ it should be used for maximum ease and comfort. Then, more importantly, it has helped him decide what to do next with this new knowledge.

Conceptual Knowledge

Tom’s continual need to develop his product through over 50 prototypes with personal trials, friend’s feedback and fault finding is an example of conceptual knowledge, he inherently understood the concepts within the systems and used knowledge drawn from all other areas to develop his successful hammock designs. His original design relied heavily on the WWII jungle hammock he was trying to re-create, yet he used the scientific knowledge that came from it combined with new up to date scientific knowledge to pull his designs performance not only into the present but also into the future with his innovative bottom entry hammock and silnylon materials. He utilized his conceptual knowledge of waterproof yet breathable fabrics, which were already widely used for waterproof clothing, to prevent condensation forming within the hammock and his conceptual knowledge of environmental impact to introduced tree strops to help protect trees used to support the hammock. These are both examples of the use of conceptual knowledge to modify a design. Another area of conceptual knowledge that is of vital importance to hammock design is ergonomics, the relationship between the designed object and the human body. Much of Tom’s prototyping was spent around the issue of ease of entry and exit from the hammock plus of course the comfort while sleeping. Hennessey hammocks now offer 2 sizes of hammock to allow customers to choose the correct hammock for their size. Tom's conceptual knowledge of marketing lead him to create his own website early on in his company's development and this has proved extremely successful in not only sales and marketing but in receiving customer feedback as well. Tom’s knowledge and research gave him the factual information to develop his designs but it was his understanding of the rules and systems within a hammock design that allowed him to develop his product fully.

Summary

The name Tom Hennessy may not be spoken in the same hushed tones as Steve Jobs (Apple) or Mark Elliot Zuckerberg (Facebook) but he may still have been responsible for creating a whole new segment in the outdoor industry, and in this process has acquired new knowledge and higher levels of understanding. His perseverance with numerous prototypes and continuous research and evaluation have created a range of products that reflect his technological knowledge and drive. Turnbull (2002) states that “like the iterative design/build process of technology, the houses of knowledge within technology offer the freedom to move between them, with new knowledge gained in one area contributing to better understanding in another”. Toms innovative hammock designs are a perfect example of this.

Tom has used his practical / technical skills to create a series of hammocks with many new innovative ideas that are in reality an expression of his combined declarative, conceptual and procedural knowledge. The addictive and repetitive nature of competent technological practice ensures that Tom’s designs will continue to evolve and improve, possibly only resulting in subtle improvements over time but improvements all the same. I look forward to his next hammock innovation.