Our Adventures at HangCon 2022

We had the privilege and honor of attending HangCon (the country’s largest hammock gathering) as vendors in January. Imagine a huge campground FULL of hammock campers! It was a sight to behold. Hundreds of campers filled the space, and we saw all types of set-ups, from tree-hangers to car hangers to hammock stands. This is a perfect example in which a camping hammock stand comes in super handy. Good hammock trees are never guaranteed. In this case, we wanted to leave the good tree spots for the other participants.

YOBO found a great camping spot in an open, grassy area by the water. Cal set up his Cricket Stand with a tarp and I used my Freedom Stand a few feet away. We also set up both models at our vendor booth in front of the main activity area. We didn’t have to use any trees, vehicles, or existing structures for either our campsite or our vendor booth!

So many wonderful people approached us and introduced themselves. They were all outdoor lovers so we heard tons of good adventure stories. We also talked to many people who were in the market for a camping hammock stand. Here is what they said:

Reasons to take a hammock stand camping:

The main and most obvious reason you’d need a hammock stand is the lack of tree availability. At HangCon, we heard so many different versions of this story:

• Folks who had driven for hours only to arrive at the campground and see a sign that prohibited hammocks in trees.
• Someone whose close friend ended up with broken bones after he hung his hammock from a dead tree and it fell on him.
• People who sometimes camp on the prairie or beach where there are no trees.
• Someone who needed to move their camp spot because another camper set up waaaaay too close to them. (Isn’t that the worst!?)

Generally, people want a dependable hammock set-up no matter where they are going to be camping. A good hammock stand removes the variables and allows for this.

What Are YOBOgear’s Options?

We’ve got plenty.

First up, our favorite: The Cricket Stand. We love Cricket because she is completely free-standing. This means she requires ZERO staking or anchoring. Set her up once, then move her an infinite amount of times. (At HangCon, we brought our Cricket close to the stage so we could watch the raffle presentation up close, then moved her right back to our camp spot for the night.) Cal used his with a 12′ tarp and stayed warm and dry, even when it rained or when temps dipped down to freezing.

First Pic: Cal’s hammock and tarp from Walhalla Hammocks (We highly recommend this brand for hammocks, tarps, and quilts.)

Second Pic: We wanted to see if a Haven tent would work on the Cricket… YEP! It does!

Side note: We got to meet Derek, the man behind Haven Tents at HangCon and he is a great person. We love his products and are excited to see what his company is doing! Cal slept in his Haven for half of HangCon and was very comfortable, warm, and dry.

Next, The Freedom Stand! The Freedom requires a little more creativity, as she needs to be anchored, either to a heavy object or staked into the ground. You could use two sides for your entire set-up, or hang your hammock from a tree or vehicle and just use one side. We do have tarp extensions available for the Freedom Stand so keeping the rain and wind out is no problem.

First two pics: These were NOT at HangCon — turns out we didn’t get any great pics of Kristen’s Freedom Stand at the event, so here are some pics from a different camping trip in the Montana Beartooths.

Third pic: The only pic of Kristen’s hammock (also a Walhalla design) at HangCon 2022. 😀

Keep (at least) One on Hand

All of our hammock stand models are not just portable — they’re packable. This means they pack down small enough to put in your backpack, kayak, bike, motorcycle, or vehicle. We have two hammock stands in the back of our car at all times just in case! If you’re in the market for a camping hammock stand, we’d love to help you out. We are always available via e-mail and our contact form through this website. If you’d like to see our products in action, check out our YouTube channel, or come see us at a live event (calendar coming soon)!

We ended up selling quite a few of each model at HangCon. Once people saw them in person, they understood just how valuable it is to have a high quality hammock stand. You can see customer reviews on Google or on the product pages of our website so you don’t have to take our word for it.

Happy hammocking!