From Camping to Product Designs

MY ARMS GOT TIRED FIRST.

Hammock Ridgeline Phone Holder

I spend a lot of nights hammock camping, and one small annoyance kept coming back: watching a video meant holding my phone above my face the whole time. A hammock is supposed to be relaxing. My arms disagreed.

I looked at hammock phone holders already out there. Some used bulky plastic parts—one more thing to pack, carry, and eventually forget. Others hung the phone inside a clear plastic pouch, which worked, but put a layer of plastic between me and the screen. I wanted something smaller, simpler, and easy to leave on the hammock all the time.

My solution uses magnets to hold the phone and four adjustable webbing straps to suspend it from the hammock ridgeline. By changing the length of the straps, I can adjust both the position and angle of the screen, whether I’m lying on my back or turning to one side. When I’m done, it simply stays on the hammock. It’s small enough that I never need to take it off—which also means I can’t forget it on my next trip.

MY SISTER LOVED IT. SO DID THE MOSQUITOES.

Tripod Hammock Bed with Mosquito Net

My sister loved the tripod hammock bed. She could climb in, stretch out, read, and happily stay there for hours. Unfortunately, the mosquitoes seemed just as excited about it. A tent has walls. A camping hammock can have a bug net. Our tripod hammock bed had…nothing.

So I went looking for a mosquito net that could work with it. I searched around, but couldn’t find anything designed for a freestanding hammock bed like ours. Apparently, this was a problem I was going to have to solve myself.

I designed a full mesh enclosure around the bed, with enough room inside to sit up, lie down, and move around comfortably. Suddenly, our open hammock bed became a little bug-free room in the woods.

My sister got her hammock bed back. The mosquitoes were no longer invited.

SHE WANTED TO SEE WITHOUT BEING SEEN.

Hide-and-Seek Tent

When my sister was little, she loved playing hide-and-seek outside with her friends. One day she announced that the perfect hiding place would let her see everyone looking for her—while they couldn’t see her. Basically, she wanted an unfair advantage.

That gave me an idea. I remembered those funny pinhole glasses covered with tiny holes: you can still see through them even though most of the surface is blocked. Could I do something similar with a tent?

Luckily, fabric is one thing I’ve never had trouble finding. My dad works with textiles, so I’ve grown up around all kinds of materials. I started looking for one that could create the effect I wanted, and eventually built a dark perforated band around the upper part of the tent. From the darker inside, my sister could look through the tiny openings and keep an eye on everyone outside. From the brighter outside, it was much harder to see her hiding inside.

The result was probably not a very fair hide-and-seek tent. My sister didn’t seem to mind.

One-Side Pole Teepee Design