If you have been outdoors much at all, you know that the hammock market is dominated by one name brand: Eagle Nest Outfitters. (Caleb Arisman wrote an excellent piece on Enos, which you can read here.) Enos are portable and durable, but a hammock and straps could cost you $100 or more. Michael Whiteley saw that hammocking was becoming very popular but realized that a lot of the hammocks were way overpriced. He set out to make a quality hammock at half the price of the other guys, and Bear Butt Hammocks was born. They sold their first hammock last November and have not looked back. Soon they were selling 300 hammocks a day. Their hammocks are $35, but perhaps the most unique portion of their value proposition is their “Way too easy money back promise” Per their website:
“Hot diggity that means that at any time for any reason – seriously.. any time and any reason you aren’t stoked with your Bear Butt Gear or a ninja comes by and chops it to pieces. We will give you a FULL REFUND or a REPLACEMENT. Bam! That is pure respect right there… Shaaaaaambamskies!”
Given the prevalence of ninja attacks, it’s no wonder that Bear Butt Hammocks is exploding as a leading alternative to more pricey hammock brands.
What an amazing startup story! It goes to show that if something is overpriced in a market, it is only a matter of time before someone else starts selling it for a more reasonable amount. I love the video as well. Very inspiring!
As someone whose spent $100 on an ENO, its hard to see things like this haha. I guess in the overpriced hammock market, it was only a matter of time before others decided to get on board. I would love to see review on the quality of the hammocks tho! Maybe id look into buying one myself.
What a great idea! This company found a way to differentiate themselves in the hammock market and generate business. Great customer service makes people more likely to buy, especially since the hammock is inexpensive. This post actually gives me buyer’s remorse for purchasing an ENO without any guarantee against ninja attacks. Perhaps I shall put this on my Christmas wishlist. You could probably even work something out with this company to see if they would give you commission off of any sales from your post, since they love their customers.