Policies/FAQ

  1. Policies
  2. Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
  3. About us

Policies

Warranty

We warrant our products against defects in materials and workmanship for life. We will repair, replace, or refund at our option. Warranty applies to original owners, and is not transferable.

We design our products to be repairable to cover ordinary mishaps, wear and tear, and will strive to offer suitable service components indefinitely.

Returns

You may return new, undamaged merchandise for thirty days from receipt. We do ask you to pay return shipping. Please email us for return instructions.

We do not accept returns or credit for subcomponents bundled with complete products. For example, if you buy or make lines or anchors to replace those bundled with one of our stands, we do not offer to buy back the originals.

Shipping

We strive to ship orders within 3-5 days of receipt, usually faster. Our online shipping quotation service can’t show all available carriers and rates. We will email you if we see a significantly less expensive method available, especially on international shipments, and offer to switch carriers, refunding you excess charged.

While nearly all shipping methods include some insurance, packages are sometimes unreasonably delayed, and very rarely, lost. We have no control or ultimate responsibility for delivery after parcels leave our hands. Problems are more common with international than US shipments. For international orders over $500, we encourage you to purchase additional insurance, and will contact you with options to do so.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

When will I receive my order?

It depends on the shipping method you choose, how many orders come in ahead of yours, and sometimes whether the products you order are ready to ship. Sometimes we ship same day, but we ask 3-5 days processing as a general rule. USPS quotes estimated transit times per method at checkout, and you will receive tracking information. Note that at least 10% of the time, USPS fails to scan in parcels that are in fact moving through the system, so “label created; USPS awaiting item” status does not reliably mean we haven’t shipped.

What about discounts?

We don’t do them. We rely mainly on word of mouth among happy customers to drive sales, not discounts or email-invasive sales tactics. Are you a veteran or first responder? We are both. You’re not missing out.

Do you ship to my country?

We ship worldwide. Our site software will quote the rate before you check out. We do not quote manually. We provide only accurate customs declarations. We use USPS primarily, as they are generally the most economical. We can ship UPS or DHL, and will often alert you should those options be much cheaper or faster.

Do you ship overnight?

No. By the time we arrange the expedited shipping, it usually would have been faster the normal way. Also, only some of our products are available instantly off the shelf. Most require processing/assembly from parts, which takes time. Finally, we strongly recommend practicing setup of our stands before needed; rush delivery often means setting up for the first time in trying conditions, with less than great results sometimes!

What are the dimensions of Tensa4 after assembly?

Because all the joints are flexible, the stand is almost infinitely adjustable, so has no fixed dimensions. Final size is driven by the hammock, your body and its weight distribution, and your lay preferences. That said, most users of gathered end hammocks end up with the stand about 6’ wide at the base, between 11 and 12’ along the top, and between 4 and 6’ high (foot end higher than head). The guylines can be offset by a variable amount, from 0 to about 12’.

Can I substitute items in Tensa4?

No, we’ve optimized Tensa4 (stand, webbing, anchor variety) for ease of use and functionality. Amsteel lines are visually elegant and very compact, but their lower weight vs webbing makes little meaningful difference in the overall weight. The webbing is more functional, because it integrates hammock suspension that doubles as tree suspension, and is more intuitive to use. You can still purchase Amsteel lines or alternate anchors separately, but not instead of the standard offerings. Webbing vs Amsteel does make a difference with Tensa Solo, so that option remains.

Tensa Solo or Trekking Treez?

If you backpack with trekking poles, Trekking Treez is for you. If you don’t, Solo is better in almost every way. Just because Trekking Treez is more expensive and in carbon fiber, doesn’t mean it’s better unless your use cases truly demand dual use as trekking poles and as hammock stand.

How do I raise the sit height on Solo or Treez?

Both systems will hang a 12-foot gathered end hammock high enough to keep an underquilt off the ground. The key is to keep any suspension between the pole and the hammock gather short. We generally connect the hammock directly to the poles’ hang points, with no intermediate suspension, and achieve a head down tilt by leaning that pole more sharply away from the hammock. This puts less stress on the ground anchors as well, maintaining a smaller overall footprint.

About us

Ever since 2018, Tensa Outdoor has made innovative, ultra-portable hammock stands. We help people rest and sleep in unmatched comfort while traveling, camping, and even at home as a nightly bed. We’re always exploring improvements to our existing products, and looking to develop new ones, wherever we see complementarities and unmet needs.

We are two people who love camping, who prefer hammocks to sleeping on the ground or in beds. Stubborn and inventive, we’d each come up with novel ways to hang hammocks when no trees are available before we met. We formed Tensa Outdoor when we saw that we could improve our stands by using the same materials, joining them into a modular system, Tensa4 and Tensa Solo. Trekking Treez is an evolution of a product Cheryl first developed as NoGround Trekking.

Cheryl Todd has slept nightly in a hammock at home since 2013, and is probably the first to hike all of the “unhammockable” parts of the Pacific Crest Trail without ever going to ground.

Cheryl has pitched hammocks while trekking above the treeline, in desert slot canyons, and once underwater scuba diving. She also sleeps full-time in hammocks. We’re known on Hammock Forums and elsewhere online as Latherdome and Raftingtigger, respectively.

We run the company from our homes in California and Oregon, in tandem and tag-team styles, without a formal office, showroom, or set hours. Email to our shared address is the way to reach us: quick, non-intrusive, and accountable.