The Search for FLAT

The Haven Tent lays flat. Not kinda flat, or sorta flat. FLAT. 

Think pancake. Think Kyrie Irving's worldview. But really, think about your mattress at home. That's probably what you're missing most at 4:00 am when you're wide awake on your camping trip!

Our patented flay lay design makes the Haven Tent perfect for those who sleep on their back or sides. But in this blog post, I would like to share why the Haven Tent is really the only option for people who sleep on their stomachs.

Stomach sleepers, we are here for you!

I sleep on my stomach, there’s no way I could sleep in a hammock!

Traditional hammocks have that distinctive banana shape. Personally, I can’t stand being bent like a banana, and it makes sleeping on your stomach completely impossible. Imagine raising both ends of your mattress to mimic the traditional hammock shape. Again, you might be able to sleep on your back or side… but never on your stomach!

We actually tried this at home. My wife wasn’t all that excited to see what I did to our mattress.

When I hear people say, "I love sleeping in my regular gathered-end hammock" this is where my mind goes. I have yet to see a hammock-mattress on the market, so why not make a mattress-hammock?

A new way to hammock.

The Haven Tent system suspends between two trees, but that’s where the similarities end. The lay and feel of the Haven TENT are so different from a traditional hammock that I didn’t even want the word “hammock” in the name of our company.

Ours is the first hammock to be designed around an air mattress. Our objective was to keep the mattress as flat as possible and avoid any of the sag that comes with traditional hammocks. We were anti-banana from the get-go!

I’ve written a full blog on the Haven Tent’s Secret Sauce here. In short, our patented design uses a combination of features to create our one-of-a-kind flat sleeping platform.



Ok, here is some of the Secret Sauce! More on the dedicated blog post! 

The suspension arcs carry tension from one end of the hammock to the other in a catenary curve and the sleeping platform suspends below like the road base on a suspension bridge.

Similar to a suspension bridge, our sleeping platform actually bows upward when not weighted. This is to counteract any sag that might occur… you’ll notice more of an upwards bow in the Haven XL and Haven Safari. With their larger sleeping platforms, more of a bow is required to compensate for sag.

Sooo we’ve put a lot of thought into our design. The most important part is that it WORKS!

What about Asymmetrical or Bridge Hammocks?

We are not the first to try to solve this problem. There are other lay flat hammocks out there, but I’ve found that 75-90% flat is still not FLAT. What if your water filter only filtered to 75% instead of 99.999%? Your water would be cleaner… but not really CLEAN.

Asymmetric Hammocks, or asyms are bigger versions of the traditional gathered-end hammock. With more material, you are able to lay at an angle to the suspension which can greatly reduce sag. You’re moving closer to the elusive flat lay, but it is still very unlike sleeping on a traditional mattress.

Asymmetric hammocks are best for back sleepers. Like other gathered-end hammocks your feet are still trapped together, and some people complain of shoulder squeeze. I primarily sleep on my side and switch from side to side during the night. So one struggle I’ve had with asymmetric hammocks is having to sit up completely and readjust everything each time I want to flip to the other side.

Bridge Hammocks have been around for a long time. Technically the Haven Tent could be classified as a bridge hammock because our system uses a spreader bar. Every bridge hammock I have tried walks a good way towards the “lay-flat finish line” but never truly crosses it.

Even with the most elaborate designs, you still experience up-pressure on your head and feet. Not a deal breaker for back and side sleepers, but disqualifies bridge hammocks for most stomach sleepers.

They say close only counts with horseshoes and hand grenades. Other lay flat hammocks miss the bull’s eye, and stomach sleepers really need a direct hit on this. 

“More comfortable than my bed!”

The original Haven Tent made its debut through Kickstarter in 2019. Our video started with a standoff between a backpacker and his nemesis - A good night's sleep. Just as he jumps on the mirage bed you hear, “Let’s face it, a lifetime of sleeping on soft cushy beds has ruined us for sleeping outside… until now.” 

This is still one of my favorite Haven clips, and perfectly outlines the struggle we hope to overcome as a product and a company.



We’ve tried to simulate the at-home laying-in-bed experience for the outdoors. The Haven Tent isn’t just comfortable for a hammock… we hear people say all the time that our system is in fact “more comfortable than their bed at home.”

This is just one of the many ways we make sleep the highlight of camping. If you’re a stomach sleeper or someone who misses their bed while camping, we’re happy to be your home away from home!

Derek Tillotson
Haven Tents Founder