CPSC, EZ Sales, Twin Oaks Hammock Company, and Safesport
Manufacturing Company Announce Recall of Mini-Hammocks
WASHINGTON, D.C. - In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer
Product Safety Commission (CPSC), EZ Sales of Gardena,
Calif., Twin Oaks Hammock Company of Louisa, Va., and
Safesport Manufacturing Company of Chapin, S.C., are
recalling 75,000 light-weight, net mini-hammocks that do not
have spreader bars. Some EZ Sales hammocks were marketed
using the "Hang Ten" label and trademark.
These manufacturers join 10 other manufacturers and
importers of mini-hammocks without spreader bars who are
recalling 3 million of the potentially dangerous products
this year.
Without spreader bars to hold the mini-hammock bed
open, the mini-hammock can twist around a child's neck as
he/she is getting into or out of the mini-hammock, resulting
in strangulation and death. When a net mini-hammock is
attached to an indoor or outdoor location such as trees,
decks, porches, or recreation rooms, it hangs like a thin
rope. The mini-hammock can suddenly become twisted around a
child's neck and strangle him. This can happen when children
are attempting to climb into or out of, are playing on, or
are swinging on mini-hammocks like swings.
Between 1984 and 1995, CPSC received reports of 12
children between the ages of five and 17 years old who
became entangled and died when using net mini-hammocks
without spreader bars. CPSC is also aware of an injury to a
seven-year-old girl who suffered permanent brain damage from
a near-strangulation in a mini-hammock. Another near-fatal
incident involved a five-year-old boy who was found
entangled in a mini-hammock but was resuscitated by his
mother.
Mini-hammocks are light-weight, portable, thin net
hammocks that are made without spreader bars. They measure
between five to seven feet wide and seven to 20 feet long.
This recall affects the EZ Sales "Hang Ten" mini-hammock,
Twin Oaks Backpacker mini-hammock, and the Safesport
Portable Hammock.
Sporting goods stores, such as Herman's World of
Sports, sold the EZ Sales "Hang Ten" mini-hammocks
nationwide from 1979 to 1991 for $6 to $16. Small outdoor
equipment stores sold the Twin Oaks mini-hammocks nationwide
since the early 1980s for $8 to $14. The Twin Oaks
mini-hammocks were also sold through catalogues. Surplus and
sporting goods stores sold the Safesport mini-hammocks
nationwide from 1994 through 1996 for about $8.
Consumers should immediately take down mini-hammocks
from porches, decks, trees, recreation rooms and other
locations. Consumers should return the mini-hammocks to the
store where they were purchased for a full refund or a
replacement hammock. If consumers do not know the retailer
or manufacturer of their net mini-hammock, they should
destroy the mini-hammock immediately to prevent
strangulation death or injury.