I tend to keep a lot of rope in my travel bag already; you never know when the need and opportunity might strike. It would take quite the special toy to displace anything I already carry, but I am always willing to try, always looking for that perfect assortment.
So, I was very excited when I was given the opportunity to review two 30’ bundles of Premium Hemp & Jute rope from Lovers Knot.
To our delight, my bottom and I found that the Lovers Knot hemp was much softer when comparing it to all of the other hemp rope in my bag. This is no small feat. Used rope has been naturally softened through contact with body oils and washing. The Lovers Knot hemp felt great upon first use. My wife and rope bottom, Marie Curi-ous, commented on how soft and pleasant the rope felt when she wore it. Yet, it held knots well, which can be a serious concern with “too soft” or lower quality ropes.
On a nitpicky note (and purely in the interest of writing a thorough review), when we first looked at the 30’ obsidian hemp, the parts along the length of the rope looked a little wider than others. It was easy to spot. We measured. The diameter measured from 6-7mm. The coloring was also slightly uneven in spots.
The 8mm natural jute was also relatively soft. Marie said that the rope still had a satisfying bite, without feeling itchy against the skin as some jute can sometimes feel.
We noticed that both samples had a strong cardboard-like smell to them, which may be the Jojoba oil that Lovers Knot treats and softens their ropes with. Marie even noticed that after use, the spots on our bed where the rope had been placed smelled of the rope. Neither of us really liked the smell. Fortunately, it may not be a serious issue because with repeated use and washing, any new rope smell will inevitably fade.
Lovers Knot sent us rope swatches as well. Both the jute and hemp come in obsidian (black), lust (deep red), amethyst, sapphire and natural. Hemp is available in 2 additional colors, emerald and hot pink. The hemp samples seem to have slightly muted, but still attractive, colors. The jute swatch colors just pop, though, our favorites being lust and amethyst.
We noticed that some of the swatches had whipped ends and others knotted. Although knotted ends have their own use, I prefer a whipped end, so I was happy to see that if desired, Lovers Knot offers the whipped end option to their offerings for $2 per unit.
Our nitpicking aside, Lovers Knot has found a place in my travel bag. Only, I think, instead of deciding which pieces this will replace, now I may need to convince Marie that we need a bigger bag.
Full Disclosure: We did not purchase this product, it was sent to us specifically for review. Our policy is to, regardless of how we acquired a product, review it fairly and openly. No writer for Life On The Swingset will ever deliberately mislead our readers into believing that a product is good because of anything we received from the company. We are open and honest, and cannot be bought or bribed. If we love a product, we'll tell you, if we don't, BELIEVE us, we'll tell you that too. End disclaimer.
