Another tree hugger question

I am currently preparing for the AT section of my hike and am planning on dropping some more weight from my pack. I have changed my setup several times since starting in Key West. I switched from CC buckles to RB's after a mis-aligned buckle sheared my strap in two as I applied weight to it. I next ditched my under quilt in favor of modifying my sleeping bag to slip over my hammock. Now I am working on my suspension system. I ordered some green amsteel rope and am going to try the truckers hitch method to hang with but I haven't used tree huggers in a VERY long time. My experience is limited to the old stock HH huggers. I can't decide how long to make them. If I make them too long, I might as well just stick to the straps. My question (finally) is what, if any, damage is done to the support trees if the huggers are too short to completely encircle them. Is it enough to only protect the back side of the tree or is the compression of the rope on the front side going to make me feel guilty as I'm packing up in the morning. Thanks for helping me out on this!

I think most on the force is on the back of the tree hugger, but maybe some of the more mathematically inclined with chime in.

I suggested this idea in the Trucker's Hitch Thread, and you maybe be able to give it some real world tests to see if my theory holds water. My suggestion would be to carry one long and one short tree hugger. From my observations you rarely come up against a situation where you are tying off to 2 really large trees on both ends of the hammock. Usually it's a larger diameter tree on one end and a much smaller diameter on the other end of the hammock.

Thanks, what sizes do you suggest? Maybe a 6' and a 4'?

That's almost the exact sizes I am thinking about. For the Trucker's Hitch writeup I used a 6' and a 5' and the 5' was a little long, IMHO. A 4' would probably work perfect.

Very little, if any, damage results from huggers that are too short, in my experience. If you're careful, use hardwoods when available and if you only hang one night per pair of trees, you aren't likely to destroy the planet.

you could place a short stick or 2 in there between the line and the tree so the line wouldn't even touch the tree if you are worried about damage when the strap is too short.

Thanks guys! I never considered the stick idea. I wonder if you could use that method and do away with the huggers altogether. For me, that would be a little too much work every night (I think) but would be something to consider for shorter outings.

The stick idea is nice. I had never thought of that.