Catastrophic Suspension Failure (DIY 1" poly webbing) help?

[LokoLobo]

Catastrophic Suspension Failure (DIY 1" poly webbing) HELP?!

Got some green 1 inch poly webbing from Joanne Fabrics and made some tree straps with it.
Used them one weekend and worked just fine. Then today I hung my hammock up in my back yard so I could measure it for the bug net I'm putting together and when I laid down in it I suddenly found myself on the ground with a sudden thud.

Yes I am a bigger guy, 340lbs.
So who know's what sort of tree straps I should be looking at?
Any idea's?

ENO Atlas?
Kammok Python Straps?
5" Steel cable?


20150519_170855.jpg.

[fastfoxengineering]

2" seatbelt strap

http://www.dutchwaregear.com/2-inch-...-the-foot.html

did the strap fail or your stitching?

[pgibson]

The webbing that you're going to find in sewing stores is not going to be rated for hammock suspension. Pick some of the straps from any of us vendors that specifically serve hammock camping and you will have something that has been tested and rated for our use.

[dkurfiss]

If you are short on time...hit up Harbor Freight and get some of their 2" poly straps. The come with loops already sewn in. Note, they are heavy duty so if you are hiking you may want something lighter. Here is a link to them. http://www.harborfreight.com/6000-lb...rap-61175.html

[LokoLobo]

did the strap fail or your stitching?

The strap failed. My stitching held solid.

[CamoDeafie82]

Even if the Joanns/Michaels/sewing supply stores' straps feel similar to the lightweight cargo tie down straps in Wal Mart, they are often not the same strength AT ALL..... And even the Wal Mart cargo tie down straps also do not have a high strength rating either, some say 330lb Safe Working Load limit, others are 500, or less.... and that's being generous, even if industry standard says for load lifting you want a safety factor of 5X or so, but most of the imported stuff are only around 3X safety factor (For example , Safe Working Load X 3 means 990 lbs for the "330 lb" straps)... this is why we recommend very specific straps from specific stores. I've been lucky enough to use a set of 1" straps with a SWL of 1200lbs, and they've been going very well for me.

You could go to the junkyards and cut out old seat belts and stitch them, but not all seatbelts are equally strong....but I think they are pretty much strong enough to use as hammock tree straps.

[Beast 71]

I like these guys http://www.strapworks.com/ . I like that I can get the same camo pattern straps as the body of my hammock. It satisfies both my OCD and my camo weirdness.

[Rain Man]

Dutch sells some good Kevlar 1" straps!

By the way, the strap material is only one small part of the equation. You have the angle of the hang, whether it's run over any sharp corners/hardware, and whether you were plopping in the hammock or bouncing around in it (dynamic weight is more than static weight).

[Feebus]

I had the exact same thing happen with 1 inch black poly webbing from Joanne Fabrics. I agree with what has been said above. The webbing sold at JF is not nearly as strong as what you can get from strapworks. Not to disparage JF - it is a great source for other materials and my go-to for many of my outdoor gear projects.

[Monkeyboy42]

I have some straps I made out of old ratchet straps made by rigid. They're poly and they were rated to 1440lbs.

Contrary to what was said above 3x working load is NOT adequate for lifting. 10x is considered minimal for rope and 5x for metal like wire rope. This means that the above mentioned 330 working load is meantioned above needs to actually be a 3300 breaking point. This is because static load is significantly less then shock load.

For your needs I'd recommend at least a 1500lb breaking point. This accounts for the marginal shack load that hammocks experience. They don't need to handle a shock of something falling 10' before reaching the end of the rope.