Becket Hitch Suspension; Idea and Questions

[clutch146]

I've been wondering about a similar setup. Currently, I have a pair of 8 foot kevler straps and just Becket hitch to my hammock's continuous loops. However in the case where the trees are farther apart, or the trees are fat enough to take most of my straps, I wanted to keep a pair of 6' amsteel leads to span the gaps. My idea is very similar, but the hitch would be tied at a different point. Here's the setup:

• Pair of 6' amsteel leads with a whoopie hook spliced on one end, and backspliced on the other end
• Connect the whoopie hook to the continuous loop
• Do a Becket hitch (I guess technically a sheet bend) from the backspliced end to the strap, using the lead for the bight, and the strap for the knot.
• Secure the free end of the lead with a half hitch below the knot

Any thoughts on that setup? I'm not sure if using the strap (instead of the amsteel) for the knot will reduce the likelihood of slipping. The leads would only be used when needed, meaning you would still have the range to be able to hang next to the tree. I haven't tried it out yet, but figure to this weekend.

[clutch146]

Actually, now that I re-read my suggested setup, it may just make sense to have that 6' lead with a fixed eye instead of the backsplice. Then just Becket hitch the strap to the fixed eye. You would lose some adjustability, but the only reason to use the leads would be when you can't make span the distance, so adding the 6' shouldn't be a problem (you could always pull more strap through the fixed eye before forming the hitch to take care of it).

[davidrip]

Since the becket hitch is functionally equivalent to the sheet bend, the mod some people are talking about in this thread I think is simply just the double becket hitch (either with a slippery half hitch at the end or not). Though I have yet to test with dynaglide or amsteel blue, the double sheet bend seems to me to be a rock solid knot as long as it's dressed well and set tight from putting a load on it the first couple times. From what I've read here so far, some people have had it work really well and some haven't. It makes me wonder: is the slippery nature of dynaglide or amsteel blue really going to cause a double sheet bend or double becket hitch really come out if it's dressed well?

Now I want to go buy some rope.

[mophead]

Did some more quick testing this morning with dynaglide and amsteel. I am tying the slippery sheet bend or becket hitch with a lead of cord to a continuous loop on my hammock. I have tried 3 different materials for the continuous loop: 1/2" strap, amsteel 7/64, dynaglide 2mm. I used the leftover line folded into at least 2 bites as a toggle. Keep in mind I am about 215lbs so I may be heavier than other people that have successfully tried some of these. My results with an amsteel lead were:

strap loop: mostly held secure and worked. sometimes it slipped.
amsteel loop: works but amsteel compresses from the wrap of the becket hitch.
dynaglide loop: about the same as amsteel loop but less compression around the sides.

Tried some of them with a dynaglide and two wraps on the becket hitch:
dynaglide loop: held but very difficult to untie and showed expected amount of wear. also tried a 1/4" wooden dowel as toggle.
strap loop: slips and broke the dynaglide.

When tying a sheet bend it is recommended that larger rope is used as the becket or loop and thinner for the working end. This seems to be working better the other way around but I'm not quite sure why.... maybe its not actually the case. I think maybe the reason the strap/amsteel combo sometimes works and doesn't is because of the way the strap bunches up although I tried to control that. I am also only testing each of these for a few min and then bouncing in the hammock to try to simulate the maximum dynamic load it might see. Its hard to extrapolate that into multiple overnight uses, especially in terms of the wear. But right now I am suspecting a dynaglide CL might be the best choice as the loop.

[mophead]

Since the becket hitch is functionally equivalent to the sheet bend, the mod some people are talking about in this thread I think is simply just the double becket hitch (either with a slippery half hitch at the end or not). Though I have yet to test with dynaglide or amsteel blue, the double sheet bend seems to me to be a rock solid knot as long as it's dressed well and set tight from putting a load on it the first couple times. From what I've read here so far, some people have had it work really well and some haven't. It makes me wonder: is the slippery nature of dynaglide or amsteel blue really going to cause a double sheet bend or double becket hitch really come out if it's dressed well?

Now I want to go buy some rope.

I'm not sure but i think a double becket or double sheet bend is different. A double sheet bend would be taking two passes through the loop with the working and then wrapping around the back and under the loop. We are taking one pass through the loop and wrapping around the back twice and under both loops.

[Tyler]

Did some more fiddling myself this afternoon, and came up with the same confusing type of results as Mophead... a few different variables with differing levels of success within the same variable combinations. None of my trials involved loading a hammock, they were all my body weight pulling against the suspension at angles similar to those the suspension would see in use. I took the CL's off my hammock, rigged them to the proposed suspension setup and used the loop as a handle to load the suspension both pulling and leaning back from the line. I used the same tree strap and lead only changing CL's and where and how I tied the hitch.

Due to human error I have ended up with one orange 7/64" CL and one silver 1/8" CL. The color difference was intentional, the size not so much, but for the hassle I've just never changed it. That mishap may prove to be an upside now...

I started with the orange 7/64" loop and tied a regular Becket hitch, it stayed. tied a slipped Becket hitch, no good. Jammed the bight with the excess line as a toggle, it stayed. Started over. Regular, slowly slipped to the end of the lead. Slipped hitch, stayed rock solid. Bight Jammed with line toggle, stayed for a second then quickly slipped down each folded toggle line. Think undoing your guy-lines that have been wrapped quick deploy figure 8 style. *irritated* so I put it down and went to go get something to drink.

When I came back I was still irritated and didn't pay as much attention to where upon the CL I was tying the hitch. Starting over again I tied the regular Becket hitch. it stayed. When I went to undo the knot I realized I had tied the hitch on the bury portion of the CL. I remember from scouts that when tying a sheet bend to connect to ropes you want the bight on the thicker rope.... maybe I'm onto something here! but what I don't know is if it matters to the integrity of the CL that you tie onto the bury portion, I've always connected my whoopie hook to the thinner portion of the CL.

At this point I put down the 7/64" loop and picked up the silver 1/8" loop. Tying the hitch on the thinner portion of that loop I had much more success though still slightly inconsistent. Tied regularly was almost completely rock solid, slipped only once. Tied slipped was mostly solid, slipped twice. I never got to tie it jammed with the line as a toggle, or turn it around and tie the hitch on the bury portion of the line something came up that needed my attention.

I really think that the size difference in the line may prove to be the key to success here. Perhaps switching standard 7/64" CL for 1/8" CL gives the structure of the knot more structural integrity and and gives the 7/64" leader the purchase needed to stay solid. Further testing required and info to follow.

Do any of the engineer types have anything to say in regard to the safety of tying onto the bury portion of the loop vs the single diameter portion of the loop?

[MAD777]

My head is spinning after reading all these posts and attempting different configurations myself. I'm about to decide that saving 6 feet of Dyna Glide isn't worth the worry about falling in the night. And if double tying something is the key, then the struggle to untie it actually renders this concept as a non- adjustable suspension. I'm keeping my Dyna Glide whoopies handy! I'm saving a bunch of weight just by using Kevlar straps too.

[MDSH]

My UL hammock with Dynaglide suspension and "what is that thing?" bug net/weather sock weighs 12.5 ounces.

The double Becket hitch/sheet bend to Dynaglide CL is solid.

My minimalist 6x9 CF tarp is 6.3 ounces with guy lines.

DIY UQ is 8.5 ounces.

HG TQ is 13.85 ounces.

41.15 = 2.57 pounds.

It's pure joy to have such an awesome set up.

[MatthewMeredith]

My UL hammock with Dynaglide suspension and "what is that thing?" bug net/weather sock weighs 12.5 ounces.

The double Becket hitch/sheet bend to Dynaglide CL is solid.

My minimalist 6x9 CF tarp is 6.3 ounces with guy lines.

DIY UQ is 8.5 ounces.

HG TQ is 13.85 ounces.

41.15 = 2.57 pounds.

It's pure joy to have such an awesome set up.

Thaaaaat sounds pretty spectacular to me! Hmm... Might have to start looking at trail sticks for tree protection... Do you think the double Becket would be equally solid with Amsteel CL on Amsteel suspension?

[mophead]

I was blown away by your that ugly bug/sock/tarp thing. Really appreciate you sharing your expertise and innovation here in the forums! I found the dynaglide to dynaglide to hold well for the short time I tested it. However, the light weight of the system is kind of just icing on the cake, its more than just eliminating the doubled length of the bury on a whoopie sling for me.

• no min. hang distance to tree
• no need for CLs on hammock end in addition to whoopies
• no need for dogbones (easily exteneded with line)
• pretty much same setup procedure in every scenario
• no looping of tree straps (using phantom grapplers soft shackles)
• quick setup/takedown and adjustment if you're using one becket hitch
• still has seperate storage for when lines are wet or covered with sap

And its about 1.3oz with poly straps and less than 1oz with kevlar straps. I am leaning toward amsteel mostly because its quicker to tie a simple becket hitch rather than the double. I have to agree with MAD that the difficulty in tying and untying the double, especially with DG, limits the benefits for me.

I still have some methods that have not failed yet, and the original concept with strap loops only failed on one occasion. If i could figure out why it would be a simple matter of keepint THAT from happening and I'd have a solid method with almost no wear on the components. If straps I still have more ideas but I want to try more testing to eliminate alot of the guess work.

One important factor to pay attention to is the shock load on the hammock. It's impossible to cinch the knot down by hand as far as it will once a full persons dead weight is put on it. Until the knot is fully tightened it will have moved about say 1/4". After that if it is secure its not going anywhere. But if you sit down very fast in the hammock the force from the load can cause the line to continue to slip after that initial 1/4". I have been pressing down on the center of the hammock to try to set the knot as much as possible then sit down carefully.