Reoccurring issues with my setup, need advice.

**Phalse** · 05-06-2016, 10:26

Hello all,
I have been having some problems with my setup the last few trips. I can't seem to dial it in to where I have a consistent setup. I feel like I might just be doing something wrong, my setup is so finicky.

1) Getting the perfect sag....I can't seem to get this right, for some reason I don't find ideal tree spacing where there isn't stuff on the sides that prevent my tarp from being guyed out properly. The last trip night 1 I had trees about 18-20 feet apart, which gave me an incredibly tight ridgeline and not so much of a flat lay. Also, it rained all night and the bottom of my UQ got a wet from gusting rain I am assuming.

2) Wind...if it is storming, I get wind from just about every direction. So it doesn't matter if I pitch in prevailing winds (which is difficult already, as per issue 1), I seem to get wind blowing directly into my hammock from the ends. I tried to get out and cinch my tarp down at a steeper angle so it was closer to the ground, but that just pushed my tarp against my netting, which caused moisture to come through.

3) UQ placement....On my WBBB, if I use the footbox to get a good flat lay, my UQ doesn't seem to want to stay with my feet. It follows my overall ridgeline instead of the diagonal. I feel like I have to constantly fidget and fix my UQ if I move.

My Setup:
WBBB with whoopie slings/hooks
WB Edge tarp with dutch worms & bungie loops for tension (flyz for tree to tree)
40º Incubator UQ + 1 inch overstuff
40º Jacks River synthetic TQ

Am I pitching the tarp to close to the hammock? How do you get perfect tree spacing/angle when you have only 13-14 feet + whoopie sling + tree strap? Is this supposed to be so finicky? I've gotten to the point where I'm not really excited to setup my hammock, its more of a 'well I hope I survive the night' mentality.

Anyway, any help is much appreciated. I really don't want to go back to ground. When it is setup properly, I get a great nights sleep!

**Dead Man** · 05-06-2016, 13:19

Ok, I'm making some assumptions as to your setup as listed. First, I assume you have ridgeline set from the factory on the WBBB. That being the case, the sag is the sag of the hammock in general. The first issue seems to be tree selection. If you only have 13-14 feet you are too close. Again, assuming your tree straps are a minimum 6 feet and the whoopies are a minimum 6 feet, you need to and can work with trees that are a minimum 15-16 feet apart. This will allow you to get the lines a little higher up the tree and get to the 30° angle you are seeming to look for.

As to the UQ. The main suspension (read as the fat bungee cord) allows for the UQ to slide as needed head to foot. You can skew that a bit to get the diagonal a little better. May just be a simple matter of putting a bit of reflectix in the foot box of your TQ to help insulate your feet for a less finicky fix.

The tarp is plenty big enough. May want a steeper pitch and closer into the hammock for the driving rain issue. As to the wind issue, get some doors for it and that matter will be solved.

Your doing fine. Everybody has a bit of fidget factor in the beginning. I ran my rig up and down a number of times before I got it dialed in. My set up is pretty much bullet proof at this point. That is, until this last trip when one of my UQ bungees came loose in the night waking me up at 4 a.m. so I could re-thread the bungee in the channel two inches at a time until I had it reset and got rid of the wicked draft that was going on. Hammocks happen. You'll get there. Stay with it.

**OneClick** · 05-06-2016, 13:44

I "walk off" the tree distance every time, 4 big steps, which is about 13'. Then I like if there is a little breathing room, so my setups are almost always 14' which has been working great for me for over 4 years now. I find that to be a nice length. And check to make sure each side of the suspension is close to 30°.

On the WBBB, I never found the footbox to interfere with the underquilt, but it depends on your height and how far down you sleep. At 5'9", I don't really get into the footbox much, so it's not an issue. Make sure the UQ is nice and tight.

**Grumpy Squatch** · 05-06-2016, 13:58

Originally Posted by Phalse

Am I pitching the tarp to close to the hammock? How do you get perfect tree spacing/angle when you have only 13-14 feet + whoopie sling + tree strap? Is this supposed to be so finicky? I've gotten to the point where I'm not really excited to setup my hammock, its more of a 'well I hope I survive the night' mentality.

Short answers: Yes. You don't. Yes.

TLDR; version: Yup. Everyone has been there. Pitching a hammock in real life is mostly a matter of judging which compromises will affect your comfort the least. For example - will it be cold enough and windy enough that I'll sacrifice optimal tree spacing to orient myself so the tarp blocks the wind?

As for #1, there is no secret. You will often find hammockers wandering the woods in ever-widening circles looking for perfect trees. Some are willing to do a little bushcraft and chop out underbrush that might ruin an otherwise perfect set of trees. I don't do that - so I walk. A lot. Depending on the area it may take 30 minutes or more to find good trees. Comes with the territory. Not being on the ground is worth it to me.

#2: though I have no direct experience with a Warbonnet Edge, similar tarps will always be a compromise and wind/rain from the ends a problem. The tradeoff is lighter weight. Most people end up with a bigger tarp like a Superfly or add doors (like a 2QzQ Grizz Beak http://www.2qzqhammockhanger.com/tarpaccessories.html) when the weather is bad. I use a UQG Winter Dream in all but Summer. With a smaller tarp the other solution is to re-pitch the hammock lower so the tarp comes closer to the ground too. It's a pain to get in and out of, but works for wind-driven rain. Another great option is an underquilt protector. At least that way the down stays dry, even if some rain does blow in.

#3: The secondary suspension on an HG UQ can be used to get a more asym lay which should hold it under your feet better. It basically involves tightening one side at the foot end and the opposite side on the head end to force the UQ into more of a parallelogram shape rather than a rectangle. Shug has a good explanation of this at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIiHN6Y88iw.

Good luck.

**Phalse** · 05-06-2016, 14:44

Thanks for the advice guys. I think doors on my tarp would help immensely. I have whatever straps came with the hammock (I think 4 footers) and some 3 foot (I think) kevlar UL ones. I find that the 3 foot are often too short.
I guess I'll just have to pitch it another 1/2 dozen times to get the lay/tree distance correct. I'll try some doors mess with my setup and see how it turns out.
Thanks again

**chefkeith** · 05-06-2016, 17:15

This is largely the reason I went with cinch bugs from Dutch. I got the ones with 15' straps and they connect to my hammock via an 8" continuous loop. This opens up many more hanging sites at the cost of just a few ounces.

There's been several beautiful spots where I couldn't hang, and I wished I had just packed heavier gear to make it happen. So now I do!

**Campdavid** · 05-06-2016, 19:25

Ditch the whoopies. Sure they are cool and light weight but limit tree distance. Like chef said, get some cinch bugs or cinch buckles from arrowhead and be done with it.

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**goobie** · 05-06-2016, 20:13

Whoopies limit tree distance??? That's a new one on me?!? Been hanging on (UCR's actually, but same length), or with others that use them, for years without issue. Please explain to me what we've been doing wrong all this time?!?!

OP, I think your straps may be limiting you more than your whoopies. Keep at it, just takes more practice than throwing a t@#t on the ground and crawling in.

**chefkeith** · 05-07-2016, 00:51

Originally Posted by goobie

Whoopies limit tree distance??? That's a new one on me?!? Been hanging on (UCR's actually, but same length), or with others that use them, for years without issue. Please explain to me what we've been doing wrong all this time?!?!

OP, I think your straps may be limiting you more than your whoopies. Keep at it, just takes more practice than throwing a t@#t on the ground and crawling in.

With the cinch bug system, I can hang 6" from each tree if necessary. I could be wrong, but if the minimum length on your whoopie is several feet, you would have to rig up a different system to hang, say one foot from a tree, right?

Not saying it can't be done, but you'd have to remove the whoopie from the equation, I would think.

**goobie** · 05-07-2016, 06:31

While your minimum distance is correct, how is this an issue in the woods??? Good luck pitching your tarp well being a total of 1' from your trees! Can it be done? Sure. Does it help the OP? Definitely not, more distance between trees gives more options. It's a grand total of a 12' span, assuming an 11' tarp practical?? Not even close!

To the OP
#1 Over the years I have gradually increased the distance between trees to 7 steps, which of roughly what you say you were for your last hang. If your RL was too tight, loosen the suspension and raise the tree straps. I start with my straps at roughly head and shoulder height if on level ground, if the ground is unlevel just eyeball them closer and then raise the for end.