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  1. #1
    Senior Member WarmSoda's Avatar
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    Saving the trees

    I'm concerned about doing damage to the trees. I've got 1" straps that use as tree huggers, which will definitely hold my weight, but at 230 pounds loaded hammock weight is 1" enough??

    1) Is there a better way to wrap a tree hugger? I have 4ft straps that have a sewn eye at one end with the other open for hitching to the hammock. I wrap once around the tree and thread through the eye. This gives one loop around of 1" webbing. I thought of going around twice, but think that the most pressure would still be in the first loop from the hammock and not distributed evenly over the additional loops.

    2) Is there some sort of rule of thumb for huggers? Like 0-100 lbs. load use 1", 100-250 lbs. use 1.5", 250+ use 2" or something like that?

    3) I know that all this can be avoided by choosing good trees. Some are more resilient than others. It depends on the type of tree and that some trees won't be hurt even by bare rope. It would be nice to get some sort of primer on choosing the best trees to hang from and/or trees to avoid.

    Any thoughts?

    =======================
    WarmSoda

  2. #2
    Senior Member
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    You should be good. Plenty of folks quite a bit heftier than that hang on similar straps. Theoretically, though, there may be a downside to wrapping the tree twice. Sure, it would distribute some of the load, but it would also completely encircle the tree. If there was any webbing digging into the sensitive cambium, you wouldn't want to totally girdle the tree. That's all academic though, I don't think you'll do any harm. I haven't noticed any indentation on most trees even when sharing a hammock with my wife.

    If you do find a soft tree, one solution is to place a few twigs up and down beneath the webbing. They will lift the webbing off the bark and reduce the pressure to just a few points, rather than the entire circumference.

    Welcome to the forums, by the way!
    .. truly to enjoy bodily warmth, some small part of you must be cold, for there is no quality in this world that is not what it is merely by contrast. Nothing exists in itself. If you flatter yourself that you are all over comfortable, and have been so a long time, then you cannot be said to be comfortable any more. - Herman Melville

  3. #3
    Senior Member animalcontrol's Avatar
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    I have yet to see any damage from a 1" strap but I think your concern is a valid one.

    One simple solution would be to replace your straps with wider ones...strapworks has a 2" wide version that should fit your bill
    "Every day is a new day to a better future"
    "Of all the things that matter, that really and truly matter, working more efficiently and getting more done is not among them." ~ Mike Dooley
    "What if I told you that you couldn't have anymore of anything... No more friends, no more money, no more anything, until you first got happy with what you have?"~ Mike Dooley
    "The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing." ~ Socrates

  4. #4
    Senior Member
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    You do have quite a lot of birches up there. We don't have many. I imagine bark might flake off in the process of putting the webbing on the tree, but I think this is just a minor flesh wound (someone correct me if I'm wrong). The real danger is restricting vascular flow below the bark. Early settlers around here cleared farm fields by cutting away the bark and cambium in a ring around the base of a tree and then came back a year or two later and burned the trees they'd killed.
    .. truly to enjoy bodily warmth, some small part of you must be cold, for there is no quality in this world that is not what it is merely by contrast. Nothing exists in itself. If you flatter yourself that you are all over comfortable, and have been so a long time, then you cannot be said to be comfortable any more. - Herman Melville

  5. #5
    Senior Member gargoyle's Avatar
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    You should be fine with 1" straps, I haven't notice any damage, and I weigh 330. Trees might tip under my load, but the bark is fine.
    Slippery bark trees like the birch, I've found a double wrap helps grip better than a single wrap. ymmv
    Ambulo tua ambulo.

  6. #6
    Senior Member Agfadoc's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by gargoyle View Post
    ... Trees might tip under my load, but the bark is fine.
    That was great!

  7. #7
    Senior Member Heber's Avatar
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    I think that when it comes to bark I (and perhaps all of us here) have done more damage with tarp lines than with hammock suspensions. The tarp doesn't bear any weight but the cord is so small that sometimes I have seen a small cut in the bark. Especially if the tree was wet when I was tightening the tarp ridge line.

    Something to think about certainly.

  8. #8
    Senior Member oldgringo's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Heber View Post
    I think that when it comes to bark I (and perhaps all of us here) have done more damage with tarp lines than with hammock suspensions. The tarp doesn't bear any weight but the cord is so small that sometimes I have seen a small cut in the bark. Especially if the tree was wet when I was tightening the tarp ridge line.

    Something to think about certainly.
    One of my tarps is hung on 1/2" webbing, and the rest will be too, eventually.

    If it ever comes up with a park ranger, I feel like it will be easier to make the case that I'm being careful and concientious.
    Dave

    "Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is the richness of self."~~~May Sarton

  9. #9
    Senior Member Captn's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by oldgringo View Post
    One of my tarps is hung on 1/2" webbing, and the rest will be too, eventually.

    If it ever comes up with a park ranger, I feel like it will be easier to make the case that I'm being careful and concientious.
    Make a similar mod to your trailer as you have on your truck and you won't need Trees anymore.
    Many a good hanging prevents a bad marriage
    William Shakespeare


    "Insert witty and intelligent statement here"

  10. #10
    Senior Member oldgringo's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Captn View Post
    Make a similar mod to your trailer as you have on your truck and you won't need Trees anymore.
    True dat, but I really like hanging in trees.

    I'm working on a way to hang on my jonboat, though.
    Dave

    "Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is the richness of self."~~~May Sarton

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