Hammock Tie-Outs; Why? and How?

**DiceCaller** · 05-02-2018, 19:38

So I'm just finishing up my NOVA Harmony with Chameleon zippers and I'm starting to wonder about this whole hammock tie-out thing.

What benefits do hammock tie-outs provide? Besides looking cool and tripping invaders I'm still too much of a novice to understand.

If I want to use tie-outs, just how should I go about it? Do you tie with the lay? Or perpendicular to the lay? How far out do place the stake? How tight do you adjust the ties.

My initial impression is that the tie-outs should be parallel to the direction of lay. But when I see the WB BB Shelf and the Chameleon Sidecar, it seems those tie out perpendicular to the lay.

Please help me to understand.

Oh, and thanks again to Jellyfish for the great videos.

**kitsapcowboy** · 05-02-2018, 19:44

Haters are gonna hate, but...

https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...=1#post1672247

(I tie out with the direction of my lay, where my head and feet project on the diagonal; very little tension is needed in the elastic.)

**SilvrSurfr** · 05-02-2018, 19:45

I don't have much use for tie-outs - their benefit evades me. It just seems like a great way to turn a stake into a projectile.

I can't tell you how to configure tie-outs on a DIY hammock, but on a hammock like my Chameleon, it's fairly obvious which way you stake them out.

**Rex Clifton** · 05-02-2018, 19:50

I like using them. I set the tie-outs in a line, front and back, the same direction I'm laying. Also, they help keep the bugnet taught and away from your face.

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**Peppy** · 05-02-2018, 21:07

I never tie out my foot end, but like a little tension on the head side. Just keeps everything off my face and helps make the hammock feel open.

**Stone Hall** · 05-02-2018, 22:55

For me the tie outs pretty much are only used when: 1. My hammock has a bug net and I’m going to lay in there longer than just to fall asleep. Makes it feel more open. And 2. When my kids are playing in there. Makes it easier for them to enter, play, and exit.

Hennessy has 2, one at head and at foot, DH Raven has 4, as you can lay either way in there.

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**jellyfish** · 05-03-2018, 15:28

You'll have to let me know how it sleeps.

I am not a fan of tie-outs. I never use them, except to sew in the zipper.

**cmoulder** · 05-03-2018, 19:48

I've tried them but find that I don't need them. Less to stake out and trip over, so much the better.

**jcksparow** · 05-04-2018, 10:53

I didn't use them for a long time--but after the first time I tried staking out my head end to pull the bug-net away from my face, I was an instant convert. Since I added a sidecar to my setup, that takes an additional tie-out as well.

**Country Roads** · 05-04-2018, 18:14

My experience is that they often interfere with my UQ. If I put them on, I put them on the bug net; that way the netting stays off my face and the pull outs don't interfere with my Underquilt. I rarely use the pull outs and often wonder why I even put them on the hammocks that I make.