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  1. #1
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    Trees To Close...

    Hey All,

    Went out this weekend and encountered an issue I could not find a good way to solve.

    I am running traditional tree straps with a MSH and toggle. I have Whoopie Slings attached to my hammock.

    The problem I encountered is that the only trees with a small enough girth which I could get my tree straps around were about 13-14 feet apart.

    With my whoopie slings sucked all the way in, and my toggle almost right on the tree, there was still too much rope in the WS setup that the hammock wouldn't hang.

    In the end, I just had to tie a knot in each of the two WS's and pretty much nullify the purpose of them, but, I got it all setup.

    Every other tree (redwoods) around the area had a girth of more than 20 feet, well beyond the length of my tree straps.

    So, I'm obviously going to be in a position where I'm going to be forced to carry extra-extra-extra long tree straps... but, for those times when I can find two trees that are close enough together, yet too close for my AHE whoopie slings, what in the heck is the trick to make this work without having to tie knotes in my WS's ??

    Thanks,
    John

  2. #2
    Senior Member TinaLouise's Avatar
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    I've run across that situation before I switched to whoopies. When I finally got my hammock & tarp set up, my tarp was starting to wrap around the tree.

    Haven't had it happen "yet" with the whoopies. I probably would tie a spare piece of amsteel onto the end of my hammock and just tie a knot to hold me for the night. I do carry rope for my bear bag, two pieces, one long, one short. The short is amsteel and would work well for this use too.

    If I wasn't to tired and had the option to continue walking, I'd look for more trees.

  3. #3
    Senior Member pgibson's Avatar
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    Hey John, One thing that you can do to shorten the slings some that most folks don't do is put multiple raps around the hammock with the fixed eye to shorten the space from the bury exit to the hammock body. That should take up several additional inches over just a single time around.
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  4. #4
    Senior Member beep's Avatar
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    Hi RedwoodGuy...

    Sounds to me like you dealt with a tough situation pretty well. While not redwood sized, we do encounter (rarely) some big old growth pine here in the northland. With some extra Amsteel you can extend your straps to make them work. In my "Oh Crap" bag I carry extra 7/64" Amsteel (around 50 feet) for such a work-around solution. The good news is that the extra Amsteel doesn't weigh much.
    "The more I carry the happier I am in camp; the less I carry the happier I am getting there" - Sgt. Rock

  5. #5
    Senior Member TeeDee's Avatar
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    Raise the bridge or lower the river?

    Instead of trying to shorten the suspension, extend the huggers. A length of amsteel is very good for this purpose and works very well.
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  6. #6
    Senior Member WV's Avatar
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    Somebody had a description of an interesting suspension that might fix that (not sure who right now). It involved running the suspension lines through tree huggers (or hardware attached to the huggers, but as close to the tree as possible) and back toward the center of the hammock where it connected to the line from the other end, similarly attached through the other tree hugger. Adjustment was done with one or both whoopie slings above the hammock.

  7. #7
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    Hey Guys,

    So, basically looking at two different options here....

    The first (suggested by pgibson, which I hadn't actually thought of... and is a bloody good idea) would be to shorten the WS's by wraping a bunch of it around at the head/foot of the hammock... so, basically, if you cannot make the second option (below) happen, than this would be a bloody-brillent solution!

    The second solution being, just saying screw the to-close-together trees and carry a few extra peices of Amsteel that would be used to extend the tree-straps, and just go with two trees the right distance apart, even if the trees are 30-feet-around... as the tree-girth would be nullified as the Amsteel would be the extenders. Another brillent idea.


    So, I think between those two situations, we've got a solution to either situation, and either way, a resolution to this issue.

    So, off I go to find some Amsteel....


    Thanks guys!!

  8. #8
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    Or you could get these http://arrowheadequipment.webs.com/a...s/show/1406497
    And these can be made to the size desired? And they are lightweight!!!

    Just a thought, let us know what you decide, as I am sure that all us us at some point will run into the same problem as you!?!?!?!

  9. #9
    Senior Member Harpo63's Avatar
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    Ive encountered that problem before when moto-camping in your neck of the woods with my hammock. In anticipating a possible solution to the big trees, I figured that you need to adapt your gear to fit where you want to hang.

    In the redwoods, you would need to carry some real long huggers; in the desert areas, you might want things to connect to rocks... The standard hammock set up fits most areas of the country, but certain areas like yours need some customizing of equipment.

  10. #10
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    I extended the tree straps with the whoopies - put the whoopie through one loop, then the other, and set the length then used a stick as a toggle through the first strap loop - was a little afraid to sit in the hammock, but slept through the night in it without a problem. This was a situation where a fire had burnt through the area and all the trees were in various stages of damage - my best option were two cedars a foot or two closer than I would like, with one bigger than the strap.

    I try not to use redwoods. Some places it will get you fined or thrown out of the park. :/

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