How to hang faster?

[Black Phoenix]

I just got back from a 4 day backpack in Yosemite NP, amazing trip to say the least. This was the first multi-night trip in a hammock and all my new gear worked great (blackbird, oes tarp, crowsnest up, etc.).

My only problem came when trying to set up, finding a good pair of trees proved to be a lot more difficult than expected... some are huge, others are too far or too close. I ended up hanging between pair of trees I couldn't even wrap my arms around (good thing I had 14' straps with 6' whoopies), it worked but the time it took to just find a decent spot could have been spent on countless others tasks.

What kind of tips and tricks are out there to help me set up camp in less time? Each night took over a hour and presented new problems which slowed me down even more.

The only thing I could thing of would be using snake skins on the tarp with the suspension already attached, would save some time I think.



I'm not ready to go back to the ground just yet but it sure makes it tempting when I think back to how easy it was to get set up.


Thanks

[Black Phoenix]

Some more questions, what is the ideal:

-distance between trees?
-height (from ground) of tarp suspension?
-height (from ground) of huggers on tree?

[gargoyle]

Depending on your tarp size.
My 11 foot tarp works well on trees 13 to 20 feet, with 20 being extreme. 13-16 is real nice.
Depending on the weather, the tarp can be strung high or low. About eye level or higher for good weather. I like it high, gives me more stand up room. If the weather gets bad, I move it down the trees some, or pull the sides down tighter, or both.
Hugger height is dependant on tree distance, if the trees are farther apart, the hugger needs to go higher. Try to be centered between the trees. And try to maintain the 30 degree angle on the ropes. Some folks like their hammock close to the ground. I like mine a little higher, above normal chair hieght, when I'm sitting in it. Makes it easier for me to get out of the hammock.

Set up time will get easier and faster the more you test your gear. Set it up and take it down for the next few days and practice different hieghts, see what works best for you. Thats the important part...you.

[Cranky Bear]

Here's how I am set-up!
My tarp is in snake skins, with all needed to hang tarp already attached and ready to go (tarp ridgeline, tie out STL) the only other thing that would need to get out is the stakes! I keep my tarp on the outside of my pack attached to the side of pack! If raining all I need to do is find two tree's and hang tarp around upper chest level or so! Then hang my tree huggers for my whoopie sling suspension about head height or higher(all depending how far apart the tree's are, the farther apart the higher they need to go!) Attach my hammock while under the tarp, pull out TQ and UQ do this and done!!!
What I found is that if you use your hiking poles and lengthen them as far as they will go and hold out your arms as long as the tree's are not inside the tips of the pole's(which should be approx 12 or so feet) your good to go!
The longer the distance between the tree's the higher your attachment of the hammock need's to be in order to try and achieve the 30* hang rule!
Other than that it's really setting it up a lot and getting used to all of it, it's really the same thing as getting a ground set up the first couple time's there is a learning curve with everything, and the more you do it, the more you get used to it!
Hope this helps!!!???

[Doctari]

As Gargoyle says, set up will get easier as you do it more. Most of my set up time is, as you suggest, still finding the right trees, but I'm much better at it than about 2 years ago. Now I can look at a grove & almost instantly pick my two trees. I do sometimes spend 30 minutes or more looking, but because I sometimes get fussy. Some of the times spent looking is because I'm still picking trees that fit my 9' ridgeline tarp (carried 3 years) & now mine is over 13', (carried just over 2 years) so I still say "OOPS!" a lot.

As pointed out on a lot of the "beginner" type posts, there is a HUGE learning curve to hammocking, but it is well worth the effort to most. My set up time once I have picked my trees is about 1.5 minutes for the hammock & about 6 - 8 minutes for the tarp, so in under 10 minutes I can be getting ready to fix dinner. BUT, this took me about a year of practice & fussing with my set up to get it down from about 30 minutes. And yes, my tent set up is much faster, even now & I haven't set the tent up in nearly 5 years.

[Scottybdiving]

Trying to achieve the same goal here. Like Crank Bear, I have started using snake skins for my tarps, leaving the guy lines attached. I also started leaving the hammock, TQ, and UQ together and stuffing it all in one place. Sometimes that will be my backpack, but on my next 6 day trip I will be stuffing it in a dry sack. See This Topic

[oldgringo]

It never gets faster for me, because every time I set up, I'm playing with some new gear. Will the madness ever stop???

[Bat]

Snake skins for the tarp. I leave my tarp ridgeline attached as well as guy lines. Never takes me more than 4 minutes to get tarp and hammock up. Then I fuss with things for a few minutes. I'm not OCD so that helps.

[kayak karl]

your going to think this is stupid, but i practice. if it starts raining i put my mittens on (even if its 80 ) run in the front yard and set up. granted the trees are picked, but in time that comes easy. i'm down to 90 seconds, and the neighbors don't talk to me as much LOL

thinks must pass my mitten test. that means all gear

[Mustardman]

Setup time is one of the reasons I didn't stick with whoopies after I tried them. The long straps plus buckles setup is fast and convenient, and since there's no distinction between your tree huggers and your suspension, it takes some of the fiddle out of the setup. I pay a couple ounce penalty for that, but I've also usually got a pound or two of knives in my pack, so three ounces of webbing doesn't really bother me.