I thought I might share this with ya'll. I hear about many of you liking a ridge line you can remove and flip the hammock over or have one you can adjust to the right length. Here is an idea that allows you to have a non-structural (or heck, you could probably make a structural one too) that you can do an easy on/off without the need for a biner which can add weight, or make bulk be somewhat of an issue when you want to pass the ridge through sock loops like I do...

This thread: Loop Shackles/Connectors aka The Nacrabiner has changed my life. I've used the Nacrabiner concept to make 2 gram underquilt suspensions, key rings, tarp connectors for the ridge-line, sternum straps for packs, etc. I think you get the idea - the concept is VERY useful.

My original ridge-line for the tarp used a nacrabiner shackle, but the cord wasn't heavy duty enough, it couldn't be spliced, and the failure point ended up being at a knot I had to use to make the connections to the suspension. In a bid to fix these issues I hit on this idea: Nacra ridge.

The ridge is 1.75mm utility line from Arrowhead Equipment The ends of my ridge are spliced eyes that loop over the UCR suspension. The bottom part of the ridge is the main part of the line, it is about 87" long, it took about 90" to make that section. The top end is about 6" long before making the knot. It took about 9" of line to make that end. Originally the ridge was going to have a mini biner to join two halves at the end eyes, but I found after making it the stress was a little too much on the little biner and the length was a little too long. So I hit on the idea of passing the short end of the ridge through the long end of the ridge and shortening the length until I found the right feel. That got my ridge down to 92" total. I was thinking of adding a toggle to the system, but then thought: why not just use a stopper knot?

So a figure 8 stopper went on the short cord to hold the correct length. Now the end has a loop in it that is about 2" below the knot, makes it easy to find when I want to undo the cord. And at ~99" of this cord, the entire ridge weighs ~4 grams - that is 0.14oz.



It's been working like a charm. Even a non-structural ridge-line sometimes supports some load, and this has been the ticket for me. Thanks to Nacra533 for that thread.