First DIY hammock - questions

[catalyst]

Brand new hanger here. I've decided to make my own gathered hammock rather than buy a WB Traveler. However, I've never set eyes on a camping hammock and I want to make sure I've got everything lined up. I'm sure this is terribly basic for most of you, but I've been flooded with information reading on the forum and I want to make sure I have everything straight. Besides the ripstop and whipping line, I'm planning on purchasing:

webbing - tree straps
whoopie slings - suspension
whoopie sling - ridge line
biners or toggles - connecting webbing to whoopie slings

Am I missing anything? Now a couple additional questions.

1. What's the benefit of toggles over biners? If I'm lazy and don't like tying knots would biners be the best bet for me? If so, what biners would you recommend?

2. For the whipping line does it matter what type of line I use? Would 2.2mm Zing-IT work?

3. I'm 5'5" and 155 lbs. I was thinking 120" x 60" single hammock out of 1.5 oz./yd ripstop. Since I'm so short should I shorten the length of the hammock a bit or is 120" a good length? I'm thinking I could get away with 1.1 oz./yd ripstop. Would the 1.5 oz./yd provide a flatter lay though?

Thanks for the help in advance and I'll make sure to post pictures once I'm done.

[Fronkey]

When you are using Whoopie Slings you need a toggle for a Marlin Spike Hitch. You can make your own toggles or even use a strong stick you find in camp because it isn't holding the hammock, the knot is.

You can use biners, dutch clips, etc for your tree straps. I prefer dutch clips as they are lighter and strong too.

Zing it should work as again, the line you use isn't what hold's you up, it's the fabric that does.

Finally, the length of your hammock helps with the lay. So, the longer it is, the flatter the lay. You're hammock will just weigh more if it's longer. It's all preference.

Check out Part 3 of Shug's how to videos here to get a better idea of some of the stuff I just said.
Hope this answers your questions.

Fronkey

[nomoore]

When you are using Whoopie Slings you need a toggle for a Marlin Spike Hitch. You can make your own toggles or even use a strong stick you find in camp because it isn't holding the hammock, the knot is.

Fronkey

If your treehuggers have a loop on both ends then you CAN use a biner or soft shackle to connect the whoopie to the treehugger instead of a Marlin Spike Hitch. It's just the Marlin Spike Hitch is what's most commonly used (and it's a really fast and easy knot to tie).

If you don't want to deal with knots but you are worried about weight I would suggest getting some soft shackles (or nacra biners, soft biners, etc) too. Don't worry, they are strong. You could connect your whoopie sling to one end loop of your tree hugger using the soft shackle. Then put a regular biner on the other end loop of your treehugger. Bring your treehugger (with whoopie sling attached on one end) around the tree once or twice and connect the treehugger back to itself using the biner on the other end.

P.S. to save a little more weight you could use this same setup with dutch clips instead of the regular biners (You could alternately use a soft shackle here too if you are patient). You could even securely attach the dutch clip to the webbing loop with a little bit of thread and needle work if you're worried about losing the dutch clips when it's not set up.

[rjcress]

Here are some things I've learned in the few months I've been here:
3 options to make your own hammock:
http://gear-report.com/make-your-own-diy-hammock/

2 super easy options to make your own tree straps:
http://gear-report.com/how-to-make-d...e-straps-myog/

How to make a tarp:
http://gear-report.com/how-to-make-a...ock-tarp-myog/

Several other articles on my site that might be useful to you...

[Jazilla]

Seems like you have a good idea of what you need. 7/64 Amsteel is great for whoopie slings but its way stronger than your ridgeline has to be. I used 2mm Amsteel instead. its lighter and hold something like 900 lbs. If you don't like tying knots you can dutch clips like the two above said. Also if you want to skip the toggle you can use the dutch biner with a sewn loop in your tree strap and hook your whoopie sling to that. Then its a no knot set up.