Setup order and efficiency

[Chop]

Hi All...

Just started hanging this year and have had several nights out in the yard and a couple short backpacking trips.

Sleeping great in the hammock and really like it in general. Setup, however is slow for me. Setting up the hammock itself is pretty quick to dial in, but the combination of setup with the tarp is tricky and I find myself adjusting over and over to finally get it dialed in taking about 30-40 minutes. Setting up the tarp so that a 'V' is created, has been a big help.

What other quick setup tricks do you folks have? I am always wondering if I am starting at the wrong height..

Btw, I set my hammock ridgeline to about 95" with whoopies and webbing with marlin hitch. I use a continuous ridgline with a dutch bone (I forget what it is called, little wrap around thingy) and dutch hook. I connect the hammock to the ridgeline with prussiks and a biner.

I am pretty happy with all the gear and comfortable with using it.

I think I may just need some basic 'here is where I start out hanging the strapping and ridgeline gear, with regard to height' type thoughts.

Thanks!

[TiredFeet]

I've found that using a continuous ridge line from which the tarp is hung with Prussics makes the final adjustments a lot easier and quicker. Easy to slide the tarp to the desired position.

Also, I use TeeDee's continuous hammock suspension and hang the hammock from that. Makes adjusting hammock hang and position very quick and easy.

[Ramblinrev]

heh.... I eyeball the tarp tie outs with the ring buckles.. tie the thing off and let 'er hang. It's usually close enough. If I am concerned about rain I'll spend a little more time but mostly that's on the ground tie outs... not the ridge.

[Highbinder]

Ideally I'll string the hammock, and then using the hammocks ridgeline as a guide I'll put my tarp line (continuous) parallel with that, at head height if it's calm or right over the hammocks line if the weather is bad. Adjust the prussics for the tarp so the hammock is under cover then do the tieouts.

Straps for hammock vary with the tree spacings.

If im putting the tarp up first then I tend to put it above head height to give me space to work under and not be hunched over. Another thing is if you put the tarp up first to rig the tieouts a bit loose, it means if you have to move the tarp slightly you can do so without having to go back and forth to taught guylines.

[Chop]

Thanks for the thoughts guys.

Where I run into slowness is in trying to get the tarp low enough and still have the hammock lines run inbetween the 'V'.

[Ramblinrev]

My tarp lines are often lower than my suspension lines. That's not unusual at all for me.

[dejoha]

I echo what others have said about a full-length ridgeline. This can really speed up the entire kit if you set it up where you can easily slide the tarp back and forth. The key to doing this is by having a continuous line than runs over or under the tarp, loops around the tree and then clips to the tarp D-ring (see attached image).



If you look in the bottom-left corner of this illustration, you'll see the full-length ridgeline that runs the length, goes around the tree, and clips onto the D-ring. The attach point could be a fixed eye on one end, or adjustable prusik knots with an S-carabiner, etc. to adjust. Once pitched, you can easily slide the tarp back and forth to get it balanced.

Once the tarp is pitched, I find it easier to get the hammock in because I already know where the end points need to be. It also helps if it is raining out because all my gear is dry while I set up.

[tbctx]

I "cheat" and have my tarp and hammock on one set of suspension so its positioned above and at a consistent relative height every time. Also means I can adjust height just once if needed for both.

[Chop]

Thanks for the replies guys.