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  1. #1
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    New WBBB received and tested and now I have a few questions

    I received my new WBBB 1.1 DBL and Superfly tarp last week, and I got to test it out in the White Mountains over the weekend.

    I am really impressed with how easy the hammock is to setup, and how comfortable it is. The tarp was quite a bit trickier to setup, but I am pretty sure that with time I will get more proficient with that.

    Since this was my first time out hammock camping/backpacking, I now have some questions.

    I slept on two separate nights in the hammock. After researching hammock camping, reading Ed Speer's book, and watching some of Shug's videos I was on the lookout for 'widowmakers'. Well both nights I ended up hanging in balsam fir trees ( I think ), since they were the only ones around when my body said its time to call it a day. If you are not familiar with these trees their needles drop after a few years and then their branches fall shortly after this. Well needless to say any balsam fir tree big enough to hang from had dead branches on it. I ended up giving up trying to find trees that did not have any dead branches and just looked for ones that had dead branches that were too small to hurt me if they fell from where they were at.

    Is it safe to make a judgement call like that, or are even small light/pine dead branches still deadly? I slept under ones that I thought would have been deflected with the tarp had they fallen on me, but probably at the cost of damaging the tarp ( though not me ).

    I had a lot of difficulty finding a place to hang in these balsam fir trees for another reason too. These trees seem to be too densely packed in the WMNF. It took me a long time on the first night just finding 2 trees far enough apart to hang the hammock, and then eventually I realized I did not have enough room to the sides of the hammock to effectively hang the tarp. On my first night out I pretty much just tied the tarp down so that it was almost strait down on both sides of the hammock. On my second night out I spent more time finding a better location for the tarp since on that day it was raining hard and I knew that I needed to make the most of it, but it took me about 45minutes to find a good spot.

    So does anyone have any tips for finding a good hanging spot in a densely packed evergreen ( or even more specifically balsam fir ) forest like I was in this weekend?

    The spot that I chose on my second night out in the hammock was superb. It rained on me all Saturday long and I started by putting the tarp out on Saturday night once I found a decent spot. I put the hammock up shortly there after. I ended up waking up a few hours later without having had dinner and then made dinner sitting in the hammock. I then went back to bed and woke up 10 hours later... I actually had to peel my self out of the hammock, because it was so comfortable and the weather was so dreadful outside. I had not anticipated the hammock being that comfortable to keep me in it for so long just because the day looked gloomy and wet, but it did.

    I bought some line from REI for tieing my tarp down. It seems to take up much more volume than I would like. Are there some other stores in the Boston area like EMS or Hilton's tent city (or online) that someone would direct me to for getting lower volume lines for tieing the tarp down that would work better than this stuff that I got from REI? What kind of pound strength should this line have is 100lbs too little in the case of strong cross winds?

    Thanks,

    Zelein

  2. #2
    lattie11581's Avatar
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    I have had good luck with BRAIDED Mason's line from my local homedepot. I use the figure eight wrapping method around my thumb and pinky finger to stow it. That stuff does tangle very easily if you're not careful. Its held up to 30 MPH winds with "gusts" into the 40's on my HH hex tarp and MSR groundhog stks. And its hot pink so its very visible. I also tortured myself by making locked brummels and loops at the ends like you would on a woopie sling.

  3. #3
    Senior Member Catavarie's Avatar
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    While I can't help you with helping determine your hanging locations as the woods in my area are quite different I can suggest that for your tarp guy out lines, try Mason's Line. Can pick up a spool at most hardware stores. It's lightweight, spliceable, cost effective, good strength for it's size, and has a number of good uses. Add in some shock cord or good rubber tubing and you have self tensioning guy lines.
    *Heaven best have trees, because I plan to lounge for eternity.

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  4. #4
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    Thanks for this information. I finally got around and hit Home Depot earlier today. For the braided mason's line all they had was pink and no orange, which was a bummer, but I can deal with it.

    I was able to tie up 2 setups for the ridgeline/tree connection portion, 4 setups for the corners, 2 setups for the pull tabs areas on both sides of the tarp, and they all fit in the tarp bag with the tarp! I am hoping that the thumb/finger figure eight trick works well, because you are right this stuff does tangle fast.

    With my old line, I had trouble fitting in 2 setups for the tarp rings -> trees connection and 4 for the corners. I believe that I may even have room to add in some shockcord if I get around to finding some for the pull tabs and doors.

    In Brandon's video he uses a shock cord setup on his doors, but he also has detachable doors for the superfly tarp. Short of a monsoon, I am not expecting to have to use the superfly's doors until winter. How have people put aside the superfly doors on the permanently attached models?

    In one of the pictures on his website it looks like he has the doors tied to each other along the length and inside of the tarp. Is this one of the easiest solutions to keeping these doors out of the way in decent weather? If I've got to tie them open like he is doing in that one picture, I am guessing that I will need to make 4 more short setups like the ones that I've got for my corners right now and master some knot ( any suggestions would be appreciated) to keep the lines tight between the doors, and I think that I've got room for that much more of this thin braided mason's line. This stuff is great.

    - Brian

  5. #5
    Senior Member DemostiX's Avatar
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    OP: Thanks for a great, authentic report.

    There are very inexpensive 50mm x 10mm two-sided dog-bone shaped velcro-equivalent strips with cuts in the middle so they can be cinched back on themselves around wire, electric cord...... and tarp tie out line. Sold by the perforated sheet, cheap. Dollar stores? Surplus electric supply houses? Another bright idea, cheap to produce, that really are useful.

    Opie or Dutch here have a recent video promotiing a DIY system to manage tie-out line. IIRC, sew some velcro equivalent to short strips of elastic band to the tarp tie outs. The strips I described above might make the elastic unnecessary.
    The sewing isn't intense.

    There's another thread going now on mason line. Members are having different experiences with it, not all good, because its a diverse lot that gets labeled "mason line" these days.

    On tree spacing. Yeah, when you have a hammock to hang in the evening you're scanning all adjacent pairs of trees of the forest for spacing.....all day.... instead of enjoying the scenery. <smile> As though you were a timber broker.

    There have been other expressions of hope, here, that the 1.1 oz tarp and 2.5 mil thick ridgeline will offer some protection from falling limbs. Shall we just concede that Dyneema isn't, oh, "resilient to sudden shock." Just because we're looking to be spaced between trees doesn't mean our risk is much greater than those already camping on the ground in the forest. Who is really safe, those who strap themsleves vertical and tight TO a tree? We'll just feel the blow, in a hammock, a microsecond earlier than ground-dwellers will.....should it come. Hammockers who survive a fallen limb with just an injury and who publicly thank the thin length of dyneema overhead for survival are at risk of losing custody of their children over their judgement about effective risk-mitigation. Camping in the woods just exposes you to greater exposure of a fallen limb than sleeping at home, or in a lean-to you've built with a collection of fallen limbs you've spent the better part of the day dragging to one spot and assembling into a structure.

    Hardcore hiking good stores in the Boston area should have line they sell as hard-to-tangle. Everybody uses rain-flys and has to tie them up / down. Top quality line with known properties will be found in any length at boating supply places around the hahbuh. For very thin, consider hi poundage fishing line; and for dyneema the spear-fishing line diving stores stock.

  6. #6
    Dutch's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by DemostiX View Post
    OP: Thanks for a great, authentic report.

    There are very inexpensive 50mm x 10mm two-sided dog-bone shaped velcro-equivalent strips with cuts in the middle so they can be cinched back on themselves around wire, electric cord...... and tarp tie out line. Sold by the perforated sheet, cheap. Dollar stores? Surplus electric supply houses? Another bright idea, cheap to produce, that really are useful.

    Opie or Dutch here have a recent video promotiing a DIY system to manage tie-out line. IIRC, sew some velcro equivalent to short strips of elastic band to the tarp tie outs. The strips I described above might make the elastic unnecessary.
    The sewing isn't intense.

    There's another thread going now on mason line. Members are having different experiences with it, not all good, because its a diverse lot that gets labeled "mason line" these days.

    On tree spacing. Yeah, when you have a hammock to hang in the evening you're scanning all adjacent pairs of trees of the forest for spacing.....all day.... instead of enjoying the scenery. <smile> As though you were a timber broker.

    There have been other expressions of hope, here, that the 1.1 oz tarp and 2.5 mil thick ridgeline will offer some protection from falling limbs. Shall we just concede that Dyneema isn't, oh, "resilient to sudden shock." Just because we're looking to be spaced between trees doesn't mean our risk is much greater than those already camping on the ground in the forest. Who is really safe, those who strap themsleves vertical and tight TO a tree? We'll just feel the blow, in a hammock, a microsecond earlier than ground-dwellers will.....should it come. Hammockers who survive a fallen limb with just an injury and who publicly thank the thin length of dyneema overhead for survival are at risk of losing custody of their children over their judgement about effective risk-mitigation. Camping in the woods just exposes you to greater exposure of a fallen limb than sleeping at home, or in a lean-to you've built with a collection of fallen limbs you've spent the better part of the day dragging to one spot and assembling into a structure.

    Hardcore hiking good stores in the Boston area should have line they sell as hard-to-tangle. Everybody uses rain-flys and has to tie them up / down. Top quality line with known properties will be found in any length at boating supply places around the hahbuh. For very thin, consider hi poundage fishing line; and for dyneema the spear-fishing line diving stores stock.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAudl-K3HQc

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  7. #7
    Senior Member Pipsissewa's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by DemostiX View Post
    There's another thread going now on mason line. Members are having different experiences with it, not all good, because its a diverse lot that gets labeled "mason line" these days.


    I was wonderin' what everyone was talking about because the mason's line I have used (from my father-in-law--a bricklayer!) was a pain in the buttocks to use--unraveled and curled even when I melted the ends!!!! I quickly abandoned it. I guess there's "mason's line" and then there's "mason's line"!!!
    "Pips"
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  8. #8
    Senior Member
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    Zelein, you might get some dynaglide or something similar:

    http://arrowheadequipment.webs.com/a...ts/show/994110

    As far as the trees, I'm not familiar with them, but I try to hang off younger trees. Less dead branches and less height for them to fall from.

  9. #9
    Senior Member ShadowAlpha's Avatar
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    Is it safe to make a judgement call like that, or are even small light/pine dead branches still deadly? I slept under ones that I thought would have been deflected with the tarp had they fallen on me, but probably at the cost of damaging the tarp ( though not me ).
    I got hit in the top center of my head by a pine branch a few months ago. branch was about 6ft long and approx 4" in diameter.

    A friend & I were pushing down a dead tall pine tree in my yard and I knew a limb was going to come down and decided to stop it with my head. it was high up there. I saw stars for a few mins - put ice on my egghead. got a headache that night but I was ok.

    it probably would have done more damage to my gear than what it did to my head.

    not recommended & I dont plan to test it again.

  10. #10
    New Member
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    Quote Originally Posted by DemostiX View Post
    For very thin, consider hi poundage fishing line; and for dyneema the spear-fishing line diving stores stock.
    When I was tying up my loop setups to tie stakes too last night and I had a few tangles, I was really beginning to wonder if fishing braided line would work just as well as masons line. Both seem to tangle easily with fishing line a little bit worse. I am hoping that this finger to thumb figure eight storage mechanism will keep me out of many issues if not my friend who I go camping with is bound to have 100lb fishing braid handy that he will let me use if I need extra line, which may not be sufficient for tying down the tarp to the trees during a monsoon but it should work for tying them to stakes.

    I will look into some of these other options pending a tangled mess on my next outing. Thanks for the ideas.

    As far as the branches that I was nervous of the more I think about it the less nervous I am of those branches. My guess is that most of these dead branches that I slept under were less than 1lb in weight ( if even 1lb in weight ), but some of the branches were 10ft high or higher than me.

    I was looking for a pure spot without any dead branches and all of the trees had them. I found an image on google from a mountain near the one where I hung my hammock at that shows what these trees look like:

    http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_uNV-BS4Zdb...e+of+trees.jpg

    See how the tree in the front has a lot of small dead branches without pine needles on? However see how small those dead branches are? I suppose with the number of dead branches that were around me dozens on each tree, I had a high chance of getting hit but by those supremely small and I assume light branches.

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