Drip string

**ame** · 03-11-2008, 01:33

Sorry if it's a dumb question, but where should I attach drip strings?

Do I attach them to the lines which support the fly, or to the lines that support the hammock?

Thanks,

A

**slowhike** · 03-11-2008, 05:35

on the lines that support the hammock, near the hammock.

**Youngblood** · 03-11-2008, 08:41

I haven't needed drip lines on a fly or tarp. The lines are small enough that water doesn't channel down them very well and the knots near the tie outs take care of what water that gets to that point.

You want the drip lines on the hammock suspension to be inside the tarp coverage so they don't get direct rain fall. The idea is that they divert water channeled down the hammock suspension lines away from the hammock.

**winger** · 03-20-2008, 08:57

What is the best material to use for a drip string? I definitely wished I had them on my most recent hiking trip.

**Annie** · 03-20-2008, 10:47

I think I read somewhere on here to use flannel.
You can get a sheet of flannel at a craft store for under $1

**Coffee** · 03-20-2008, 11:38

really anything will work as a drip string. All it does is give the water another path to follow. I used in inner strands of para cord for awhile.

I have no proof, but I think it depends on the type of the support line whether you need them or not. I had issues after I switched to webbing on a hh that I did not have before.

If you are using webbing, just put a twist in the webbing. Water doesn't run well upsidedown.

**Youngblood** · 03-20-2008, 11:56

Originally Posted by hammock engineer

really anything will work as a drip string. All it does is give the water another path to follow. I used in inner strands of para cord for awhile.

I have no proof, but I think it depends on the type of the support line whether you need them or not. I had issues after I switched to webbing on a hh that I did not have before.

If you are using webbing, just put a twist in the webbing. Water doesn't run well upsidedown.

Yeah, I think for ropes just cotton string wrapped a few times and tightened up so that it makes good contact works well.

Webbing is another matter and that twist you are talking about should help a lot, but webbing has a tendency for water to run in between the weave so you need something to go along with the twists. The webbing is where you use a strip of fleece, wrapping it all the way around and then pinning it to the webbing.

But socks or bandannas or most anything can be fashioned to work, I sometimes tie off the empty stuff sacks for my hammock and tarp on the suspension rope and they can divert water too. You are just trying to divert any water on the suspension lines away from the ends of the hammock. I like to leave the ends of whatever I use dangling, hopefully downward... sometimes when it is raining you can see the water dripping off.

I haven't used snake skins but some folks have tightened one end of those so they work as drip stoppers as well. Some ropes only need a knot in them to divert water and they don't need much help, if any, to divert water.

**Coffee** · 03-20-2008, 13:16

Good point. I did notice a big difference with different type of webbing. I got some from OWF that surved as an aquaduct to my hammock. The Speer webbing hasn't given me any problems.

Another thing to consider if you use and rings or buckles or anything like that, they will serve the same purpose.