Will Pine Sap attack my hammock suspension straps...

[tiredhiker]

I was just thinking about this post and thought if the sap was going to hurt the straps people would have started to go bump in the night by now. With all the hangers out there that hang often, and pine trees being abundant throughout the U.S Im sure if the pitch was going to deteriorate the straps we would have read about it by now. So im sure besides the pitch being a big pain in the a..s there is no worry about them breaking from the sticky goop. If im wrong let me know cuz there's alot of pine trees here in Maine .

[TRAVELER]

we grow Christmas trees and run into the sap issue quite a bit ,to clean our equipment/hands etc ,we use wd-40, finger nail polish remover or one of the orange based cleaners all work well....

[nothermark]

All though I'm not 100% sure, I don't think pine sap would be harmful to nylon straps...other than make them a little stiff in cold weather. It can be used to seal a hole in waterproof garments and gear in a "pinch"...one of its many uses.

If it were me though, I'd situate a piece of material like nylon or something behind the strap and allow it to drape down over it where it goes around the tree. Better this than having gooey straps to deal with friend.

LGL

Not picking on you, people need to understand the materials they are dealing with when talking solvents. I doubt you have nylon straps. Straps are more likely polyester or polypropylene because nylon stretches too much.

Here is a link to a chart of common strap material properties:

https://www.strapworks.com/Articles.asp?ID=144

[flyaddict]

Rubbing alcohol works great. I always cary a small bottle of hand sanitizer when I'm camping or backpacking and it works well at removing sap.

[bristolview]

My area is full of various Pine trees, and I've used them often - including right now for the past 2 weeks. I've had sap get on my straps many times, it's messy but I've not see any signs of actual damage. On my 'yard' hammock - the straps have been in sap for months and they seem fine. My hiking hammock has seen it's share of sap as well, but I try to wash that off. Goo Gone or just plain alcohol (from your alcohol stove) works well. Goo Gone when I'm home, or alcohol if I'm on the trail. No problems so far, and lots of sap time. No worries mate.

[leepingreenlizards]

Not picking on you, people need to understand the materials they are dealing with when talking solvents. I doubt you have nylon straps. Straps are more likely polyester or polypropylene because nylon stretches too much.

Here is a link to a chart of common strap material properties:

https://www.strapworks.com/Articles.asp?ID=144

I used this for my hammock for some time and changed to just plain flat webbing and never had any trouble with either one. You have to take into account that the weight of the whole "load" is spread across the entire setup...hammock, webbing, trees (trees do give a little) and this makes all the difference in the world.

Nylon Webbing:

Nylon webbing is either flat or tubular. The flat woven webbing is lightweight and inexpensive, while tubular webbing is more durable but bulkier and more expensive. Nylon webbing is ideal for constructing Swiss seat harnesses, long slings for tying off trees or boulders for top-rope anchors, for leaving at equalized rappel anchors, and for making knotted slings of various lengths.

Hope this helps!

LGL