Hi everyone, I'm new to the forum and excited to learn from the experts. I just got a HH Backpacker hammock for my overnight trips into the woods. I want to upgrade the suspension system but got really confused reading through the different types.
Could anyone help out a newbie and breifly summarize the most popular methods of suspension with pros/cons for each? Hope I'm not asking to much...thx!
Head to youtube and search for the following posters/channels:
professorhammock a.k.a. forum member GrizzlyAdams
shugemery a.k.a. forum member Shug
Both of these wonderful gents have created very nice introductory hammocking videos you will surely find helpful and entertaining.
--Tim
Shug is a nut and his videos are great! Lots of good info there.
+12 to ganons reply.
im new as well. (as you can tell by the hammock type i rock)
but from what i could gather, many here are tree friendly so webbing is important, and i just asked around today, and an overwhelming consensus was that. fact: whoopie slings rock socks.
so that got me sold. but just as important are the ones you DONT want. and from what i could gather. slapstraps by eno are a heated topic, and not a positive thing could i find about em.
but thats a newb to newb.
I'm a Hammocker stuck in a tenter's body.....
If you look at the stickies at the beginning if the Suspension Systems forum (which is what we're in now), you will see a three part video series by Grizzly Adams (aka professor hammock) titled "A Brief Primer on Hammock Suspensions". Part I covers webbing; Part II covers cords; Part III covers constrictors (whoopie slings).
This is the quintessential source of all things suspension-y. Shows you what they are and how they work. Definately worth looking over.
You're gonna need a bigger hammock
Welcome! I had the same questions when I first started last year. The problem with so much good info is that you can just as easily get lost and confused by it all. I think better way to answer your question is to define/refine the parameters and your own requirements. For instance:Originally Posted by lundquistas
1) I wanted the easiest, most secure, and most efficient way to "hang" my hammock.
2) I didn't want to tie knots (due to lack of knowledge...despite being a former sailor).
3) I wasn't sure I liked the toggle idea (despite many people here faithfully and successfully using them) because I'm a restless sleeper and get up often in the night. BLUF: I didn't want the potential for something to come loose or slip as a result of my fidgeting or getting in and out of my rig.
So I watched the videos, combed through the posts, and decided on Whoopie All-In-Ones with Dutch Clips.
Once in hand, I took them out for my first hang. During that hang, I experienced the following:
1) I had limited trees, so limited choices.
2) I didn't like wrapping my straps or 4-wrapping them to take up all the extra strapping in order to shorten the suspension.
3) As a result of #2, I didn't feel I had the level of adjustment I wanted (wrapping and ultimately limited to 2 feet on either end).
4) I really didn't like the adjustment methods of the Whoopie suspension, especially after being under tension.
5) I had constant pinching of my shoulders, and I couldn't get a flat lay (I almost gave up!).
Based upon that experience, I reviewed the videos, the board posts, re-read my hammock camping book in order to redefine my requirements. I ended up deciding to go with descender rings, straps, and dutch clips. I also added a SRL to help ensure I was consistent in my hammock sag. Since then, I've been completely happy with ease of use, setup, and adjustability. I have no pinching of the shoulders and I can always find a comfortable position. This set up worked so well for me, a single demonstration helped convince 2 of my buddies to consider hammock camping. Since then, one of them actually got to spend a night in my spare rig, and he’s now in the process of acquiring his own rig.
So, long windily, you have to decide on some requirements and undesirables...based upon your skills, limitations, habits, and EXPERIENCES.
For the record, this isn't a knock on Whoopie AiO suspensions. Many use them with GREAT success. My SRL is a whoopie adjustable SRL, and I am a frequent customer for their other product offerings. They just didn't fit my personal requirements (skills, limitations, habits) the way my current suspension does.
I hope this helps.
Cheers,
Mickey
"Hang High, Hang Tight, Hang Often..."
I'm hanging with straps, marlinspike hitch with 1/2" dowel toggles, and whoopies. I'm considering changing the toggles to carabiners to cut down the chances of the whoopies falling off during set up.
Have you tried using the stock suspension that came with your hammock? I suspect yes, hence the desire to upgrade. I really don't like the Hennessy lashing method. It's too slow, and a pain to untie/retie when adjustments are needed. I spent quite a while experimenting with different ways to tie them but never found anything really good. When I was introduced to this forum and whoopie slings my problems were all solved, with the added benefit of lighter weight and reduced bulk. I bought a bunch of amsteel and learned to make my own. Surprisingly simple. Well I had a slight advantage having learned how to splice Samson double braid nylon in the navy, but seriously, it's not difficult to splice Amsteel. Switched out my suspension and now that hammock is a dream to set up. I also installed whoopies on my WBBB the day I got it.
I got into hammocking this year and learned anything and everything about it on this forum.
Basically, for a bullet proof suspension system, you want to either purchase or manufacture the following pieces:
- 2 6 feet tree straps made out of strong webbing (I made my own out of tubular mountaineering webbing purchased at REI)
- 2 whoopie slings (4-7 feet sets are a good compromise) ( I made my own using 7/64 amsteel)
- 2 aluminum toggles (50 cents for a tent pole repair piece at REI)
as for the rest you can pretty much experiment and improve over time.
to see how to setup your tree strap using the toggle in a marlin spike hitch, watch Shug's excellent video on the subject for noobs:
may as well watch the rest too, countless hours of educational and entertaining videos, one never gets bored watching a Shug production.
I got up and running in no time at all after watching Shug's videos and sifting through all the great threads on this forum for a month or so.
good luck...
Another great set of video tutorials:
Last edited by LeDude; 07-25-2011 at 15:49.
Happy Hanging ....
LeDude ...
Thx guys! I'm going to check out the YouTube videos. I don't like the suspension that the HH comes with very much and the only other thing I've tried is the ENO slapstraps which I really disliked. Off to YouTube!!
1. Don't cut the ropes on the Hennesy until after you have tried everything that interests you. The weight penalty while you figure things out is only a couple of ounces.
2. Try as many methods as strike your fancy. You probably got tree huggers with your hammock. Tie a descender ring or carabiner to the rope as close to the hammock body as you want to for whoopees. Run the rope out to the huggers for descender rings. BTW, you can use two carabiners with gates reversed instead of descender ring to tie a garda hitch. Heavier but an easy way to experiment if you happen to have some around.
3. Since folks are hawking their setup ;-), my current interest is 15 ft huggers made of 1 in webbing with descender rings close to the hammock body. Got to order some Dutch clips but a biner through the loop works if you want to leave the garda hitch tied.
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