First Hang 4-19-08

[HOPTOAD]

Hello All,

I am new here and just began researching hammocks about 2 months ago, It had never really even crossed my mind to use hammock for camping, well after my first hang on Saturday I am convinced I made a good decision. I got the ENO Double nest from my wife for my birthday along with the bug net and slap strap pros. I set it up in my backyard to get an idea of the time requirement and was pleased at how easy it was. My wife and I took turns laying in it and both found it to be very comfortable.

The next day I wake up and meet my cousin for a overnight float trip on the James River in Virginia. We launched about 900am and baked under the sun for the day, it was about 88 degrees, hardly caught any fish at all but still had a good time. We finally found a site to set up on around 530pm and began setting up camp. I had to experiment with different rings on the slap straps to get the hammock tight enough to not hit the ground when I layed in it, got the tarp up and the bug net. Funny thing was that the ridgeline for the bug net was too short to go around the tree so I had to tie it to the strap. I rigged up a cheap wally world tarp over the bug net ridgeline and bungeed it around the trees and staked out the sides.

Of course it rained on us (which it seems to do on every overnight float we decide to do) the tarp did a good job but I still would get an occasional drip splatter in my face. I woke up around 8 am and the rain had just ended, looked over at my cousin who just crawled out of the tent and had to have myself a chuckle. He looked like he had just came thru a fight with a presence currently unknown to man.

Couple of questions.

1 Do the Slapstraps stretch? I woke in the middle of the night with my butt on the ground, had to get up and push the straps up higher to get back off the ground?

2. Does a structural ridgeline effect the distances you can span in your hammock?

3. Does anyone have a used silnylon tarp for sale cheap?

[angrysparrow]

Hello All

Welcome to the forum!

1 Do the Slapstraps stretch? I woke in the middle of the night with my butt on the ground, had to get up and push the straps up higher to get back off the ground?

Yes, they stretch a lot. Sadly, the Slap Straps are made from nylon webbing which stretches a lot, and even worse when wet. There are quite a number of different suspension options you can switch to with an ENO with very little effort, though. Do some searches and you'll turn up several methods.

2. Does a structural ridgeline effect the distances you can span in your hammock?

Not at all.

[Youngblood]

AS, you must have read question #2 incorrectly because I know you understand all this. A structural ridgeline can allow you to span greater distances because you can tie lower to the trees. You put more stress on the trees, suspension lines and the structural ridgeline when you tie lower, but that means you can span greater distances.

[Redtail]

Sounds like a great time!

3. Does anyone have a used silnylon tarp for sale cheap?

In case you can't find used, JRB has their 8x8 on sale still. This is the cheapest I've seen for a silnylon tarp, other than DIY.
http://www.jacksrbetter.com/index_fi...Nyl%20Tarp.htm

[angrysparrow]

AS, you must have read question #2 incorrectly because I know you understand all this.

You're right, I did 'process' the question wrong. I mentally registered the word 'effect' as 'limit'. Thanks for catching that and posting the correction.

[HOPTOAD]

I asked the question incorrectly,

I should have said does the structural ridgeline minimize the distance you can span?

Will the ENO Doublenest (6'8"x9'10") fit under the JRB tarp (7'2"x7'2") ?

[Hooch]

Couple of questions.

1 Do the Slapstraps stretch? I woke in the middle of the night with my butt on the ground, had to get up and push the straps up higher to get back off the ground?

2. Does a structural ridgeline effect the distances you can span in your hammock?

3. Does anyone have a used silnylon tarp for sale cheap?

1. Yes, they're made of nylon, so they stretch like crazy. Been there, done that.

2. The ridgeline sets the amount of sag in your hammock, and hence, how long the hammock is and what distances it can reach.

3. Yes, Ed Speer at Speer Hammocks has some 8x10 rectangular sil tarps on sale.

Oh, and welcome aboard. Glad to have you with us.

[HOPTOAD]

Thanks Everyone for the welcome, I appreciate it.

Couple more questions if you all dont mind.

With the slap straps being made out of nylon, will the nylon eventually become fully stretched out or will it continuously stretch and shrink.

Second has anyone ever modified ratchet straps or come-a-longs to work as straps for your hammock?

Thanks Again everyone.

HOPTOAD

[angrysparrow]

With the slap straps being made out of nylon, will the nylon eventually become fully stretched out or will it continuously stretch and shrink.

They will continue to stretch. Nylon webbing is designed to accomodate dynamic loads. Climbers use it specifically because it loads gradually without 'jolting to a stop'.

There is also polypro and polyester webbing, and generally speaking polyester is a better choice for hammock suspensions due to it's lack of stretch.

Second has anyone ever modified ratchet straps or come-a-longs to work as straps for your hammock?

Yes, many have done so. The harbor freight ratcheting straps are particularly popular for that purpose. If you do that, though, make sure you are getting polyester.

Given the nature of this thread and your newness to the forum, let me make a suggestion. Just make a Cinch Buckle suspension.

Get 2 Cinch Buckles (you may have to order 5 to fulfill their minimum)
OnRope 1 Cinch Buckles
Get two 'Simple Slings' from Strapworks
Strapworks 1" Polyester Seatbelt Webbing Sling
Get two Biners
CAMP Nano Wire Biners
Get some strong non-stretch cord (8 feet is plenty)
Spyderline (I prefer 3.8mm for this job)

Take the cording, cut it in half and melt the cut ends. Then, double one length of the cord over and tie the 'bend' end as a prussik to the one of the cinch buckles in this manner - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 . Repeat for the other cord and buckle.

Next, on your ENO, rotate the stock rope out of the end channel and untie the knot to remove the rope and the attached biner. Save those for another project. Then take one of the buckle/cord combos that you made and run the free ends (together) through the end channel of your hammock and tie both ends back onto the standing end of the cord using a bowline knot. Example Image. Repeat for the other end of the hammock.

Next, just clip the biners onto one end each of your Simple Sings(Example Image), and thread the slings through the Cinch Buckles (Example Image).

Now you have an extremely strong, fully adjustable suspension that deploys in seconds. Simply wrap each webbing end around a tree, clip back onto itself with the attached biner, and adjust the tension by sliding webbing through the buckle.

[DougTheElder]

Good response, AS. While there are many ways to get the job done, the most important thing is to get the job done-one way or another- but, get the job done! Too often a newcomers is barraged by an onslaught of differing opinions which adds to his confusion. Once someone has a little experience under his belt, he can easily take a trial and error approach to making improvements, but meanwhile, he has a well-grounded system to fall back on. (Somehow, "well-grounded" and "fall back on" don't seem like good descriptive word choices!)