HH Tree Huggers vs JRB Tri-Glides?

[warbonnetguy]

i have had tree straps slide down the tree when the tree wasn't fully cinched. i was usually able to re-adjust, maybe just above a bump or branch to keep it from happening again. i later switched to fully cinching the tree with my tree straps which solved the problem for good. i think fully cinching the trunk is best, but it is definately still possible to hang even if you cant.

[Rod]

Hey all...JRB's Tri-glides arrived today and they work great. Thanks for the recommendation Oh-No. I attached the HH spectra cord to the loop on the end of the Tri-glide webbing per HH's recommendation. I suggest wrapping the Tri-glide webbing around the tree at least once, so that the buckle is laying against the webbing rather than right against the tree bark. (Yeah, maybe I take LNT a bit too far.) I'll take it on it's maiden hang tonight. Saw the second mosquito of the season today. So I'm looking forward to a bug-bite free snooze.

Prior to this HH ultralight, I used the ultralight Travel Hammock, which isn't a bad hammock at all. Initially, I had the same problem Warbonnetguy refers to until I rigged up some extra ropes. Works great in the backyard. But too cumbersome and heavy for backpacking. In fact, I'll probably use the Travel Hammock again with the Tri-glides once the bugs go away this fall.

Thanks for your help everyone.

[Rod]

The maiden hang didn't go well. I woke up at 5 a.m. with my butt on the ground. Everything seemed to be okay going in: Hung high, webbing secure, knots secure, ridgeline taunt. So I'm not exactly sure what went wrong.

I noticed from the moment I climbed in last night that I do not lay as flat in the HH as I do my Travel Hammock, even when laying at an angle. I wondered if this was just the HH, which does seem to have more slack built in than the TH.

This morning it did not appear that the webbing slipped or moved. The knots had not appeared to have slipped either. I'm thinking maybe it was the spectra cord that comes with the HH -- Does it stretch quite a bit?

I noticed in another threat (JRB Tri-Glides) that FanaticFringer suggested using an SMC ring. What is that and where do I get one?

On the JRB website, they show their Tri-Glides used in conjunction with a carabiner. Maybe I should try that.

Any suggestions?

Thanks again,
Rod

[Ramblinrev]

The HH sag attack finds another victim.... You are in excellent company Rod. How far apart were your supports? How high did you hang it? The farther apart your supports are the higher you need to hang the hammock. There are multiple threads on this phenomenon. My optimum hanging height with the Safari Deluxe is about 14-15' with the huggers at about 6'6". Now I have a BIG hammock. the smaller hammocks will hang differently. But the Hennessey has a major learning curve in terms of how high to hang the stinker depending on how far apart the supports are. Keep experimenting. Youu'll get it.

[NCPatrick]

I think it is pretty common for new HH's to stretch for a few hangs. Maybe it's just a "breaking in" issue? Once it gets all stretched out it stops stretching (that's been my experience, anyway).

[Peter_pan]

The maiden hang didn't go well. I woke up at 5 a.m. with my butt on the ground. Everything seemed to be okay going in: Hung high, webbing secure, knots secure, ridgeline taunt. So I'm not exactly sure what went wrong.

I noticed from the moment I climbed in last night that I do not lay as flat in the HH as I do my Travel Hammock, even when laying at an angle. I wondered if this was just the HH, which does seem to have more slack built in than the TH.

This morning it did not appear that the webbing slipped or moved. The knots had not appeared to have slipped either. I'm thinking maybe it was the spectra cord that comes with the HH -- Does it stretch quite a bit?

I noticed in another threat (JRB Tri-Glides) that FanaticFringer suggested using an SMC ring. What is that and where do I get one?

On the JRB website, they show their Tri-Glides used in conjunction with a carabiner. Maybe I should try that.

Any suggestions?


Thanks again,
Rod

Rod, et al,

The photo with the biner that you refer to has nothing to do with the operation of the JRB Tri-Glides.... In fact, it is not on the Tri-Glide page .... It is on the Strap Set and Tri-Glide page... It shows the connection of an Eagles Nest Outfitter (ENO) hammock biner to the end loop in the JRB Tri-Glide.

Your sag is most likely the combination of initial break in stretch and loose wrap/lashings.... If it persists beyound the first couple of uses, suspect a loose lashing....As these tighten they can lengthen each end by several inches, which can make a significant difference.... Remedy is to learn to make the lashing tight as you go.... or, switch to some form of a no knot/lashing approach.....Personally, I'd get passed the break in and learning period before seeking other physical changes.

Break it in at Home.... saves future trail frustrations.

Good luck.

Pan

[Rod]

Thanks for the tips. Yes, the good point about last night's try-out hang was that I was in the backyard, not on the trail. As for the lashings, I'm an old Eagle Scout. While it's been more than a few years since I've done any pioneering projects, I still try to tie all my knots and lashings with studious care. As for buying anything else at this point, I'll follow your advice to hold off to see if this resolves itself.

One of my concerns at this point is the "sag factor" or "the bends." I noticed right after I climbed in that the HH sags a bit more than my Travel Hammock. I'm a back and side sleeper. Even laying at a slightly offset angle to the axis of the ridgeline, I couldn't find the sweet spot in the HH. My hope is that this will improve after the break in period. Any thoughts?

I'm sure HH has it's fans. I'm not sure if I'm going to be one of them. Wondering at this point if I should put the HH back on eBay where I got it, and put whatever I get for it into a JRB Bear Mountain Bridge Hammock. I think I'd be more comfortable in one. What do you all think?

Thanks again everybody for all your assistance. I appreciate it.

[Ramblinrev]

I am very happy with the hennessy but it was very frustrating until I got the understanding of how to hang it properly. I will continue to be using the hennessey because of mobility issues until I find another system that allows me the same freedoms. But while the ridgeline is straight and tight, as has been said, the huggers position of the supports is not always a straight line continuation from the ridge line. Wrap your mind around that and you are half way there. The farther away the supports are from the hammock the higher the huggers need to be to minimize your initial drop. Fundamentally, from what I understand the whole hennessey system wants to attain the same degree of sag that is built into the bed with the structural ridgeline. So the whole system, under load, will want to attain the same parabolic arc from one end to the other. The longer the span is, the longer that parabolic arc will be, the higher the ends of the arc intersect the support.

Lets say that you want to stay 24 inches off the ground and you hang in a span just long enough for the hammock to fit. The huggers will be placed right at the end of the hammock.

Now lets extend the span by 6' on both ends of the hammock. If you tie the huggers at the same place, when the hammock is under load the bed will drop to achieve that parabolic arc. Probably putting you on the ground in the process. So the solution is to tie place the huggers higher on the supports. Then when the bed drops, you will reach that parabolic arc with the hammock bed 24 inches off the ground.

Does this make sense? This is the essence of what I have gathered from the math and science wizards on the site, translated into language I can understand. So in the extreme, you pre-hang the hammock with the built in sag... or you learn how to eyeball the height.

The Hennessey system, as I understand it needs all those aspects to be related together in order to lie properly. I find mine now very comfortable. But the first few times I wondered if I was ever going to work the stretch out of the blasted thing.

[Javaman]

In now over a dozen nights in a HH Explorer UL, I have been most comfortable with the "supports", aka trees, closer together than farther apart. I use two (2) SMC descending rings girth hitched into one end of a tree hugger, run around the tree and then clipped in a carabiner that is already clipped into the other loop. I then use a garda hitch to attach the stock support line to the rings. I try to set my feet a bit (2") higher than my head to prevent sliding once I am in the hammock.

My experience has been quite a bit of stretch, and sag, when I have alot of support rope out, meaning I am hitching the support ropes into the SMC rings at their outer ends (further/est away from the hammock). I have had to raise the tree huggers up the tree to well above my head in some cases to not awaken with my b*tt on the ground.

When hitched to the SMC rings within 3-6' of the hammock body, I have alot less sag overnight and generally lay more comfortably. I am also a side sleeper and this has worked best for me.

Many times it takes me much more time to find the right combination of trees than to actually hang the hammock!

[Rod]

Thanks again everyone. I've learned some important lessons. There definitely seems to be a direct correlation between the amount of support rope out and sag. Naturally, the further apart the trees, the more rope required to hang the hammock; the more rope out, the more sag. Solutions: Using trees closer together is definitely one solution, as it reduces the amount of rope out. Using webbing instead of rope should reduce sag is another, since the amount of potentially sagging rope is reduced.

Next time I hang, I'm going to keep these in mind. In addition, I'll try to hang a bit higher. However, if I go any higher I'm going to need a step up to enter the hammock.

Practice makes perfect. But if I had it to do over again, I think I would've just made a bug net for my Travel Hammock.