I just took to stock suspension cord/rope/whatever you want to call that thing and tied my descending rings to that. Wastes weight and room in the stuff sack, but it still fits with nylon straps and carabiners.
Works great for me and I haven't had a problem with water - I think most of it drips down when it hits the rings. I would like to change it some to cut down the weight a bit eventually.
It does cinch the ends up pretty tight. The problem I had with the nylon was stretching. I use the seat belt straps with the whoopies and a marlin spike hitch. I just use a trail stick, been doing it for years, no problems.
You could always tie a piece of string on your whoopies to act as a water deferral if it is a problem. Hits the string and drips down.
“Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?”
― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
You notice any difference in the lay in the hammock with the ends cinched up? I went continuous loop because I thought the slight "fanning" in the channel made the hammock roomier. I'm 6'3" and my current DIY Claytor is just short of 10 feet long. It's been quite comfy!
On a side note... Rings can be easily larks headed into the continuous loops as well for a ring and strap suspension.
Zach Rohe Photography https://zachrohe.com
True on the rings, I have one with a double larks head continuous loop and rings. I haven't noticed a real difference in the cinching. I am 6'2 as well and I can get pretty comfortable. I have BlackBirds, but somehow keep coming back to the claytor. My next effort is going to be a DIY of the design on Scott Littlefield's site DIY gear. Very similar to a claytor only wider. Sure is fun putzing with all this stuff huh!
“Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?”
― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
I've been researching and I found the Whoopiesling All in One system and the AHE Cinch Buckle system. Has anyone used either of these systems? Will they work well with the Claytor JH?
I've also thought about building a continuous loop through the channel at both ends of the hammock. This would allow the hammock ends to spread along the loop. My concern is the thickness of the amsteel 7/64. Is it too thin? Would it burn through the fabric?
Please let me know if anyone else has done this. Thanks!
Last edited by jcarman81; 04-05-2012 at 18:30.
Both will work great. If you put the loop in your channel like I suggested earlier, you can easily attach either one. If weight and or bulk is an issue, I suggest whoopies... If not the cinch buckles would be my choice.
Zach Rohe Photography https://zachrohe.com
Gotta say I think the notion of spreading out the ends probably won't work. At least for me, the weight in the hammock causes the ends to cinch up pretty tight, strap or whoopie. Just an FYI. YMMV.
“Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?”
― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Well, it looks like I'll probably be investing in the Whoopiesling All in One system. It's a similar setup as my ENO.
Everything I have tried cinches the channel down to the max. I have a cinch buckle with Harbor Freight webbing set up on the head end of mine, but the original stock webbing is still being used on the foot end, and my step son still has his original webbing on both ends.
Another fried cut off a short piece of his stock webbing, ran it through the channel, put a bowline attached to a biner, and tied the remaining webbing to the biner. Water is well blocked.
I think the stock webbing is way under rated. It is light and strong and simple. It has one major flaw which causes most folks to quickly abandon it: it sucks water like a straw or sponge, right into the hammock. But you can add a biner as in above paragraph. But when I put a couple of overhand knots on each side of the channel, it completely blocked all water wicking. At first I was afraid these knots would weaken the webbing, but then it occurred to me the stock set up has a bowline knot anyway, so these knots should not add any more weakness, just more of them, each knot a weak spot. Any way, it has held up for 4 or 5 years now.
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