It's a matter of history.
First* there was Hennessy- tree huggers, rope to the hugger, a knot to tie.
then came along Speer- one long webbing strap for each end of the hammock, tied with the four wrap knot to the tree. The problem with both these methods is that once you get it tied to the tree you can't adjust it in any way without retying your knot.
Then came buckles of many different types. The buckles allow for adjustability and a quick, easy set up. However, there is a weight penalty over the 'plain straps' method.
Whoopie slings are probably the newest of the bunch. They are adjustable and probably have some small weight savings- however you now have the sling, the toggle or (climbing rated) biner, and your tree straps. A criticism of whoopies is that it can be hard to hang in a smaller space between closer spaced trees as you need to have the webbing come off the tree, meet the whoopie, and the whoopie will have a minimum length built in for safety (you don't want too small of a bury).
Of course, there are innovations happening all over the place. Dutch and his whoopie hook, continuous whoopie loops, and I'm sure many others.
There are MANY ways to hang a hammock, and as long as you are using straps of some sort (for ethical reasons- not just tree protection but the fact that hammocking is banned some places because of perceived damage- this is mitigated with the straps) you can't really go wrong.
EDIT- just noticed that JRB does whoopies now. Wow. I haven't been around for a while.
Here's another Whoopie vendor:
http://arrowheadequipment.webs.com/a...s/show/2575039
Hope this helps!
TH
- amateur hammock historian!
*in regards to the 'hammock revolution' and in regards to tree friendliness- there were other camping hammocks before 2002 but I'm not really familiar with them.
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