8 days later...

[visionarylion]

Never fear,,that you will run out of amsteel,,your just beginning..you will order more before the year is out as you will think of alot of ways to have amsteel suround you...

I think that is the feer ,haveing to order more.. Since i joined the site and started useing a hammock i have orderd so much i think my wife is going to kill me if i make one more order or "project"

[Aven]

Visionarylion, about that ordering more. You might as well resign yourself. It's going to happen. Just like you'll make another hammock. Maybe even a tarp or two. But there are plenty of trees to hang from in Ballou Park and test your gear. Well, no overnights, but still a good place to test.

[SilvrSurfr]

Might I ask how you attach your whoopie slings to your tree straps if not with the Marlin Spike Hitch?

Also, how did you arrive at 15 ft. tree straps and 4 ft. whoopies? I'm using 6 ft. whoopies and 4 ft. tree straps. That works for 90% of the trees I encounter in the Northeast. If my tree straps aren't long enough, I larkshead an Amsteel 7/64 continuous loop onto the tree strap loop to make the tree strap longer.

In fact, this weekend I forgot a whoopie sling for my son's hammock this weekend. I just used three continuous loops to attach the hammock to the Dutch Buckle (which I prefer over the Marlin Spike Hitch). I had a whoopie for the other end of the hammock so I had some adjustability.

On my other hammocks, I don't even use Marlin Spike Hitches or Dutch Buckles. I larkshead the fixed loop of the whoopie to the tree strap loop and eliminate the need for either, with Dutch Whoopie Hooks on the adjustable loop of the whoopie. My suspension is basically the same as the Whoopie hooks with complete suspension that Dutch sells at http://www.outdoortrailgear.com/featured/whoopie-hooks/, only I made the whoopies and tree straps myself.

Just trying to understand your suspension system and how you arrived at those lengths.

[GregB]

Sorry, MSH is shorthand for a Marlin Spike Hitch. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8Yvvt39Luk It is a popular method of attaching a hammock to the huggers.

Yes, you can't tighten the hammock enough. If the trees are too close together, then you can't get a proper sag. If you have 18" of bury, the fixed and the adjustable loops, then certain trees will be too close. But if you made a 6" loop, then you can use the loop instead of the whoopies in this case. You just girth hitch it to your hammock and attach to your huggers in the manner you prefer.

Got it!

And of course, I actually use a Marlin Spike Hitch on my hammock, I just didn't make the connection with the initials MSH.

Thanks buddy.

[GregB]

Soft shackles, they rock.

I prefer soft hackles. They rock as well.

[sodakgrrl]

I think that is the feer ,haveing to order more.. Since i joined the site and started useing a hammock i have orderd so much i think my wife is going to kill me if i make one more order or "project"

Your next order should be a hammock for HER!

[stevebo]

Never fear,,that you will run out of amsteel,,your just beginning..you will order more before the year is out as you will think of alot of ways to have amsteel suround you...

That is very true......amsteel is kind of addicting----just when you think you have enough to last for several years, you start to wonder what another color would look like on your new hammock.............................

[Oper8or]

Never fear,,that you will run out of amsteel,,your just beginning..you will order more before the year is out as you will think of alot of ways to have amsteel suround you...

Like maybe making one of these with amsteel! Clarification here: make the harness, not the hamster.

[Oper8or]

I prefer soft hackles. They rock as well.

I'm not so sure on this one. This could hurt a bit.

[Oper8or]

On a serious note. I'm using 8FT whoopies, they are 8FT at the most extended length. I use straps to make up any difference I need. My system goes like this:

9FT hammock. 8 inch extensions on each end (extends it and makes a flatter lay). 8FT whoopies (8 inch bury for the main loop with the end of the bury being 3 inches from the 1inch eye splice that uses a 6 inch bury). Then I use 14FT straps with 3 inch toggles. I hope that was confusing enough. I need that nice app the guys and gals here use to draw those pretty diagrams. Gimp isnt so nice for this and GSU isnt so great either. I'll just take pics when I get the hammock set up in a few minutes. Its easier.