be nice to the new guy, why a ridge line?

[SilvrSurfr]

I think I asked this same question when I was a noob. Sometimes you just have to try something to see the merits.

I went ahead, bought some Zing-it 1.75 and 2.2 mm, and made a continuous ridgeline. Of course, I was afraid to go with 1.75 mm for the ridgeline because I had read that the soft shackle prusiks wouldn't grip unless the prusiks were a smaller diameter than the rope to which it is attached. So my first ridgeline was 2.2 mm Zing-It with Nite Ize Knotbone attached via locked brummel on one end, Nite Ize Figure 9 prusik'd onto the ridgeline on the other end, with 1.75 mm Zing-It soft shackle prusiks to attach tarp to continuous ridgeline. It's so easy to center the tarp between trees and over the hammock this way.

Nowadays I use titanium Dutch hook attached to the ridgeline with a locked brummel on one end, ti Dutch Tarp Flyz on the other. I now use 1.75 mm Zing-It for everything - I just wrap the prusiks four times instead of three.

Try it - you'll like it!

[DaleW]

A ridgeline is a place to hang gear and keeps your bug net out of your face. A structural ridgeline aids in setting up your hammock and getting the right angles and tension for a consistent hang.

The Blackbird setup video at http://warbonnetoutdoors.com/setup.php has some good directions for getting the ridgeline tension set at about the 3:00 mark.

You don't need anything too fancy to make a ridgeline. I used Dynaglide for mine, which is about 1000# test. Some like to make a whoopie sling style arrangement for an adjustable ridgeline.

Just Jeff has a good page on ridgelines at http://www.tothewoods.net/HomemadeHammock4.html

[zanzibar]

I'm new to hammock camping - in fact i'm still waiting for the materials for my first "real" camping hammock to arrive, but I think a big advantage of the ridge line is that it guarantees a consistent "droop" in the hammock body, regardless of the distance between trees (hanging points) the hammock is always the same length. Being able to hang stuff inside the tarp and a ridge to support the bugnet is also a significant benefit. I put "real" camping hammock in quotes because I bought my first fishnet style camping hammock in 1976. It worked well when the temp was between 75 and 85 degrees and the trees were 15' apart.

[Shewie]

If you have a nice big tarp, placement isn't very important. In the case of "gram weenies" you might be using a very minimalistic tarp. So, it's much easier to get it centered over your hammock if all you need to do is slide it back and forth on the ridgeline then stake it out. That's why I use one, and for some of the other reasons already mentioned.

That's it for me, I'm tempted to switch to separate lines but I'd lose the adjustment, the minimal weight penalty is worth it compared to tying and untying knots.

Saying that I do have some new shiney Dutch Stingers waiting for deployment so it's only a matter of time before I try them.