Hi Folks

To date I've only used the 1" webbing that came with my HH Hyperlite. Most of the trees I use for anchors allow two wraps of the webbing around the tree which makes for a very secure hold on the bark, even for slick barked trees like cottonwoods and aspen. I do not use any hardware on the webbing at all - its a straightforward Hennessey lashing to the webbing.

The times I have hung on pines and spruce trees I have noted that there is sometimes a very minor disruption of the bark. I imagine damage to bark could be a problem with other webbing systems that use carabiners or other hardware against the bark. Relatively minor damage to the bark may not be a big issue in wilderness areas where there is basically no limit to the trees available to use, but in some campgrounds, I imagine there are many trees that get a lot of repeat business from hangers because of their size, distance apart, orientation and view. Here, any damage will accumulate and be less tolerated.

Having watched with great interest Professor Hammock/Grizzly Adams working on the lightest possible suspension system, my question is: how wide and long does webbing have to be to get a good purchase on bark without causing any damage to the tree?

I'd like to get by with a lot less webbing (one ounce a piece for a tree hugger is just too heavy for me!) but I don't want to risk damaging trees. Does anyone use anything other than webbing (ie tumpline shaped panels of fabric) to wrap around trees? is there any lightweight 2"-4" wide webbing out there?

Jungle Jim