Why you don't use 99 cent biners

[cougarmeat]

Here is a photo of one of those 99 cent carabiners you find on key fobs or in "impulse buy" buckets in the check out line. I was using it to hold a strap on a tree for a Marlin Spike Hitch and loaded it up to about 200 lb.

That load wasn't intentional. I mean for the strap around the tree to take the weight and for the biner to act as just a "keeper" or guide. Had I made a second wrap around the tree or paid more attention to how much weight the biner was taking, this probably wouldn't have happened.

Fortunately I was in the hammock NOT over the low tree stump so the only thing that got bruised was a little ego.

So if you are thinking of incorporating these low cost biners in your suspension system, be careful how you do it.

For me, it is just as easy to put the webbing though a loop tied on the end of it. If I do use carabiners, I'll borrow them from my rock gear.

[SwinginIt]

Number one is that these kind of biners are absolutely not meant for hammock suspension, or holding human weight in any way. But, what you were trying to do would have worked if you had done at least three wraps around the tree and had your suspension running so that it wasn't pulling against the biner. I've used that method (the name escapes me right now) for setting up a rappelling anchor. Even still I used climbing biners or knots. But theoretically if you wrap it around the tree enough times you could just drop the rope without clipping it in any way and it would still hold under load due to the friction on the tree. That is always going to be theoretical for me because I have no intentions of testing it. I think it may be called a tensionless hitch. Or something along those lines. Regardless you need several wraps to create enough friction for it to work.

[SwinginIt]

Ok I just noticed the part about your rock gear so my previous comment was probably just preaching to the choir. Disregard and carry on.

[dragon360]

Not entirely seeing how you were using it but have used them in my MSH suspensions and they've worked well. Absolutely no load bearing though.

[darkbyrd]

I did that to one using it for a removable ridgeline. Those things are good enough to hang my towel out to dry, and that's about it.

[jbrescue]

For a tensionless hitch, it might work. These are strictly key chains.

[fishbait]

I'd rather spend the extra money and get climbing rated biners. I only use the cheap biners for my bear bag or my keys.

[cougarmeat]

See, they do have a purpose. They provide a quick connect/disconnect and can handle light weight chores. Had I paid attention, I could have rigged the suspension so the binder was only guiding the webbing. But it was the best kind of lesson. No one got hurt and it made an unforgettable impression.

[SwinginIt]

See, they do have a purpose. They provide a quick connect/disconnect and can handle light weight chores. Had I paid attention, I could have rigged the suspension so the binder was only guiding the webbing. But it was the best kind of lesson. No one got hurt and it made an unforgettable impression.

I don't think you even want it to guide the webbing. Because that would mean that there would be pressure on it. The way I understand it the only reason for clipping that end of rope is just in case the hitch slips it can't come loose and drop you. Whenever I used that for rappelling the biner or knot was always loose. I could slide it around because it had no pressure on it from the rope. But if the rope slipped then the biner would stop it from unwinding and dropping me to my untimely demise.

Obviously it shouldn't be too loose because you would drop however much slack there is and shock load your suspension.

Man, now my stupid bone is itching and I want to go test and see how chincy of a biner I can successfully hang from before butt meets ground. Time for another episode of Hey Watch This!

[SwinginIt]

Ok so I just went out to my field testing ground and put this idea to the test. I used a 10# s-biner, a Zpacks mini biner, a Dutch ridgeline biner and a plastic HG quilt suspension biner.

I was able to hang successfully from all of them. I did 3 wraps on one end and 4 wraps on the other end. I hung barely off the ground just in case but they all held fine. To try to make sure there was not weight being put on the biners I grabbed the gathered end of the hammock and pushed down simulating me being in it and made sure that I could slide the biner around.

Now this did not satisfy my itchy stupid bone so I disconnected the biners and let the webbing hang and tried that. Here is where I learned something. One end I had the end of the webbing going to the suspension coming off the top and that end held without being clipped. The other end it was coming off the bottom and that end slipped. When I changed it so it was coming off the top it held. My stupid bone still not being satisfied I raised my hammock to about normal hanging height and laid in it for about 30 min with the webbing unclipped. I got in and out several times to mess with my new spinn tarp that I decided to test simultaneously. The webbing held fine with no slippage.

So what you were attempting to do can definitely be done, you just need more wraps around the tree and to be sure there is no weight being put on the biners. And my wraps were slightly overlapping, not sure how much of an effect that had but thought I should mention it.