LNT Recommends 2-4-inch Webbing Straps

[Richard Tipton]

I would have no issues with 1.5" straps, if I could find them at a decent price. Has anyone ever tried to tie a marlinspike hitch with 2" webbing? Just curious..

[lmoseley7]

I started with 2" seatbelt webbing because I had access to a roll of it. In my opinion it ties a better MSH and gives a good knot to hold the whoopie sling under so that it doesn't slip off the knot and onto the toggle. That being said, they were very heavy compared to the 1" webbing I use now. As for damaging a tree, I don't put much stock in it. We have a tree at my grandfather's old home that has a bicycle rim around it that has gone from being at an angle to now level as the tree has grown over my life. One would argue that it is exerting more pressure than we would in a hammock, yet the tree has just grown over the rim and kept going. I would argue that camping around a given set of trees if damaging at all, is no more so due to hammocks than it would be from tents. Also, trees aren't meant to last forever, and one old tree dying makes room for many other plants to live. It's the circle of life.

I get really upset when I see trash on trails and the side of the road because of careless lazy people. That's uncalled for. I do my best to conserve and appreciate my surroundings and leave it in a way that others can do so as well. I do so because I appreciate the Maker. No doubt some trees are more suited to hang from, but if they were as fragile as some people make them out to be, why would you ever hang from them at all?

[fortran42]

Shug brings up some real good points...Trees are subject to alot of natural abuse and tend to rebound.. I was in REI a couple weeks back and the salesperson asked a customer buying an eno hammock if they wanted to buy some straps as well..the customer says" How much are they"..$19.99 salesman said..customer says "no i don't think so..i'll use something else"..REI salesman says "you can use some rope or 5mm climbing cord instead..that will work fine too"....I almost fell over...Yikes!!

[SwinginIt]

Trees seem to withstand a fair amount of rough play. Nails, screws, hatchet strikes, woodpeckers, lightning strikes, beavers, fencing wire, being topped, tree houses built in, roads built next to damaging roots, acid rain, logging, fire, spikes from hunters and such.
I know when I hang on two trees I take as much care as I can within reason enjoying their company for the night in the piney woods. My tree straps may leave a light mark sometimes....tree dependent. I look around at other trees in the area to see what condition their bark is in and this is usually in the backwoods trails. Often see a lot of chipped and marked bark just from being a tree in the wild. Bug holes and bird holes.
But when camping I look at the ground where tents stay for the night and it is a large area of mud and bald ground.

In public areas where Officials wander I would use a 2" strap for LNT purposes if it comes to that but I find myself less and less wanting to camp in areas where Officials with thier rulebooks roam.
Thus...Shug of the Third Person is off to backpacking trails.
I have never seen an Official down in the Linville Gorge, only on the rim where one can park the truck and walk.
Same on other trails.
I think we just need to be aware of where we hang and vigilant as to who is watching our techniques. Play the game as needed and required. I feel most folks on this site are way more LNT conscious than many campers from what I have experienced.
Shug

Well said Shug and I agree 100%.

[darkbyrd]

Maybe one could make straps where the first 3 or so feet was 2" material, and the rest was 1" to save weight and work with existing suspension setups?

[swankfly]

I'm all in, say the word I will switch tomorrow, 2", 3" or 4". I'm a rule follower, as long as everyone else follows the rules. Whatever it takes, I'm not going back to the ground. If I have to wrap the tree in a thermarest sleep pad, I ain't going back to the ground.

[Canoefor2]

After reading and trying several widths and I use 9/16 wide climbing runners due to their strength. (Had ENO straps break at the thread) However, one thing you have to keep in mind is how many times the tree see the straps wrapped around it and length of time. Most times when I through hike is one night and very rarely do I stay in one spot more then 3 nights. I do think that explaining to new HF hangers that it is important to not pull bark off prior to tightening the strap.

Peace

[Floridahanger]

From what I gather, most of the trees that have this much traffic are probably in campgrounds close to car camping. That's where TDS's come in if there are any pushbacks from the rangers and there you go, no problems. Or, at those campsites, I chose Oaks that can take more abuse than I can/will dish out.

When I hike and hang, it's away from the crowds where there is less traffic and more animals that love hitting the trees. These animals will chew, rub, scratch, pull the bark off of trees with no ill effects to the tree. I don't fear my 1" straps, on the occasion, will hurt the trees enough to see any damage.

[DemostiX]

To quantify the despair of some:

A pair of 2" wide polyprop straps as supplied by Clark, each 7' long, weighs a hair over 4oz.

[squidbilly]

I use 3/4" grosgrain with a ladderlok for hanging my tarp -- seems to be pretty gentle on the bark. I'm still using 1" tree huggers, but I pad them when the bark seems soft.