Okay - that's the procedure I used to use. Cannot remember how long ago now - seems to me to be a very long time I guess. But it's been since I developed the SLS and refined it.

See my post to AS for my procedure now. I guess my Physics and Mathematics background makes me automatically start measuring things and examining the geometry which naturally led to my SLS procedure.

My personal preference is to use a ridge line. For me it makes everything much easier since I can hang the suspension (with ridge line) with no weight except the approximately 3 oz of the suspension. Once I have that, I can stand in the middle and know if the ridge line is too high or low or just right. If not just right I can move huggers accordingly and with no weight on them, which makes that job very easy. That's all the adjustment I really need since in setting up the suspension, I automatically have the correct sag - that's guaranteed even before tha hammock is attached. Hanging the hammock on the suspension toggles is even easier, no adjusting, just hang the loops on the suspension toggles and insert the spreader bars.

Yeah - I've been using a ridge line for tarps for years now. NOTE: the JRB 11x10 tarp has a tab on the ridge in the center. Attach that tab to the ridge line and it will keep the center of your tarp high. I just use a micro carabiner and snap it in place. I run my tarp ridge line above the tarp though, instead of under it.

Quote Originally Posted by GrizzlyAdams View Post
TeeDee-
I'm not using a ridgeline for the hammock. I have a ridgeline under my tarp which serves all the auxiliary purposes a hammock ridgeline serves, but not the main one of setting the length of the suspension. I use the ridgeline under the tarp to take the stress off the sewn in center tabs. At least on my JRB tarp I saw these start to pull away under strain; so now the tarp hangs over a ridgeline and is positioned on it and held in place by prussiks attached to it, and those tabs. Makes it very easy to center the tarp over the hammock, once hung, which is particularly important with my bridge hammock under a MacCat Deluxe, because it Just Fits if I'm careful.

So, no ridgeline for the hammock. Means that when I hang it I do little adjustments here and there to the suspension lines and the position of the tree huggers to get the hammock hung where I want it, at the height I want it, with enough tension on the suspension to give me a flat lay. That's where I use small adjustments. And, when in the hammock I feel that it isn't level, out I go to adjust a little more.

On the marlin spike...my "default" suspension these days does the following.
1. Put marlin spike hitched toggles on the tree webbings.
2. Take cord from hammock, loop over the toggles at the tree, bring the standing end back, and form another marlin spike hitch on the line. The toggle on that one simply serves to fasten the bottom of the loop just made over the toggle at the tree. This second hitch is easy and fast to form, easy and fast to undo, easy and fast to redo after changing the length of the cord from hammock to toggle-at-tree. I demo'ed this in one of my suspension tutorial videos starting at around 7:50.

Finally, I've made up both UCRs and whoopie slings. The observation about relative difficulty in increasing the loop size applies of course only to the whoopie sling.

Grizz