Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 20
  1. #1
    Senior Member vinnya42's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Boulder, Co
    Hammock
    Bridge Hammock
    Tarp
    DIY 12x8 silnylon
    Insulation
    DIY IX UQ
    Suspension
    Whoopies & Webbing
    Posts
    108

    550 paracord Soft Shackles BOUNCE TEST

    Thanks for everyones replies to my earlier post on the soft shackles.
    http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/s...ad.php?t=36868
    DISCLAIMER: I am not a scientist, have no tools to measure force or load or stress. I weigh 220 pounds, and I used my weight to do the following test.

    FYI: I WILL NOT be using these or any soft shackle to hang my hammock. I only hung my hammock on them to test their strength since I was curious if they could hold my weight.

    TEST: On a swing set I wrapped 900 pound muletape around one side of the wooden beam and 1" webbing at the other end. I connected my 550 paracord soft shackle to the webbing and a climbing (metal) beaner to the other side of my soft shackle. I then made a double wrap of muletape around the climbing beaner and tied two half hitches...I stretched it all tight. I used two pillows to sit on (muletape isn't very comfortable) and held onto the chains of two swings. I sat down slowly...it held. I did a gentle bounce...it held, at this point there was lots of creaking of rope as everything settled.
    I gently bounce for 5 minutes with no breaking so I turned it up. I bounced as hard as I could with my feet ready to catch me and using the swing set chains to pull myself up for each bounce. After 30 seconds of this I stopped, I had stopped breathing waiting for the break to happen.
    Now I started the heavy bouncing again and after 1 minute of bouncing as hard as I could...SNAP! My feet caught me I started breathing again and I checked for what broke...not the 550 soft shackle?! I did think it would break first, what broke was the muletape right at the climbing beaner.

    The 550 soft shackle had no signs of stress at all, it looked exactly the same as before the test, no burning or signs of fatigue where loop goes over the knot.

    SO there you go...I am still not using them for my hammock since they are a pain to close while holding the hammock and trying to milk the loop shut.

    550 soft shackles are pretty **** strong...not sure why or how long they would last, but they will hold way more than 50 pounds as someone noted.

    Vince
    Hang it high and God Bless!!

    Vince

  2. #2
    Senior Member raiffnuke's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Pittsfield, MA
    Hammock
    WBBB,WBRR,DIY
    Tarp
    HG WP,WB Superfly
    Insulation
    Hammock Gear
    Suspension
    Whoopies&DutchGear
    Posts
    3,779
    Images
    44
    Thanks for the test. Video would have been great! You holding your breath, bouncing on a couple of pillows suspended from mule tape....

  3. #3
    Senior Member vinnya42's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Boulder, Co
    Hammock
    Bridge Hammock
    Tarp
    DIY 12x8 silnylon
    Insulation
    DIY IX UQ
    Suspension
    Whoopies & Webbing
    Posts
    108
    All these faces can express how much fun that was!

    Vince
    Hang it high and God Bless!!

    Vince

  4. #4
    Senior Member dragon360's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Location
    Toronto, ON
    Hammock
    WBBB/TR, DIY, HH, SB DL, GT UL
    Tarp
    ID/OES/WB/WL
    Insulation
    HG/WB/Go-Lite/WB
    Suspension
    Whoopie/Straps/DW
    Posts
    4,704
    Images
    1
    +1 on the video - it would have been hilarious. The things we do to take our gear and creations to another level!
    The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering. - St. Augustine

    Some people feel the rain. Others just get wet.
    - Bob Marley

  5. #5
    Senior Member hippofeet's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Northern Illinois
    Hammock
    DIY
    Tarp
    DIY DWR nylon
    Insulation
    DIY pad
    Suspension
    Depends
    Posts
    396
    Test it to failure please. As I understand it, a sling or steel choker in basket config. is twice as strong as a single leg setup. So a paracord soft shackle should be stronger than a single line of it.
    An emergency of my own making...is still an emergency.

  6. #6
    Senior Member vinnya42's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Boulder, Co
    Hammock
    Bridge Hammock
    Tarp
    DIY 12x8 silnylon
    Insulation
    DIY IX UQ
    Suspension
    Whoopies & Webbing
    Posts
    108
    Yes when I was a rock climber I was poor and did a lot of DIY...it this case I tested extensively before trusting the DIY gear.

    My best test was in making quickdraws, I went Home Depot and bought lots of different ropes and tried them out for the quickdraws. I would back the test rope up with 1" webbing (standard for homemade quickdraws) if they broke.

    TEST: Climb up a big tree and setup a safe top rope on a big limb at about 40ft and repel down. Have my belay partner set and the lock in at me 10ft above the ground (climbing rope stretches a lot) and climb back up the tree. Now the fun part Put in the test quickdraw and hang from the limb 40ft up and let go....and see if it holds. That was an *** pucker moment if I ever had one.

    Do this for all the different ropes I bought and do it 10 times on the quick draws that didn't break, to test if they would break after multiple drops.

    1/4" white nylon braided rope from Home Depot was the winner, after 5 falls on the these quickdraws I would throw away the rope and replace. After a whole day of the testing I needed several beers to calm the nerves.


    Vince
    Hang it high and God Bless!!

    Vince

  7. #7
    Senior Member hippofeet's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Northern Illinois
    Hammock
    DIY
    Tarp
    DIY DWR nylon
    Insulation
    DIY pad
    Suspension
    Depends
    Posts
    396
    [/QUOTE] After a whole day of the testing I needed several beers to calm the nerves.


    Vince[/QUOTE]

    See that's where you went wrong. It's beer FIRST, then test.
    An emergency of my own making...is still an emergency.

  8. #8
    Senior Member Mountain Gout's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Michigan
    Hammock
    Wbbb 1.1dbl.- Traveler multicam 1.9
    Tarp
    H.G. Cuben camo
    Insulation
    Phinc-burrow- H.R.
    Posts
    1,472
    They don't call it 550 for nothin.. I will try those on my webbing in place of a biner..
    Of course I will probably be lazy and use a slip knot over a diamond knot..
    Last edited by Mountain Gout; 08-03-2011 at 10:59.
    We would be one step closer to world peace, if everyone slept in a hammock..

  9. #9
    Senior Member vinnya42's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Boulder, Co
    Hammock
    Bridge Hammock
    Tarp
    DIY 12x8 silnylon
    Insulation
    DIY IX UQ
    Suspension
    Whoopies & Webbing
    Posts
    108
    Yes hippofeet but you are miss the fact that a clear thinking brain is needed when diving out of trees.
    Hang it high and God Bless!!

    Vince

  10. #10
    Senior Member DemostiX's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Like Lewis & Clark: Wintrin' o/t Columbia again: PDX
    Hammock
    Clark w 2QZQ mod,Tropical, NX;Nano
    Tarp
    Clark micro
    Insulation
    Major down
    Suspension
    7/64 SK75 +strap
    Posts
    2,322
    Images
    13
    Quote Originally Posted by vinnya42 View Post
    Yes when I was a rock climber I was poor and did a lot of DIY...it this case I tested extensively before trusting the DIY gear.

    My best test was in making quickdraws, I went Home Depot and bought lots of different ropes and tried them out for the quickdraws. I would back the test rope up with 1" webbing (standard for homemade quickdraws) if they broke.

    <snip>

    Vince
    As an experienced rock climber who likes trying things, you
    know about and are comfortable with risk for yourself. But, your loose experiments for yourself are pretty much like the experiments of anglers testing the limits of their skill and luck in landing bigger fish with lower test line. You would not trust climbing buds who did the equivalent, or want to borrow their gear if they were doing the same, or want a good friend to borrow that gear.

    My understanding is that visual inspection of cordage doesn't reveal full all sources for safely derating, repairing, or retiring it, and that training is required to do the assessments. It isn't all obvious.

  • + New Posts
  • Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

    Similar Threads

    1. Soft shackles ?
      By OldNWay in forum Suspension Systems, Ridgelines, & Bug Nets
      Replies: 9
      Last Post: 10-27-2012, 11:14
    2. soft shackles
      By lazyboy in forum [SOLD/WITHDRAWN] Items no longer available
      Replies: 8
      Last Post: 10-27-2011, 16:27
    3. First soft shackles!
      By Yukon in forum Do-It-Yourself (DIY)
      Replies: 14
      Last Post: 08-08-2011, 06:11
    4. 550 paracord Soft Shackles
      By vinnya42 in forum Do-It-Yourself (DIY)
      Replies: 21
      Last Post: 08-03-2011, 10:53
    5. Soft Shackles
      By SpaceCadet in forum Suspension Systems, Ridgelines, & Bug Nets
      Replies: 17
      Last Post: 06-07-2011, 12:48

    Tags for this Thread

    Bookmarks

    Posting Permissions

    • You may not post new threads
    • You may not post replies
    • You may not post attachments
    • You may not edit your posts
    •