Whoopies Installed...now how do I hook up to a tree?

[theirons]

Marlin spike hitch with webbing is the only method I've seen. Is there another technique I'm missing? I've managed to ditch the descending ring setup i previously had. I feel like I have extra reach between trees with the whoopies. Thats to be expected right?

[gmcttr]

Whoopie hooks are another popular method... http://www.dutchwaregear.com/whoopie-hook.html

[ksbcrocks]

A slippery sheet bend (also called a Beckett hitch) is a newer method catching on it seems.

[NWAlabamaHiker]

Whoopie hooks are another popular method... http://www.dutchwaregear.com/whoopie-hook.html

+1 on whoopie hooks! They aren't the cheapest solution, but I just swapped over to them from using MSH and they are awesome!

[theirons]

+1 on whoopie hooks! They aren't the cheapest solution, but I just swapped over to them from using MSH and they are awesome!

what the advantage over a spike hitch?

[NWAlabamaHiker]

The real "advantages" may be small. Whoopie hooks are pretty much fool proof, just hook and hang! Also I believe they are slightly faster than the marlin spike hitch.
MSH does require that you make sure your hammock suspension is on the webbing and not on the toggle. I had a buddy kinda plop down in his hammock after hanging it using MSH and obviously hadn't made sure it was attached correctly and he hit the ground. Fortunately he wasn't hanging very high. [emoji57]
Also the MSH requires that you either bring or can find something suitable for a toggle.
All that being said, Whoopie hooks are more expensive (I believe they are $16 a pair) and assuming you use a piece of wood for MSH and you already have tree straps, then it's free. I personally find the ease and security and quickness of the whoopie hooks worth the $16!

[theirons]

i would need to buy not only the hooks, but continuous loops for the ends of the hammock?

[Junebugdawn]

You could use Dutch Buckles or Strap Buckles with tree straps.

[jamaulwall]

I put amsteel continuous loops on every one of my hammocks. It makes it more convenient to switch out suspensions on any hammock and it also gives you a bit more versatility with hanging distances. I leave my whoopies larksheaded to my tree straps (wrap the whoopie around the folded up tree straps for storage) and then can easily connect my whoopies to the continuous loops on any of my hammocks. I like doing it this way for several reasons. One, this gives me a way to disconnect my suspension from my hammock if the suspension were to get wet while hiking. Also, as mentioned before, it means I can use one suspension with any of my hammocks without having to detach anything. Another thing is that when I set it up this way it changes the fixed end of the whoopies to be on the end furthest from the hammock. It doesn't come in to play often but try setting up in a storm once and you'll appreciate being under your tarp, closer to your hammock making the whoopie adjustments to your hammock.

When I first started out using whoopies I used the marlin spike hitch and it's a great knot to know. I still use it at times to hang my continuous loops from in the rare event my trees are too close. Having said that, I prefer the whoopie hooks because I found that my hammock sometimes fell off the marlin spike hitch and onto the ground when I was trying to adjust the whoopies. Once under a load the MSH always held, but when unloaded and making adjustments it sometimes fell off the knot. This was really annoying to me as I don't like my hammocks to ever touch the ground. The Whoopie Hooks solved this problem for me. That's the main reason I prefer them over the MSH. YMMV

[Tim_807]

Marlin spike hitch with webbing is the only method I've seen. Is there another technique I'm missing? I've managed to ditch the descending ring setup i previously had. I feel like I have extra reach between trees with the whoopies. Thats to be expected right?

If you're concerned about the whoopie sling coming off the marlin spike hitch toggle you could use rated carabiners to join the webbing and the whoopie sling (example forum thread) (https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/showthread.php/39731-Using-a-carabiner-to-clip-directly-into-a-marlin-spike-hitch). This would probably be heavier than the whoopie hook solution I imagine.

The thread already covered the whoopie hook but Dutch also has the Dutch Buckle (http://www.dutchwaregear.com/dutch-buckle.html). It is handy because you wouldn't need to tie a marlin spike hitch and it includes a retention cord to keep the whoopie in place.

When I was starting out I would just look for nice sized sticks to use for the marlin spike hitch but that got annoying. So when I was ordering new straps from AHE I picked up a pair of aluminum toggles to use.

[theirons]

Thanks for the info. I'm trying to keep it simple, not necessarily light.

[jamaulwall]

If you are going for simple over light I'd look at Dutch's cinch bugs with straps. I'm tempted to give those a try for cold weather camping myself for that very reason.

[Tim_807]

If you are going for simple over light I'd look at Dutch's cinch bugs with straps. I'm tempted to give those a try for cold weather camping myself for that very reason.

Yeah that seems like a great combination of the simplicity of a strap system while allowing you to detach the suspension from the hammock.

[SmokeBait]

Not sure what gear you have but if your tree huggers have 2 sewn loops you can simply wrap around the tree and connect the two loops and the adjustable loop on the whoopie sling together with a carabiner. The more versatile marlin spike hitch/toggle method allows more adjustment in length and a nice, round radius for the sling to hang on.