View Full Version : Cutting the HH Ridgeline for the lounger
I cut my ridgeline on my HH in order to have a more comfortable lounger. I tied the two ends of the ridgeline to a mini biner.
So, how, after you've got your hammock tied up, do you unhook the ridgeline and then rehook it? The tension on it (while tied up properly) is so tight, I couldn't even think about sliding an end off the biner.
How do you guys do this? Am I missing something obvious?
Thanks!
blackbishop351
11-05-2006, 01:12
Using the slapstraps, I just go one loop less than completely tight. I've had to improvise a bit with the ENO straps to get good tension anyway, so this isn't a problem. Without too much tension, hooking/unhooking is easy.
Oh, so am I probably pulling my hammock too tight when I tie it up? Was I reading on another thread that it's more comfortable to have a slight sag? (not that I've been uncomfortable).
blackbishop351
11-05-2006, 11:28
Nah, definitely not. The HH NEEDS to be really tight when you're going to be sleeping in it. Otherwise the ridgeline and bugnet are going to be sagging down on top of you. I don't know from personal experience yet, but I think this is true for any ridgeline hammock.
What I meant to say (I'm not terribly clear sometimes, sorry :D ) was that I hang the hammock loose to START with. When I get into camp, I set up my tarp, hang my hammock with some slack, unhook my ridgeline, and use it as a chair/lounger to cook, relax, whatever. When I'm ready for bed, I rehook the ridge and tension properly.
Oh......ok. Yesterday I was thinking that would be the only way to do it, hang it looser than untie one end and retenstion before bed time. Makes sense now. Thanks!!
Nah, definitely not. The HH NEEDS to be really tight when you're going to be sleeping in it. Otherwise the ridgeline and bugnet are going to be sagging down on top of you. I don't know from personal experience yet, but I think this is true for any ridgeline hammock.
I don't know about this statement being true or not. That is the whole purpose of the ridgeline. No matter how tight or how loose you have it it will always hang the same.
Just Jeff
11-05-2006, 14:03
But if you don't hang it tightly enough, the ridgeline can still sag a bit. You need to at least get the ridgeline taught. But with the ridgeline fixed, as long as it's tight you don't really have to worry about how tight it is...unlike a Speer, where you have to estimate the sag each time.
I've slept with a sagging ridgeline before when the only convenient trees were a bit too close together. The hammock still works ok, but the net was much closer to my face.
Here is a step by step on how I set up my HH and it has a 1 foot sag.
1. I put find two trees that my tree huggers will fit around without having to wrap them around a second time.
2. I then hang my hammock about eye level, as I said tying it tight but not real tight like others say they do. Just a little more tighter then I would tie my shoes.
3. After it is tight and all ready set, I sit in it like I would a chair by folding the hammock over on itself as show kn the HH web site.
4. Since the straps are not wrapped around the tree a second time. I can slide the straps up the trees until I have the hammock at the lever where my feet will be touching the ground when I am sitting in it like a chair. This will also let you slide the straps up and down to make sure that the ends are at the lever you want them to be at.
5. Thats concludes pretty much how I do it.
Notes:
If you were to take a straight line from tree hugger to tree hugger and measure that difference to my ridge-line it would be about 1 foot or a little more. So I would say my sage is about a 1 foot sage.
Doing it this way has always left my ridge-line very tight when I am laying in it still. It may seem lose when I am not in it, but once I am in it it become immediately tight and I have no problem falling asleep.
I think people have a preconceived notion that the ridge-line has to be tight before you lay in it.
blackbishop351
11-05-2006, 15:43
I've tried leaving the ridge looser. It hasn't worked. It LOOKS tight once I get in, but when I hang stuff (for instance a water bottle), it sags so much that the stuff is laying on me instead of hanging above.
I've tried leaving the ridge looser. It hasn't worked. It LOOKS tight once I get in, but when I hang stuff (for instance a water bottle), it sags so much that the stuff is laying on me instead of hanging above.
That was just how it works for me. To each there own as the saying goes.
What I did for my water bottle/bladder was inside at the head of my HH if you go to where the ridge-line attaches to the head of the hammock on the inside you will see a loop that they used to attach the ridge-line to the end of the hammock. I took a piece of cord and made another loop and hung it off that loop at the head off the ridge-line. Now with that loop I made I hang my bottle/bladder on. This way it is not hanging directly from the ridge-line over me and pulling down on it, but it is above and behind my head.
I hope that made sense.
blackbishop351
11-05-2006, 20:08
Yeah I gotcha. I just like having my stuff right above me, since the space is available. Convenience and all. I've used ridgeline-type-setups in tents and tarps before, for the same reason. Cuts down on the inevitable disorientation when waking up in the morning....or for a middle-of-the-night bathroom run, too :D
Bowstring tight. Too tight. I am much happier with the sag I now have, and I do not experience problems with the netting.
I think that hanging a water bottle from the ridgeline will cause sag no matter what. Better to clip it into one of the interior end loops with a mini-biner.
With proper sag you should be able to clip & unclip to your heart;s content.
Jim