Tightening WhoOpies?

[Doctari]

This may just bother ME, and "bother" is a strong word.

My first real suspension was the ring buckle on straps. I could take the sag out in a second, and take it out AS MUCH AS I WANTED, EASILY! Not so much with the WhoOpies. No matter what, I can't seem to get the sag out as much as I would like. Now to the "It might only affect ME" part: I like my suspension tight, we are talking tightrope tight here. As it is, starting with my hammock 3.5' off the ground, at my ideal distance (In my back yard, 16' or so) I still sag to about 2' or less, off the ground. I can't seem to get that last little bit out. Is this something I'll just have to live with or is there a technique for getting em tight. I rig with almost nothing in the hammock, I milk the bury every time, I pull it as tight as I can. Yep, I tighten, sit to take up slack & then tighten again, sometimes X2. I have even used a tent stake to give me a better grip & more leverage. Still,,,,,

Maybe, part of the problem is my minimum hang is 14' due to my tarp length of over 13'. But if any have a tip / trick I'm willing to try nearly anything at this point. The WhoOpies are tied to the hammock & the adjustable end goes to the straps at the trees. I am wondering if I should reverse the WhoOpies, maybe giving me more leverage.

This isn't a serious matter, at least in summer. But I like being closer to the top of my tarp when it's cold & I just can't seem to get that, yet.

I do not want to go back to the ring buckles & straps, mostly because of the bulk & weight. I really like the WhoOpies, but this is starting to bother me a bit, & having OCD if something bothers me too much I tend to,,,, the phrase "GO OVERBOARD" has been used to describe me. Trying to head that off. ;)

[SmokeBait]

Doctari, I'm not quite sure how to answer this. Do you think the whoopie slings are slipping? They shouldn't be. What kind of tree huggers/straps are you using and how long? If, polypropylene, they may have a slight bit of initial stretch. Polyester shouldn't. Your whoopies are oriiented correctly. Is the long adjustable loop on the tree end free to slide at the attachment point? This is necessary to put the proper tension on the bury. Just out of curiosity, how high on the tree are your huggers?

[tiger1dd]

I hang my straps really high, with my hammock relatively low, and then add on my ratcheting-structural ridge line. The rsrl allows me to adjust to the "just-right" amount of sag, whilst still hanging in comfort.

[Doctari]

No, the WhoOpies aren't slipping, at least I don't think so. My straps are poly & I'm pretty sure they aren't stretching.
I think you have it (Homer Simpson moment) I"m only hanging the straps about 5' & 5'7" respectivly. SO, if I hang higher (yes I'm feeling stoopuid now) Problem solved.

I need to adjust my technique to allow for the WhoOpies. Hey, old habits die hard. I used the Ring buckles for 3 years, the WhoOpies only 9 months.

Thanks!!! I appreciate it, a lot!

[gargoyle]

Pics?
I don't have any slippage or slack issues with my whoopies. Did you buy your whoopies or diy them? Are you running your suspension up at a 30 degree angle, or are your suspension lines flatter than that?
From your statement "tightrope tight", I'm thinking your suspension is to flat. Let gravity take its course and lift your attachment height on the trees.
A 16' span will put your webbing attachment at 7 or 7-1/2 feet off the ground.
Bigger tarps will interfere with some hammock suspension. Skip the tarp for a test run, and just sling your hammock. Get your hammock set, and not tightrope tight, but where it hangs good at a comfortable height for you.
Once your hammock is good, hang your tarp. My tarp is usually attached below the height of the hammock suspension attachment points on the trees.
It may be your tarp is too big. I fiddled with long tarps before and over 12 foot long ridgelines really interfered with proper hammock suspension angles.

[Doctari]

Pics?
I don't have any slippage or slack issues with my whoopies. Did you buy your whoopies or diy them? Are you running your suspension up at a 30 degree angle, or are your suspension lines flatter than that?
From your statement "tightrope tight", I'm thinking your suspension is to flat. Let gravity take its course and lift your attachment height on the trees.
A 16' span will put your webbing attachment at 7 or 7-1/2 feet off the ground.
Bigger tarps will interfere with some hammock suspension. Skip the tarp for a test run, and just sling your hammock. Get your hammock set, and not tightrope tight, but where it hangs good at a comfortable height for you.
Once your hammock is good, hang your tarp. My tarp is usually attached below the height of the hammock suspension attachment points on the trees.
It may be your tarp is too big. I fiddled with long tarps before and over 12 foot long ridgelines really interfered with proper hammock suspension angles.

I"m pretty sure that it's not a slipping issue. About 93% sure. After Smoke Baits suggestion, I think it's at least 75% operator error. As I said in my OP, with the Rings & straps I could Seriously snug em down, so didn't really have to worry about how high, I just had to pull tight. With the WhoOpies, I can't pull em as tight. I'm heading out now to test that theory, It will be the exact same trees as last night, so testing conditions will be ideal.
I've done the 'hang the tarp below the suspension" before during bad weather, sort of wonder why I didn't think of it before. But like I said, the straps were an old habit & as I have changed suspension, I should have figured I would need to change how I Hang.

[sir_n0thing]

I do know what you mean about not being able to crank 'em as hard as the strap-n-rings suspension. You're talking about tightening so tight that your suspension is almost level from tree to tree, like in the Hennessy instructional videos? :)
I was goofing around with my hammock yesterday trying to replicate that sort of hang and was unable to crank my whoopies that hard.
If you think about it, having ring buckles lets you get a sort of pulley effect when you're cranking on the suspension... leverage. Kind of like using a trucker's hitch knot.

I doubt you'll be able to replicate that with the whoopie slings, but I also think you would get a better hang with less tension anyway... YMMV, HYOH, etc applies... :)

[Youngblood]

...

Now to the "It might only affect ME" part: I like my suspension tight, we are talking tightrope tight here....

Maybe, part of the problem is my minimum hang is 14' due to my tarp length of over 13'. ...

But I like being closer to the top of my tarp when it's cold & I just can't seem to get that, yet...



Doctari... I realize what I am saying here are things you already know, but I am going to say them anyway.:D

First of all 'tightrope tight' is scary. IMO you are 'cruising for a bruising' with that philosophy because of how much that stresses suspension components, especially when you can stretch/retighten and repeat and repeat.

Second, statement 2 and 3 in the above quote are inconsistant, as you stated, and is likely the fundamental cause of your situation.

There are several criteria you can use for selecting tarps and if you select one criteria and then try to use it in a different way it can be like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole, so to speak. Just of few of those criteria for tarps that quickly come to mind that are specialized enough to get you in the 'square peg into a round hole' situation when you try to use them for something they are not designed for are:

1- The smallest tarp size to keep rain off while inside the hammock.

2- A 'walk under and camp under' tarp that provides full rain coverage.

3- A tarp that provides full wind protection.

I always felt that for backpacking you wanted a tarp that was more general purpose for the conditions you were in for that time of year that did a reasonable job of all the things you might need it to do. In other words, I didn't want the tarp to be so specialized that while it did one thing very well, it didn't do the other things I needed it to do very well at all. And complexity, setup, take down, etc all enter in to the tradeoffs you go through... for instance I didn't want extra guylines that needed to be put on or taken off or moved for one tab to another depending on how I wanted to set it up.

[Doctari]

Last night I took Smoke Bait's suggestion of hooking the straps higher on the trees & it worked like a champ. Problem solved. As I thought it was operator error & I couldn't get out of tighten like ring buckles mode.

One thing about over tightening the straps, especially when using Nylon & it rains: I had some new Nylon straps at one of the RRG trips, it rained, and as Nylon will, the straps stretched, so I tightened them, they stretched, I tightened them etc. The next morning it stopped raining & the straps (as Nylon will) shrunk as they dried. In hind sight I'm actually surprised it didn't pull the trees down. Took me almost 30 minutes to get them free they were so tight. Yep, those straps are retired. :D