View Full Version : Hanging without straps and rope damage
Is there any concern about damaging the hammock rope when using it to directly wrap around the tree without straps?
over time abrasion will wear down the sheathing. but the rope will usually do more damage to the tree than the other way around
As Kohburn said the biggest issue is damage to the tree. Its possible to kill a soft barked tree by a rope cutting into the under bark layer all the way around.
Even if you don't do it all the way around the damage weakens the tree and makes them more susceptible to insect and disease invasion. Again potentially killing the tree.
Better to use webbing as some sort of tree strap to prevent this sort of damage. Not to mention the webbing stays put better than rope. 2-3 wraps of webbing and you don't even need to do anything to hold it there.
Cannibal
10-31-2007, 10:36
Plus, as discussed in another thread, some park officials will give you heck for hanging with ropes. Others may be more forgiving about the webbing.
PLUS....
The damage to the trees is the underlying motive for the "heck" giving... So the more proactive we are at protecting the trees the less officials are likely to be concerned enough to be handing out the "heck".
And there's no wear on ropes.
Hammock manufacturers should promote the use of straps to protect their economic future. If activist tree huggers see hammock camping as a threat they will move regulatory agencies to ban tree hanging.
Individual users should learn to use straps for both the hammock and, if tied at a different height, the tarp. Although it can be argued that the tarp puts little or no stress on the tree bark, people who are concerned about anything hanging from a tree will be just as upset by the tarp rope as the hammock rope.
I'll bet if the leaders of an influential outdoor organization like the Adirondack Mountain Club (of which i am a member) got a stick up their a@# about ropes around trees, they could induce the NYS DEC to enact a regulation prohibiting tree hanging. If tree hangers don't take affirmative action to educate both hangers and non-hangers, then we may soon find ourselves using our hammocks for nothing but backyard lounges.
warbonnetguy
10-31-2007, 21:05
i doubt any tree will ever die from damage ocured by a tarp line. the bsa and other lnt organizations have been setting up tarp ridgelines for cooking tarps and such for years, and i've never heard of anyone being concerned about tree damage from such activity. but, just b/c it doesn't cause damage, doesn't mean someone can't claim that it does.
isn't bear bagging still widely accepted? this is way worse than even hanging without tree straps, as the line saws into the bark of the tree as the weighted bag is raised and then lowered again in the morning.
tree straps should definately be used for the suspension, but for a tarp, might be pushing it.
i doubt any tree will ever die from damage ocured by a tarp line. the bsa and other lnt organizations have been setting up tarp ridgelines for cooking tarps and such for years, and i've never heard of anyone being concerned about tree damage from such activity. but, just b/c it doesn't cause damage, doesn't mean someone can't claim that it does.
isn't bear bagging still widely accepted? this is way worse than even hanging without tree straps, as the line saws into the bark of the tree as the weighted bag is raised and then lowered again in the morning.
tree straps should definately be used for the suspension, but for a tarp, might be pushing it.
I've recently taken to attaching my tarp line to the carabiner that holds my straps around the tree. I've also been attaching the line that suspends my netting (Claytor hammock) to the CC buckles that adjusts my straps.
Less line is needed with both applications and everything is in direct line with the hammock. I'm also using figure 9s with both. I love this system.
Miguel
I agree about bear bagging... Thats why there are commercial systems that avoid this. And why many of us use our own systems to avoid this also.
I use a short length of thick climbing rope around the tree branch (5/8" diam) that holds a block and tackle which I use to hoist the food bag. Its good for the tree and really easy for a solo camper to hoist even a pretty hefty weight. All with no damage to the tree.
warbonnetguy
11-01-2007, 20:15
do you climb the tree to set the pulley?
warbonnetguy
11-01-2007, 20:16
i guess even hoisting up a 2 oz pulley is alot better than a bag of food.
Often I do climb the tree to set the pulley... Its fun and gives some good views...
But sometimes its not possible. Depending on the tree branch and bark type I'll throw the heavy rope up and then use very light cord to set the pulley.
Because I tend to base camp from a specific location for several days/weeks I don't mind spending some time getting the bear bag set up well. Mine are typically 10-15' off the ground and about that far from the tree trunk too.
isn't bear bagging still widely accepted? this is way worse than even hanging without tree straps, as the line saws into the bark of the tree as the weighted bag is raised and then lowered again in the morning.
I'm no arborist but I would think the opposite true, that damaging the trunk would be much worse than a single branch. I'm not disagreeing that both seem bad for the tree though.
I'm guessing that whatever we do in the wild can be detrimental.
Worse than bear bagging or hanging your hammock from a tree though would be the flight or the drive to the woods and the lifestyle and infrastructure in place that allows us to head to the woods for 'recreation'. (what are we re-creating anyways?)
In principle we should LNT. But if that were true we ought to look for the big changes we can make to care for our wild places and our planet. The world would be a different place if we practiced LNT in our jobs, lives, homes...
Fighting over the right to hang from a tree is like trying to save grams, when we have many tons of work to do that could have larger impacts over the longer term!
Sympathy for the park officials though, for sure. I just wish they'd limit the gas guzzlers and the RVs before they limit folks walking around with relatively friendly gear - Rock climbing has certainly taken this route - improving with technology to leave rock faces and mountains in better shape than years ago... (primarily climber driven, I think) but along with technology has come the ability for many many many more people to "head to the great outdoors" - and that brings it own problems - trash on Everest (and every mountain!), roads in wild places, cars everywhere, jet contrails in the sky no matter how far away I seem to get... cell phone towers, etc. etc.
Take-a-knee
11-02-2007, 21:38
Hanging a bear bag over a limb is not going to affect the longevity of any tree that wasn't about to die anyway. Contrary to what some may believe, not all trees live to be a thousand years old and grow three hundred feet tall. They die and fall down all the time, without hammocks or bear bags.
warbonnetguy
11-04-2007, 12:45
I'm no arborist but I would think the opposite true, that damaging the trunk would be much worse than a single branch. I'm not disagreeing that both seem bad for the tree though.
well, i was just thinking about a bear bag causing more bark damage due to the sawing effect. weather this is more likely to just kill the branch and not the whole tree i could not say, but as someone pointed out before, bark damage really just opens the tree to insects and disease, and it probably doesn't matter where the injury occurs with regards to these factors.
Hanging a bear bag over a limb is not going to affect the longevity of any tree that wasn't about to die anyway. Contrary to what some may believe, not all trees live to be a thousand years old and grow three hundred feet tall. They die and fall down all the time, without hammocks or bear bags.
some trees have a lifespan on a mere 10-20 years.
heck some trees drop their seeds but the shells won't open to germinate untill they have been scorched by fire (cough- california -cough)
that doesnt mean your allowed to set trees on fire, it happens due to natural forest fires. (lightning strikes)
is there a way to attach a tarp to the hammock? That Way it would be even easier to set up:
tie tree huggers, attach tarp, set up hammock underneath, without needing to tie hammock straps
that doesnt mean your allowed to set trees on fire, it happens due to natural forest fires. (lightning strikes)
;) yes of course. but building in those natural forest fire zones is just a bad idea. and yes i have relatives that got evacuated due to fires recently.
is there a way to attach a tarp to the hammock? That Way it would be even easier to set up:
tie tree huggers, attach tarp, set up hammock underneath, without needing to tie hammock straps
where there is a will there is a way. we've had discussions about using a solid structual line from tree to tree and using prussik knots to hang the hammock underneith (this makes the hammock ridge span adjustable from stretched hammock to sagging seat)