View Full Version : more tree hugger defects
BillyBob58
11-01-2007, 09:51
I almost forgot about this. There had been a previous thread a few months ago about someone's HH tree huggers wearing thru in the loop/rope contact area. At Neo's Tenn gathering, Skinnybadger showed up with his brand new, never slept in HH ULBP. After one set up and one night sleep, the next morning his tree huggers were worn to the point of not being safe for another hang, IMO.
I think TH has a real quality control issue with this that needs to be addressed immediately. It's good that Skinnybadger was not already 10 miles in on a week long trip. And it's good that he found it before he was dumped on the ground.
After a little over a year, my tree huggers still do not show this problem. But, I have used carabiners for most of that time, though not the first few months.
My understanding (and this could be mistaken) is that these are made overseas in Asian low cost centres... The most common problem with such manufacturing locations is quality control... or more specifically, lack of it.
The result is products run the gamut from great to crap without any indication or which is which.
headchange4u
11-01-2007, 10:20
I have had thin rope/guy line cut webbing when it's pulled through the webbing to fast. I know HH use different sizes of support lines on different models. If the support line on his ULBA is they same size as mine was, it's pretty thin and would be very capable of cutting or damaging the webbing in the way I described.
JoeHiker
11-01-2007, 11:50
What is the material one would use to make tree hugger straps. Where do you get it? I've previously stated that I'm not much of a DIY-er but that looks like a project simple enough even for me. I could hand sew the box-stitches.
NCPatrick
11-01-2007, 11:52
A lot of people are using the 1" polypro straps (webbing) sold by Ed Speer (http://www.speerhammocks.com/Ordering/ordering%20info.htm). I've heard that if you ask, they will even sew the loop on the end for you.
nylon webbing - same stuff used for rock climbing
NCPatrick
11-01-2007, 11:54
The nylon has been known to stretch. The polypro doesn't stretch nearly as much.
I almost forgot about this. There had been a previous thread a few months ago about someone's HH tree huggers wearing thru in the loop/rope contact area. At Neo's Tenn gathering, Skinnybadger showed up with his brand new, never slept in HH ULBP. After one set up and one night sleep, the next morning his tree huggers were worn to the point of not being safe for another hang, IMO.
I think TH has a real quality control issue with this that needs to be addressed immediately. It's good that Skinnybadger was not already 10 miles in on a week long trip. And it's good that he found it before he was dumped on the ground.
After a little over a year, my tree huggers still do not show this problem. But, I have used carabiners for most of that time, though not the first few months.
yes it was brand new and never been out of the bag till i took it out and helped him hang it:cool: neo
Peter_pan
11-01-2007, 15:37
The issue is not quality but design.... every climber knows not to put a line thru nylon ( or poly for that matter) as it will wear thru in a single descent.... under constant weight, with a swaying tree, lots of toss and turn , 3-4 bath room breaks, etc, all make motion that has the spectra line cutting the loops.... Best answer is to have a biner in the system or check and replace frequently.
Within weight specs, on mature trees and tight lashings to begin with the wear can/should be quite minimal...Point is that all hanging gear wears and should be frequently inspected.
Pan
daibutsu
11-01-2007, 19:07
I questioned, a few weeks ago, the coincidental country of manufacture of our hammocks. It collapsed into politics; this is not politics, it is where is my hammock made and can I choose to purchase a hammock based on what I feel is important?
The yahoo site ignored me, twice. Even the catalogs indicate [ Import ] why don't our hammock manufacturers ?
What has torpeodoed my question, in the past, was the politically incorrect observation that Chinese made items are dubious and often crappy. I'm sorry, I retract that!!!
warbonnetguy
11-01-2007, 19:56
you want to use a knot that will not slip at all, such a double sheetbend. some knots slip a bit when first weighted, this is real bad for the webbing. use double sheetbend or some sheetbend variation that works for you, and set the knot well by hand, then once weighted it should not slip a bit. but...
just the act of pulling line through the webbing before you tie the knot, can eventually wear it out too, just check your loops frequently and retire them when necessary. if they are long enough, you can just cut the loop off and sew another on the same piece of webbing, but webbing is cheap too.
wearing through on the first use seems almost hard to believe though, lots of people have used line tied to the same straps many many times. one time seems very strange. what knot did he use?
also, uncovered vectran and spectra are slick, and alot less likely to cause as much friction/abrasion, especially if a no slip knot is used in conjunstion.
BillyBob58
11-01-2007, 21:44
.................
wearing through on the first use seems almost hard to believe though, lots of people have used line tied to the same straps many many times. one time seems very strange. what knot did he use?.
I'm not sure. Neo, did you help him tie the knot, or was it Fishbone? I'm thinking it was the HH style fig 8 lashing, but not certain.
I did notice that his rope was a good bit thinner than the rope on my UL Explorer.