View Full Version : Customizing HH cords
I was hanging my HH a-sym UL. Tying the rope through the tree huggers is a real pain. Other than the rings is there another way to tie it off faster and easier? I'm scared to start cutting the cord without good directions. Is there a step by step procedure that I could follow?
Thanks
If you want to leave the cord on the HH, you can use two carabiners with each tree hugger and then use the garda hitch, to save weight you can tie two rings (or sew them on the tree hugger - thats what I did). If you only want to use one carabiner or ring, you can use the Munter hitch tied off (munter mule), but I think the Garda is nicer and worth the weight of the extra rings (SMC aluminum descending ring - 0.4 oz). If you're going to convert to webbing, I prefer the eagle creek buckles (see AngrySparrow's posts for vendor) over the rings but a lot of people like the rings I guess.
FanaticFringer
12-08-2007, 19:44
I understand your feelings about the tree huggers. I cant stand those things.
Here's a suggestion that you can try without cutting your rope. At least not yet.:eek: Get yourself some cinch buckles www.hammockforums.net/gallery/showimage.php?i=1737&catid=member&imageuser=45
If your curious about the rings, get those also and try them both. Their too cheap not to. I much prefer the cinch buckles. No knot to tie whereas the rings will slip if you dont tie one. They feel much safer IMO.
Get some polyester webbing. About 12' per side. I like the 1" woodland green camo webbing from OWF www.owfinc.com/Hardware/Shardware/webbing.asp
Get a couple of carabiners such as these www.backcountrygear.com/catalog/climbdetail.cfm/CMP450
Tie your spectra rope around the cinch buckle using either of these methods. Here is the one I use www.hammockforums.net/gallery/showimage.php?i=1737&catid=member&imageuser=45
It is just wrappped around the buckle 7 times and then tied off with a bowline knot www.animatedknots.com/bowlineboating/index.php
This one is pretty popular and used by several members here. Look at the pics of the Prussik knot on the buckle www.hammockforums.net/gallery/browseimages.php?do=member&catid=member&imageuser=404
If you like it you can then snip that rope off of that expensive hammock.:eek:
It is no big deal. Leave about 2' of rope per end to tie to the buckle.
I was hanging my HH a-sym UL. Tying the rope through the tree huggers is a real pain. Other than the rings is there another way to tie it off faster and easier? I'm scared to start cutting the cord without good directions. Is there a step by step procedure that I could follow?
Thanks
You can use the original cords with what I call the Carabiner Hitch. It is patterned after the Trucker's Hitch.
You can either use a carabiner or an SMC descending ring. The carabiner is heavier, but much easier to use.
First use a larks head or clove hitch to attach the ring or carabiner to the stock rope, say 1' from the hammock. Then run the rope to the tree hugger through the tree hugger loops, or better yet, through a carabiner clipped into the loops, then back to the first carabiner.
Wrap the first carabiner 2 times, then a simple half hitch. Repeat on the other end.
When you have the hammock positioned, undo the half hitch on one end and pull the suspension rope tight. Pinching the rope to keep it from sliding back, wrap the carabiner 3 or 4 more times. Then tie a half hitch with a bight and using the bight, tie another half hitch. The wraps on the carabiner are really sufficient to hold. I have never had the half hitches pull any tighter than what I tightened them and so they are easy to undo - pull the free end.
Repeat on the other end.
I have found this method has several advantages:
no modification - No modification to the stock rope is needed - use as is. You vary the position of the carabiner or ring lark's headed to the rope to suit the tree separation.
weight - since, by my measurement, the lightest webbing I could find is 3.7 times heavier than the equal rated Spyderline I use, I have a total weight savings - even with using an extra carabiner. The weight savings would be even greater if I used the SMC ring instead of carabiners. The stock Hennessy rope may be heavier then the Spyderline, but it is still many times lighter than even the lightest webbing.
ease of use - I found this method as easy to use as the double ring buckle and so I have totally switched away from webbing for my suspension. Never used the clinch buckle, but the double ring buckle is probably about the same for ease of use.
bulk - the rope makes a much smaller bundle for packing than webbing. Webbing is huge by comparison.
So you can save weight over webbing and don't have to modify the stock rope.
Still need tree huggers and some people just don't like them.
Your call.
warbonnetguy
12-08-2007, 20:59
here's a thread that starts with a figure 9 modification and then turns into 10 or more different hommade designs of ultra-light devices for making the rope part of your suspension adjustable kind of like webbing buckles do for webbing, but for line.
http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/showthread.php?t=1706&highlight=new+product+figure+9
TeeDee, can you please post a picture guide, or at least a picture of the finished set up in detail, I would love to see it. Also, how much webbing do you use for your huggers?
Take-a-knee
12-09-2007, 00:24
TeeDee, can you please post a picture guide, or at least a picture of the finished set up in detail, I would love to see it. Also, how much webbing do you use for your huggers?
TeeDee's setup rocks, I like a clove hitch for the SMC ring, it is easy to reposition the ring where you need it.
Like he said, all this is is a trucker's hitch with hardware added at the friction points. The carabiner (I use treklites) at the tree hugger is what makes it slick, you can just clip it instead of having to feed all the rope through it.
I just want to see what it looks like, I am already sold.
I like the figure 9s but don't have a any hang time on them yet. I do have some time in on the cleats and they work pretty good and I haven't broke on yet as I expected they would.
TeeDee, can you please post a picture guide, or at least a picture of the finished set up in detail, I would love to see it. Also, how much webbing do you use for your huggers?
I have a picture of the final result in the gallery already http://www.hammockforums.net/gallery/files/2/2/6/100340.jpg
The red string on the right marks the foot end of the Bridge Hammock apex ring.
At that time I was experimenting with having the suspension line tied to the tree hugger carabiner and not to the hammock proper as is the usual practice. So things may look a little backwards. Confirmed that it is 6 of one and half a dozen of the other which way you do it. :D That is why you see a double line from the ring with the red string to the carabiner to the right.
On the far right you can see the carabiner clipped to the tree hugger. The suspension line is tied to that carabiner. To the left you can see the carabiner with the carabiner larks headed to the suspension line. To the left of that carabiner you can see the half hitches. The black thing hanging down on the right of that carabiner is a curly lace used as a drip string.
A view from a slightly different angle can be seen here (It is hard to see the hitch):
http://www.hammockforums.net/gallery/files/2/2/6/100900.jpg
I don't have a digital camera, and the roll of film in my camera is far from the end. So getting a step by step series of pictures isn't practical right now.
Here is a description of the Carabiner Hitch. Hopefully this will help:
Girth Hitch - first girth hitch one end of the carabiner to the suspension rope at a convenient place. If you have used a trucker's hitch, then place the carabiner where you would normally tie the loop of the trucker's hitch - think of the carabiner as replacing the loop of the trucker's hitch. Tie the girth hitch as follows: form a bight, double the bight back on the rope and pull the rope through the bight, clip the carabiner into the loop thus formed - instant girth hitch ( aka Larks head ). Simple, easy, efficient, quick and secure. Note: orient the carabiner on the girth hitch so that the hitch is on the small end of the carabiner, i.e., the opening for the wire gate is away from the girth hitch.. This will make clipping into the carabiner in subsequent steps much easier.
Loop through tree hugger/carabiner - from the first carabiner, run to the tree hugger and through the end loops or clip into the carabiner which is on the tree hugger loops if you are using one there.
back to 1st carabiner - from the tree hugger run back to the first carabiner, clip into the carabiner and wrap around the carabiner fully once and pull tight, as tight as you want. Always remember that you are working with a 3:1 advantage now. The force you pull with becomes 3 times that force on the hammock or the hammock ridge line. I doubt that even with the 3:1 advantage that you will be able to break the ridge line. Wrapping the carabiner once provides enough friction to hold the rope and makes pinching it later much easier.
Once you have the rope pulled as tight as you desire, the rope needs to be secured from slipping back. There are at least 2 ways to do this:
wraps - hold the rope and clip through the carabiner again. I find that I can pinch the rope pulled over the carabiner with my fingers to hold it in place. The rope is now wrapped totally around the end of the carabiner once. Repeat and clip the loose end through the carabiner 4 more times so that the rope is now wrapped around the end of the carabiner 4 or 5 times. The more the better for me.
Tie a slipped half hitch, pulling a large bight through the half hitch. Using the bight of the first half hitch, tie a second half hitch. The hammock suspension is now tied and secured.
girth hitch - there are two methods for tying this second girth hitch:
threading - (thanks to oldguy52 for this):
back to the carabiner and go down through it and pull tight, pinch and hold the rope,
come out the bottom then back up and over the standing part, i.e., the part from the tree hugger,
then back under the carabiner and up through again,
Now back out to the standing part. This should end as a larks head knot.
looping -
clip into carabiner and pull tight, pinch and hold the rope,
pull down and under end of carabiner and then up and over the standing part, i.e., the rope from the tree hugger,
form a bight in the loose end, twist the bight 1/2 turn so that the loose end is under the working part, thus forming a loop of the bight,
clip loop formed in bight above into carabiner and pull tight. Girth hitch formed and holding.
Tie a slipped half hitch, pulling a large bight through the half hitch. Using the bight of the first half hitch, tie a second half hitch. The hammock suspension is now tied and secured.
I don't use the second girth hitch. Instead I just wrap the carabiner about 4 or 5 times (I'm paranoid about getting dumped, this many is probably not really necessary), tie a half hitch with a bight and then another half hitch on a bight using the first bight. As I wrote before the half hitches have never been pulled tight using 2.8 mm Spyderline, the wraps hold the hitch.