I got some buckles from Crazy Creek, but I didn't like how the Crazy Creek uses the webbing so I made my own. Check out my system here:
http://www.tothewoods.net/HomemadeGe...eSupports.html
Printable View
I got some buckles from Crazy Creek, but I didn't like how the Crazy Creek uses the webbing so I made my own. Check out my system here:
http://www.tothewoods.net/HomemadeGe...eSupports.html
Looks interesting. As you know I am currently just starting my adventure into hammocking but it has crossed my mind on more than one occasion that I want to try out a number of different hammocks from different manufacturers. I will keep this in mind as I venture forth into the realm of homemade hanging gear. Thanks for the info Jeff
Homemade gear is great - I like my homemade hammocks more than the commercial models I've tried. Plus it's like figuring out a puzzle when you make a new project to solve a new problem. And THEN you have to get the weight down...another puzzle...it's an addictive, never-ending cycle!
Hey Jeff - I posted this on WB too, but maybe you didn't see it....how much did those Crazy Creek buckles set you back?
I've used these buckles for several hours worth of sleeping and laying around now - absolutely no slippage. I used Ed's 1" polypro webbing, and the 1" nylon webbing used for climbing harnesses that's a bit thicker, and both work. I like 'em!
Still not sure it's worth the extra 2.5 oz over the Air Core/Hugger set. My pack is light enough now that I can spare an extra 2.5 oz if I want to, though.
Heres a link for a similar buckle.
http://www.onrope1.com/index.php?mod...emnumber=dj101
Thanks, Arkwater...that looks exactly like the Crazy Creek buckle, just with a different finish. Even the little bulge on the edges. I'm even gonna add that link to the webpage.
Here's a couple of pics of my new CC strap setup.
Brian
T-BACK
Jeff,Quote:
I got some buckles from Crazy Creek, but I didn't like how the Crazy Creek uses the webbing so I made my own. Check out my system here:
What did you do at the other end of the strap to maintain a grip on the tree? Did you just sew a loop for the free end of the strap to pass through?
Yes. One wrap around the tree, pass the other end of the strap through the loop so it constricts the tree, then run that end through the buckle.
i just got 3 sets of the CC type buckles & was just wondering... jeff & t-back, have you had much chance to use the set-ups you posted pictures of?
if so, have you considered doing anything differant in the way you made the attachments w/ webbing or cord? or do both of those set-ups seem to be doing well?
they both look great. ...tim
JJ,
What is the breaking strength of that air corps plus? Thx.
Pan
i was just checking that out on backpackinglight. a little over 1000lbs.
i have a 50' length of the air core pro URSA dynema bearbaging rope.
it`s rated at 1400lbs & the whole 50' length weighs 2.6ozs.
since i usualy use an ursa bag for my food now, i`m thinking about using some of that.
but i`m wondering if a loop of cord w/ body weight could reduce the breaking strength of the one inch webbing as it causes it to bunch up like in jeff`s pictures? ...tim
According to BPL, Air Core Plus has a breaking strength of 1109 lbs and weighs .036 oz/ft.
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-...ctra_cord.html
It's expensive, but very light. I haven't measured the stretch...there's a little bit but nothing like parachute cord.
FWIW, I stopped using the Air Core 2 as ridgeline - it's strong enough, but it's so thin that it was damaging the supports.
I still don't get how it's an improvement over a pair of O rings. The O rings would be lighter and could do away with the bit of webbing between the rope and the main strap.
Dunno - would one little piece of cord keep the O-rings in place well enough for the friction? Worth trying. Who has some O-rings laying around?
This has been on my hammock stand since I made it. I've been too busy, then sick with colds, then too busy AND sick, to go hiking lately. But it's working just fine on the stand...really makes switching out and adjusting the hammocks easy.
I've noticed one hassle so far. If I pull it really tight, then want to undo it before I get in, the buckle is tough to undo. I have to pull hard to get the buckle in the position to loosen. But if I lay in it for a while it kinda settles like a knot, and that's enough to make it easier to undo. Maybe it's the webbing still stretching.
But that's only an issue when I really cinch it down. Wouldn't even be a consideration without a ridgeline...with a ridgeline, just don't tighten quite so much and it's still fine.
I don't see any reason it would work differently in the field. Can't wait to test it out, though!
I made my buckle setup, just like Jeff's, this past weekend. I went to West Marine yesterday and bought a few feet of 3/16" cord with a 1200# breaking strength and replaced the spectra on my HH. I think I'm really going to like the quicker setup and adjustment with straps and buckles. But, I agree with Jeff that it can be hard to loosen if you haven't laid in the hammock a little while.
Once I opened up the cover over the knots on the ends of the HH it wasn't nearly as daunting as I thought it would be to change ropes.
I was just going to post about this when I read your comment. I was playing around with the buckles AND a ridgeline trying to what they are all about. I was also using overly long straps stretched out to a silly distance between trees. (I know, too many variables at once) So, naturally, I had to pull the straps really tight to keep my butt off of the ground. I was completely unable to release the buckles. I had to cut the ridgeline to get enough slack. It was fortunate that I was also playing around with a ridgeline at the time, or I would have had to cut a strap.Quote:
I've noticed one hassle so far. If I pull it really tight, then want to undo it before I get in, the buckle is tough to undo.
Slowhike,
I used my setup for two nights in the Ocala NF this past week. I made my stepson a hammock and attached the same system to it. We had no problems with them at all. setup times were much quicker than we were used to. Once, due to an inaccurate map and guide, we overshot our campsite and arrived at the next hangable area after dark. Goeff has only hung a hammock about ten times had his up almost as fast as I did. The simplicity and ability to make small adjustments easily has me sold. Also the wet straps can easily be stored separate from my dry hammock. The highlight of the trip was when we came around a hairpin turn in the trail and suprised a momma bear and her baby. She stood her ground until the little one scampered away from us and then she turned and ran. It was a very humbling experience.
Brian
t-BACK
stoikurt,
Ah, yes, you may have a good point there. And there is nothing like circular thinking to re-affirm an idea.
On the other hand, with those long straps I still might have ended up pulling it too tight, even with out a ridgeline. After all. I have been known to stare logic squarely in the face and avoid it anyway. :rolleyes:
Super cool isn't it...had a similiar experience years ago.
Pan
lol - In Australia we have wombats, and they're a bit short sighted, and rather 'portly'. when a walker stumbles upon one, they seem to think " Oh-oh, Hmmm...I'll just escape by running between his legs! He'll never expect that!"
While not quite in the league of a camel and the eye of a needle, I'm sure you get the idea :)
Slowhike,
Two actually...
Circa 1963, SNP, about 20 yards, on a ridge line, Bear stood on hind legs ( bigger than us) bellowed at the four of us, dropped to all fours and then romped off down hill.
2004, dust settling on Cedar Run Trail in SNP, Smee and I started bush wacking up an unmarked creek looking for a hammock site when we jumped a cub 20-30 yards ahead, who promptly high tailed it up hill out of site under momma's protection proly... we turned left on a game trail and camped about 50 yards from that spot... we were tired, it was late... poor choice... every deer that came by, about six that nite, had us awake, shining lights to make sure it was not the bears... even got up to investigate a loud "snap" in the vicinity of our bear bags.... just another deer..... Lesson Learned.....(the hard way) move on a good distance from any last know bear citing....
Probably have a good 4-5 more good bear encounters but these two came to mind when I read and commented on your cool citing/experiance.
Pan
i`ve only seen one bear while hiking & that was from probably at least a quarter mile away (mt mitchel, nc).
he was gone by the time i got closer & came out to where i could see again.
i camped there on that meadow-like mountian side that night, but never saw the bear again.
Here's a pic of my HH with straps including my new buckle attachment:
http://www.hammockforums.net/gallery....php?i=193&c=4
And in use with my HH ULB:
http://www.hammockforums.net/gallery....php?i=195&c=4
Wombats are cuddly little vegans. They have big claws that they use to dig their burrows, but I've never heard of them hurting anyone. It's more funny than frightening. Kind of like being charged by a muppet. I suppose we're lucky in Australia that the big carnivores had died out long before we got here. Still, apparently we have 9 of the ten most deadly snakes in the world, so it's all swings and roundabouts.
If I saw a grizzly I'd probably crap my pants :)
maybe this post will help keep some one off the ground.
last night was the 1st time i got around to using the cc buckles. i had a couple interesting things happen.
1st thing was that all of a sudden i started easing down to the floor. the 1" webbing from wal-mart had begun to tear on one side & the cc buckle had turned caddy-corner. i believe maybe the webbing was just to soft & pulled to one side of the buckle. i changed it out & went to bed.
next i woke to a falling sensation!
i had a question mark pop-up in the back of my mind when i first looked at the box stitchin http .http://www.hammockforums.net/gallery...5/PC110176.JPG .on the home made cc buckle straps... or maybe it was a caution flag?
anyway, as you can see in the picture, the stitching wasn`t enough to do the job. maybe someone can elaborate on proper stitching for a box stitch.
i`m guessing that the sewing mach needs to be set to deliver the most stitch per inch that it can.
i was all ready hanging close to the floor & had a big-ole memory foam pillow under me, so no injuries.
no bar tack. i`ve been hearing that bar tacks can actually weaken fabric because it puts so many holes in a small space.
i believe it was on backpackinglight.com that they compared bar tacking vs box stitching & showed that the box stitch was much stronger.
but i did go back & sew two lines of zig zag stitches down across the box stitches on the other buckle`s webbing just to add strength until i make another.
i believe that having more stitches per inch will be better. notice in the picture, you can see that the stitches are probably longer than they should be.
I used triple bartacks on my homemade slapstraps, and they've worked great. I think bartacks probably weaken normal fabric, but straps are woven so loosely that I don't think it's a problem. As long as the stitch doesn't weaken the material, it's definitely stronger than box stitching. Especially when you don't have a lot of room to work with.
But overlapping box stitches spread the force over a wider area. As long as the threads are strong enough, and there are enough boxes, I don't see how concentrating the force into a bar tack is preferable. Unless you don't have room for box stitches, obviously.
I'm not sure that a box stitch really spreads the force that much, unless the material is pretty stiff. I think most of the force is concentrated on the nearest cross-member of the box. In that case, a bartack at the same position would be stronger. I think I remember some posts about using a box stitch with a bartack reinforcement at this point; you'd probably get about the same results with just the bartack.
i went back to backpackinglight.com & found the article where they tested different types of attachment stitching (in forums i searched for "box stitch").
they were testing sewing webbing to lightweight materials like used on ultralight backpacks.
they said most attachment failures were a failure of the lightweight material, not the stitching it`s self.
so the results of their testing showed a box stitch to spread the force better on the lightweight material. also the bar tack concentrates so many holes in a small area that it weakens (cuts) the lightweight material, causing it to tear.
but as far as sewing webbing to webbing...??? that`s not what they were looking at.
so i`m still not sure what`s the strongest stitching method for sewing webbing together to form a loop & hold a persons weight.
i know lot`s of people do it & don`t have a problem. i`ve done several that are still intact.
i`m sure that my main problem on the one that came apart was that the stitching was too far & loose.
but i`d still like to know the best stitch for webbing.
I've been busy lately, so I just now had time to consider what to do with my CC type buckles. I came up with an interesting alternative to Jeff's attachment plan.
Basically, instead of adding an extra piece of webbing, just tie your support cord onto the buckle via a sort of prusik. The width of the knot prevents the buckle from slipping sideways. That's the idea anyway. I haven't put it on a hammock yet (waiting for more webbing from Ed), but I think it should work.
If it works, it'll definitely be easier than extra webbing, and possibly lighter too.
I just posted some pics of the knot being tied.
I just realized that if you have free cord to work with, you can just tie a bight and wrap this knot like a normal prusik. Duh! :D I was planning around using the stock spectra on my HH ULB.
bb... that`s pretty cool! if the extra wraps do keep it from sliding under weight & swinging, that`s going to be a great way to go!
Just wanted to bring this back to the top since there's been discussion about the CC buckles on the Ring Buckle thread.
Where do you get the CC Buckles? I "Gooled" and even called CC. The only cinch buckles I found were those on "OnRope1". CC said they will not sell the buckles. OnRope1 requires a minimum of a $10.00 order and over $8.00 shipping. I'll order something else form them to cover the minimum order amount. Just wondering where everyone gets the CC buckles.
Also, how does Ed Spears connect his webbing to his hammocks?
OnRope1 is the only supplier that I am aware of. I've ordered from them a couple of times, and they do have a $10 minimum, but if you call they will ship via USPS and you can get a lower shipping amount.
Speer hammocks have their webbing tied to the hammock body.
yep, that's the place
http://www.onrope1.com/store/index.p...d=118&parent=4
as far as attaching support webbing to the hammock, a popular & trust worthy way is to sew a loop (maybe 4" long) in the end of the webbing, & form a larks head. it constricts tightly & strongly on the hammock.
if using rope on a buckle, a loop formed into a larks head is still a good way to attach the buckle to the hammock.
Ed uses a knot in the end of his hammock, rather than whipping the end. Since the knot is there to act as a stop, he just sews the webbing into a loop, around the end of the hammock, tight enough that it won't slip over the knot.
I use the larkshead whether it's webbing or cord.