new huggers and whoopies

I'm going to use my huggers and whoopies for the first time tomorrow. I have a couple of questions;
1/ should I always use a marlin spike hitch for the toggle?
2/ I know Shug says "on the knot, not the toggle" but in some diagrams like dejoha's, it shows the sling around the toggle (is this just for purposes of the drawing?) so what would be best?
okay 3 questions...
3/if using the marlin spike hitch, what should the distance be from the tree to form the hitch
A couple pics of the huggers and whoopies attached would be real nice.
Thx

1.Personally I would only use a Martin spike, simply because it doesn't become impossible to untie no matter how tight it gets, you just pull out the toggle.
2. Always always always on the knot...safe to say that was just to make it a simple diagram.
3.that will vary depending on tree spacing and that's why the ability to untie and tie it again in a new spot easily is essential....
Essentially

Once you have the marlin spike hitch learned it becomes totally second nature, you'll be able to tie it with your eyes closed

1/ it works very well.
2/ yes, on the knot. I haven't been able to figure out how NOT to get it on the knot without a lot of effort.
3/ where ever you need it. That's the beauty of it.