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I have 6' whoopies and 5' tree straps. I want to make some extenders. An extender is a fixed loop on both ends. How long should I make the extenders and what is the length of amsteel do I need to make it.
Another question. Would it be better to make short whoopies to be used as extenders, then I can adjust them as needed.
Size of your extenders depend entirely on the trees in your area.
For a six foot extender, start with approx. 7 1/2 feet, that will give you plenty for splicing in the eyes.
I'd say keep your present set up as is, and add a pair of extenders if needed.
If your hanging in redwood country...maybe some 20 foot extenders?? :lol:
Even then, 20' might be too short.
I've been happy carrying a pair of 6' extenders, mostly using them doubled when I only need 3' at each end but still having the option of stretching them out to full length when needed.
How do you actually use the extenders with the tree strap?
Larks head one end of the extender to the sewn eye of the tree hugger and attach your suspension to the spliced eye at the other end of the extender. Or, feed one end of extender thru the hugger's sewn eye and then attach suspension to both spliced eyes of the extenders. Second method gives you half the length of the first.
I just went out this last weekend and luckily I had my extenders. Didn't really know how to use them at that time, but I figured it out. The amsteel went mostly around the tree. I had to leave enough of the tree strap for my MSH. Is it ok to have the amsteel around the tree?
Most hammock hangers are tree huggers, hence they like using tree huggers. Using a strap around the full circumference of the tree will do the least damage to the bark. If you used Amsteel all the way around the tree, it's quite possible to do damage. I don't know the magic number if you mix straps and amsteel.. but my gut says half to three quarters of the tree should have strap around it.
I camped in giant tree country earlier this month and took a 25' length of webbing. I'm sure I used 20' of that on one tree.
The strap was more than half and I just read that some people will place sticks between the amsteel and the tree. Will that work?