Non-finicky UCR suspension

[TiredFeet]

Not to put too fine a point on it, "negating" might be a bit of an overstatement. The devil is in the details, of course. Adding *anything* obviously adds weight but my little bit of slingshot tubing per UCR ain't much at all in the grand scheme of things. ...and I'm just now realizing that a small rubber faucet washer (compression sealing ring type) might work just as well. Gotta try that this weekend.

just weighed the cord I use for the prusiked soft shackel I use at the end of my UCRs. 1 gram for the pair.

Funny

I decided to see just how much that prussic in equivalent to in Dynglide.

New England Ropes specs the dynaglide at 0.1 lb/100' which works out to 0.016 oz/ft

So that 1 g for the Prussics, which isn't really all that much, is equivalent to 2.2' of dynaglide or 1.1' per UCR. Add that into your calculations and it eats up a fair amount of that difference from the whoopie.

That dynaglide stuff is scary light for the strength.

Frawg - in light of just how light that dynaglide is, it would be interesting to see how much that slingshot tubing weighs and how much that rubber washer weighs. My GF says that rubber is surprisingly dense and heavy. Weigh both and see what the equivalent length of dynaglide is and how much you are really saving over the whoopie???

[Frawg]

Sorry - didn't mean to cast aspersions on the UCR.

For those for whom they work, they are a great idea.

No aspersions detected here, TF! All's well in HammockLand.

[Frawg]

Frawg - in light of just how light that dynaglide is, it would be interesting to see how much that slingshot tubing weighs and how much that rubber washer weighs. My GF says that rubber is surprisingly dense and heavy. Weigh both and see what the equivalent length of dynaglide is and how much you are really saving over the whoopie???

TF, I haven't tried dynaglide and I see that in focusing on the 'UCR' thing I missed the dynaglide emphasis. I'm using 7'64 Amsteel and am not likely to go much thinner.

I'm not sure what constitutes dense & heavy but, FWIW, a 2 inch length of leftover slingshot tubing just weighed in at 1.4 gram. I would use 1-1/2", IIRC. Not sure it would work with dynaglide, though, due to diameter sizing. Works fine with 7/64 Amsteel. Re rubber washers, I'm thinking of some small ones I got for repairing a bathtub faucet back home. I'm heading there this weekend and will see what's on my shelf. If memory serves, they'll be lighter than the slingshot tubing but it remains to be seen how much force they can exert.

Sorry for the curt response; gotta check in on Mom at the rehab center right now. I'll give a better reply when time permits.

HTH in the interim.

Cheers!

[GrizzlyAdams]

Funny

I decided to see just how much that prussic in equivalent to in Dynglide.

New England Ropes specs the dynaglide at 0.1 lb/100' which works out to 0.016 oz/ft

So that 1 g for the Prussics, which isn't really all that much, is equivalent to 2.2' of dynaglide or 1.1' per UCR.

I found that number remarkable, but I checked the citation and the math and it all works out. Truth was, measurement I did of the cord was 0.8 g for the pair but I rounded up, thinking it was insignificant.
Guess not with Dynaglide. Those that want to carry Dynaglide whoopies
that reach L feet can do so knowing that the weight difference for the doubling is no more than L/2 grams. As if that mattered for weights so small.

'course, I just as soon use the difference in cord between UCR and whoopie for something else that needs Dynaglide (like another UCR...<grin>). For the lengths of suspension I carry the UCR is simply more efficient; I can get more out of a roll of Dynaglide that way.

[TiredFeet]

I found that number remarkable, but I checked the citation and the math and it all works out. Truth was, measurement I did of the cord was 0.8 g for the pair but I rounded up, thinking it was insignificant.
Guess not with Dynaglide. Those that want to carry Dynaglide whoopies
that reach L feet can do so knowing that the weight difference for the doubling is no more than L/2 grams. As if that mattered for weights so small.

'course, I just as soon use the difference in cord between UCR and whoopie for something else that needs Dynaglide (like another UCR...<grin>). For the lengths of suspension I carry the UCR is simply more efficient; I can get more out of a roll of Dynaglide that way.

Yes - you get more UCR for the cord than you do whoopie. However, you would have to make a lot of UCRs to get an extra one.

The thing that keeps us from using the UCR is the finickiness of the constriction. In order to get it to hold consistently, we need a much longer bury than for the whoopie plus a prussic or tubing or whatever. That means for us there are two things to adjust for the UCR:

1. the length, and then
2. the free end hold - prussic or whatever. Even with the tubing, we do not feel comfortable just ignoring it. It can always slip out of place, in which case it doesn't work.

Just another step to using the UCR. If you develop the habit, then it doesn't matter, I guess.

Even with the Prussic, we have had it slip if ANYTHING so much as touches the constrictor and for us, when it slips, it slips all the way, either until the terminator hits the bury or the hammock is resting on the ground. Usually the latter.

The only UCR construction that we have been successful with is the one with the constrictor totally buried in the silicone tubing. The tubing then negates any weight and bulk advantage of the UCR over the whoopie.

I guess we have had so many UCRs slip that we just plain do not trust them any more at all.

The whoopies have ALWAYS been rock solid. We have never had a whoopie slip. Not even a small fraction of an inch. The whoopies have ALWAYS been a matter of setting to the desired length and forget. The whoopies have always been easy to adjust. Our experience just gives us a lot more peace of mind with the whoopies than the UCR. When we drift off to sleep, we do NOT want to be worrying if tonight is the night something touches the UCR and we hit the ground.

But that is just our experience.

[GrizzlyAdams]

I am retiring from this discussion. You have made your point. I have made mine. We both have better things to do!

best regards

[TNRat]

Interesting. Where does one get this tube?

This looks like unbraided tygon tubing you can buy at Home Depot or Lowe's.

[amac]

... In order to get it to hold consistently, we need a much longer bury than for the whoopie plus a prussic or tubing or whatever.

I'm always puzzled when I hear of folks who experience issues with the UCR. I haven't at all. I agree, it can easily slip if one's buddy is a practical joker and asks "what will happen if I push right here?" Aside from that I haven't had any issues. I do plan on adding Frawg's tubing idea, just haven't made it a priority yet.
(just felt the UCR needed a supportive comment)

[Frawg]

I wanted to follow up an open item from my previous post.

I set up a quick test hang in my Northern VA back yard to check out the O-ring idea. Worked like a charm!

Here's the setup with 7/64 Amsteel:

The left UCR has the O-ring; right one has the slingshot tubing.

Here's a closeup:


I'd gotten the rings at the local Home Depot -- Danco #60, 1/8" I.D., 1/16" thick. Costs about $2 for a pack of 10, IIRC.



14 of them weigh less than 0.05 gram, i.e., one ring weighs under 3.6 mg (.0036 g). Close enough to zero for me.

Also, the UCR bury length was only 10" long under load. The short bury was due to a measurement error that I'd never gone back and corrected. Without a gripper it slips and lowers me (about 200#) gently to the ground. With the O-ring it holds me securely, even when bouncing around in the hammock. No hint of slippage.

I'll probably use this method from now on.

[Running Feather]

Sweet. Thanks for the info!