My height, 5'7", is the limiting factor in how far apart the trees can be.
My sweet spot seems to be 12-14'
My height, 5'7", is the limiting factor in how far apart the trees can be.
My sweet spot seems to be 12-14'
"Every day above ground is a good day"
thanks for the great help guys. looks as though i have yet another DIY/mod on my ever growing list. now i know why some need support groups and the like.
note on the weight, those numbers are great!
really light, much more than mine.
I must have done something wrong along the way. I made my hammock from some 1.9 oz. ripstop I happened to find at Wallyworld and some 1" strap I found at a fabric warehouse, 10 foot each end, and I haven't had a bit of trouble yet. It seems to hang nicely with very little stretch, and it hasn't harmed my trees. As far as tying it off to the trees, I just make 2 or 3 loops around the tree and a simple slip knot at the end. In the morning, I just pull the knot open and down it comes. My whole rig, with straps, stuff sack, and bug net, weighs 26 ozs. I've made a sock for it at another 12 ozs., just not sure if I'm going to carry it with me. Probably will, though, as I'm only going out at about 25 lbs. fully loaded. Also, when I tied it to the hammock, I sewed about a 3 inch loop in the end and looped that twice around the whipped ends of the hammock, making sure I overlapped the strap to pull it tight. I am going to whip the strap to the other whipping and that should hold it very securely.
OK, guys, until I go to the trouble of replacing HH spectra with Speer type webbing, I just rememebered a question I have always had about the HH style knot and tree huggers, and which I have not yet answered by experiment. But I bet some of you guys have!
Some one here has mentioned just wrapping the tree huggers one time around the tree, as this will obviously make adjustments, up or down, after sitting in the hammock for a little while, easy. Also, the video at this site that shows how to tie the Hen. knot shows just one wrap, with plenty of slack between the tree and the loops.
The question is: will this hold and stay in place? It doesn't seem like it would, so I've been taking the time to do multiple wraps, which means a little bit of redoing to get the loops in the right relationship to the hammock and each other. This adds a significant amount of setup time. And if you later decide the height is not quite right, readjustment is not easy and may require unwrapping. But it doesn't slip at all.
If just one wrap would hold, that would be a whole lot quicker and more convenient for after setup adjustments. Will it, in y'alls experience?
Bill
One wrap holds fine. I've done that with the stock HH huggers, as well as with various manifestations of Ed Speer's webbing. The key is that the load is concentrated at the back of the tree, which gives more 'spot friction', and makes leaving a gap in the front possible.
"Physics is the only true science. All else is stamp collecting." - J. J. Thompson
I, too, have done that without any slippage. But I did convert to the CC style buckle and straps and love it. It's so much quicker and easier to set up and adjust. My strap has a loop sewn in one end so you can circle the tree and pass the strap through the loop and then to the buckle on the hammock ends.
I have the HH Exped. Asym. The Spectra on it is a little bigger than the UL models. I opened the ends and changed to a smaller diameter rope on the hammock. It's not as daunting to change as you might think. Once you open the end you'll see. I got some 3/16" cord from West Marine that's rated to 1100 pounds and have been pleased with it.
Stoikurt
"Work to Live...Don't Live to Work!"
Yeah...my CC setup has a 'constrictor' loop at the tree end just like you're describing - but it's not needed to keep the hammock up. It just worked out to be the most convenient way to use the buckles.
"Physics is the only true science. All else is stamp collecting." - J. J. Thompson
a qualified yes - this will hold in most cases. Where it does not hold is when the tree is leaning away from the hammock - then you need to put the second wrap around the tree to get it to reliably hold. I use the once around technique almost all the time and just avoid the trees that would be leaning away from the hammock. Its nice to be able to tie the knot at a lower level than where you will be sliding the strap to - especially on the down hill tree where I often will need to use a pole to push the strap up high enough to make the hammock lay right.
Excellent! Thanks all for the input. I'll start giving it a try. If it works most of the time, it should be a good time and effort saver.
another idea that came to mind that might help keep the loop around the tree in place = wrap a wee bit of shock cord around the straps close to the tree, while there is no tension it should pull the HH tree huggers together with enough force to at least keep them from sliding - with tension, either sitting or in the HH the shock cord would simplly expand with the tree huggers
I don't know, just an idea, i have yet to try it out.
If anyone gives it a shot, post a response with pics, might work out!
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