Knots safe to tie into HH suspension

[MedicWithAMouth]

Meat and potatoes:
I have a Hennessy Ultralight Backpacker Asym Zip that I bought from REI in October. It still has the stock suspension. What knots can I tie on the suspension without fear of damaging it? I usually get the suspension pretty tight, if it makes a difference.

You really could probably stop reading right here if you want.

Gravy, stuffing, sides and dessert:

its my understanding that the Hennessy hammocks use the figure 8 lashing because it's easier on the lines. I've been thinking about streamlining my set up, and I have a lot of ideas on how to utilize the stock suspension. I'm just wondering if any of them are going to damage the lines.

specifically:
- are there any knots that I should stay away from or that are considered safe to tie in the stock suspension? (Any input on clove hitches, figure 8, bowlines, Munter-mules or half hitches would be extremely helpful)
-are prusiks and kleimhiest on the OEM suspension ok, even if they are supporting me, or can that damage the rope?
- is there anything I absolutely should not do to the stock suspension? (Let me guess, tying knots in it or supporting it from a Prusik are contra-indicated)

I know a lot of folks are going to say just go with a whoopie sling, but I've heard that can change the lay of the hammock, and it can reduce the minimum distance, so I want to do a little more research before I go down that rabbit hole. In the meantime, I'm looking for something that I can do to make the suspension a little easier to line up and center, with a minimum of hardware, while reducing the amount of webbing I need to carry for my tree huggers.

The main ideas I'm looking at are tying a carabiner into the end of some webbing from Walmart, and then I can throw that around the tree, and either:
- have a Prusik already tied to the stock suspension that either clips onto or MSH & girth hitches to the tree hugger
Or
- have a carabiner in the end of the tree hugger, use a Munter mule& hitch to get the tension I need and secure the hammock
Or
- use a bowline to put a caribiner near the hammock, and then play around with a whoopie sling, or what have you.


I know I'm rambling a bit, but main thing I'm trying to figure out is what knots can I tie with the stock suspension and can I use a Prusik on it without damaging it.

Thanks, sorry for the monologue, but I thought it would help to "show my work" so no one has to guess at what I'm trying to figure out.

[JCinPA]

Dejoha reports in his book, The Ultimate Hang, that he successfully used a slipped larks head on a climbing biner with a Hennessey suspension. I cannot find an online version of his drawing, but here is how the knot looks. I should have labeled the "short end" the "free end" as it could be long, if you are close to the tree. It should be tied so that the loaded line is along the spine of the biner, not the side with the gate. This is fairly secure, not too stressful (relative to other knots you could use), and quick to tie and adjust with a little practice. You could back it up with a couple of clove hitches, but it seems very secure, as-is.

[MedicWithAMouth]

If a larks head onto a caribiner is considered safe/ does not harm the stock rope, that is some extremely helpful info!

Thank you sir

[bindibadgi]

I just do a slipped sheet bend into the loop on the end of the tree hugger. Works fine for me and I'm over 200lb.

This also allows you to put one end of the hugger through the other which prevents it from slipping down the tree like it wants to do if you're doing the figure eight lashing method and only having the hugger half way around the tree.

[dudeman_atl]

I use a munter hitch to connect the stock suspension to a climbing carabiner. Then clip in to tree straps.

[MedicWithAMouth]

awesome... Sounds like it is considered safe to tie knots in the stock suspension

[hikehunter]

think trucker hitch..... the stock rope on the HH is heavy and can make hard knots.

[FLRider]

Personally, I used the stock Hennessy lashing to attach a pair of descending rings on each end of my Explorer Ultralight back when I was using that. Then I ran a strap through 'em. Not the lightest, nor the least hardware, but definitely one of the easiest to use set ups that I've had.

These days, I'd use a cinch buckle from Dutch and straps with Dutch clips if I was to do it over. Same lashing, though.

If you've only got to tie the lashing once per side (instead of multiple times every time you set the hammock up), it makes the hammock a lot easier to use. You can do this with or without cutting the end cords down to size once you've got the knots tied (if you cut them, it voids the warranty, for what that's worth).

Hope it helps!

[JCinPA]

awesome... Sounds like it is considered safe to tie knots in the stock suspension

Well, sort of. You do want to avoid tight knots and knots around very small hardware with amsteel. I've read that there is some number of times the diameter of the amsteel you want hardware to be (I think it's 4, but don't quote me on that), and the less tight the bends in the particular knot are, the better.

In that knot photo (hat tip to The Ultimate Hang book, page 64) the biner is a few times larger than the line, although I did not measure it. And the knot holds by friction, tightens on itself, without making super tight turns within the knot itself. You can use knots with amsteel, but you want to be thoughtful about it. Don't just assume any knot system is OK. I have confidence in that particular setup because it was in Dejoha's book, and member Oldpappy (who pointed it out to me) and some other experienced hangers here use it successfully.

I'm still a noob, if I were you, I'd post any knot/hardware system you were going to try out for some advice from the old heads. Just a suggestion. And Hennessey hammocks use a different line than amsteel, too. Similar, I think, but a different product.

[rickycodie]

Don't use a bow knot.