Hello From SoCal - And a Whoopie Rant!

[Elementalscape]

Greetings from Santa Maria!

About two years ago, my girl bought me a Hennessy hammock - the one with the side zipper. I slept in it for the first time just a couple months ago (my son used it a couple times prior), and that was in the backyard for a cold weather test (only got to low thirties, but still a good test). Imagine my surprise when the sprinklers came on at 5am! I had forgotten to turn them off, and one was spraying perfectly up under the rainfly and into the hammock. Needless to say, I was up and back in the house in a flash.

The 'cold-weather' (ha!) test was in prep for spending a few nights out in Death Valley. Those nights got me quite hooked on being in the hammock! It's just so friggin' awesome to be suspended with a gentle sway! There was one night that got very windy. This would make the rainfly flap around quite vigorously every couple minutes, which would wake me up. I tried to get it real tight, but it would still happen. Probably should have just taken it off.

So I've been watching all kinds of hammock videos on youtube trying to catch up and learn the ropes. Lots of Shug vids - that guy is awesome!
I made my own tree straps, and was using the double rap ring method for attaching suspension. Easy, works great.
One thing I kept seeing people using were whoopie slings. They seemed so awesome I had to have some!
So I ordered some that were all ready to go, two colors. After removing the ropes from my Hennessy and attaching the whoopie slings I went out to the backyard to give 'em a try.

I don't like them. I totally thought I would love them, but I don't. Not at all.

They did exactly what they were supposed to do, but holy crap, what a pain!
They looked so effortless in the videos, but that was not my experience.
Getting them tight enough was very difficult, and simply squeezing and pushing on the appropriate bury section while pulling the line would only get it so far. I had to actually get my finger in between the outer line and buried part and pull quite hard to get it to slide anymore. Same for releasing it. Total PITA. And after playing around a bit, re-tightening, centering, etc., my finger was getting raw. These lines are just so small they sort of dig in a bit. I started using my sleeve as a glove. And I'm pretty darn sure I'm 'doing it right.'

I hope this part makes sense - are the lines supposed to start looking sort of 'unwound' for about a half-inch right at the bury? That's how both ends of the bury look now. Normal?

Anyway, off came the whoopie slings, back to the stock ropes.

I could see how the slings would work for ultralight hammocks, no ridgeline, etc. But I just don't see the benefit on a Hennessy.
It seems like they're more of a weight saving measure than a convenient one. Probably makes sense for backpackers.
I'm guessing that the combo of how tight I want my hammock, and my fat *** weighing the thing down, is what made it difficult for me.

But I'm an adventure rider. I pack up my KLR 650 and go places! I don't need to save a few grams.
What I'm hoping now is that the whoopie slings will work as tensioners for the bigger hex tarp I'm getting shortly.
If not, I'm going to feel like I wasted $20.

Glad to be here, and I can already see that this forum is fantastic.

Shad

My Photography - www.elementalscape.com
My YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/user/shadinsb

[Allowishus]

i tried the whoopies and they didnt work for me,i use 1/8 climbing rope,paracord/,idk exactly what kind of rope it is but i got it out of the climbing section at our local adventure store.i just toggle to my tree 2' tree strapes.the 1/8 inch cord does not strech so it might not be paracord?i dont have any bling yet but really dont need any just yet till i see first hand the bling that other hangers use when i go to my first hang with campers from this fourm.cant wait for boggs!

[printgeek]

Greetings from Santa Maria!

Welcome to the forum, Shad. I lived in Santa Maria for several years, in fact I worked at Arrow Camera on Main St. before they moved, back before digital.

Whoopies aren't for everyone, I used them for a while and then tried the UCR thing (unsuccessfully) before buying some dutch speed-hooks. when dutch comes out with version 2 of the speed hook you may want to try that out.

Great photography! i'll have to order something from you. My Wife grew up in Morro Bay, so those Pirates Cove shots would look great in our land-locked living room. I'm assuming they are from Montana de Oro.

[SilvrSurfr]

Welcome from the Jersey Shore.

Sounds like you had too much tension on the whoopies, a common mistake. You don't want your hammock suspension tight (contrary to all those ENO pics of hammocks strung guitar string tight). Check out the Hammock Hang Calculator to see how to properly set up a hammock.

http://theultimatehang.com/hammock-hang-calculator/

[Elementalscape]

Welcome to the forum, Shad. I lived in Santa Maria for several years, in fact I worked at Arrow Camera on Main St. before they moved, back before digital.

Whoopies aren't for everyone, I used them for a while and then tried the UCR thing (unsuccessfully) before buying some dutch speed-hooks. when dutch comes out with version 2 of the speed hook you may want to try that out.

Great photography! i'll have to order something from you. My Wife grew up in Morro Bay, so those Pirates Cove shots would look great in our land-locked living room. I'm assuming they are from Montana de Oro.

Funny, I generally get my prints done at Arrow Camera. They're still on Main St..

Yeah, I'm happy with the stock rope, my homemade tree huggers, and the double-ring system. (No beeners, the rings are on the strap.) Works really well on the thicker stock rope. So fast, simple and easy to adjust. Getting it loose takes about 3-4 seconds longer than I'd like, but I'll take it.

Thank you!
I don't like that you have to assume the location of any of my photos. I really need to get on my site and make sure each one has a clear description.
Yes, some are Pirate's Cove, and some are Montana De Oro. Most are generally between Ventura and San Luis Obispo. I promise to go fix this so people don't have to guess.

[Elementalscape]

Welcome from the Jersey Shore.

Sounds like you had too much tension on the whoopies, a common mistake. You don't want your hammock suspension tight (contrary to all those ENO pics of hammocks strung guitar string tight). Check out the Hammock Hang Calculator to see how to properly set up a hammock.

http://theultimatehang.com/hammock-hang-calculator/

You're probably right. Unfortunately I was dealing with a rather long span, which I've found can often happen out and about too.
And I'm a short guy, so I can only get the straps so high. There must be good ways to solve this, but I haven't learned them yet.

I do always try to get it right - the ridgeline doing it's job without being over-taxed. Sometimes that sucker has to pull some weight though.
I'm sure I'll get better with practice and gathering the knowledge and expertise around this forum.
The whoopie slings are definitely not going back on the hammock though.

That calculator seems pretty cool, but the app would have to be free. I'm a cheap *******, so for $1.99, I'll guesstimate..

[acorn]

Wow... I haven't used whoopies for very long but in my experience, if they are hard to adjust at all, you're either doing something wrong or they're made wrong. I don't get it. Seems like a shame to give up... if I may ask, where did you get them and what are they made of? Mine are from infinity. ..

[rhjanes]

Hi and welcome. The biggest trick I know with Whoopies (I now use UCR's), is to grab and tuck the end of the hammock under your arm. Which completely removes all tension from the Whoopie/UCR. Then ajust. A few times, one of mine will sort of "bite", but nothing like what you are describing.

[Elementalscape]

They're the usual amsteel ones from a reputable source.

I don't blame the slings at all.
I just need to learn how to get the angles/tension right.
I'll probably give them another go. If not, they'll definitely be put to good use.

What are some tricks for a hang height beyond your reach? (Given you're in the woods, tree isn't climbable, etc.)

[DanglingModifier]

It took me longer than I'd like to admit to figure out where you should apply pressure to adjust them tighter or looser. The first few days I had them I'd often be tugging on the wrong piece of rope instead of at the mouth of the sleeve of the bury, or on the wrong side of the bury to adjust the loop in the direction I wanted. I'd get it right one time and adjust a bit, then come back a minute later and suddenly be befuddled how to adjust it properly.

It's frankly amazing how many times I got that wrong the first few times I tried the adjust them. After a few days of embarrassment it finally clicked and I could easily tighten and loosen them with my eyes closed just by feel. They went from foreign to second-nature pretty quickly. Once you hit that point it isn't difficult to cinch them up pretty darn tight. Make sure you give them enough of a chance to get familiar with them before you make the final call if you like them or not.

If you get confused like I did, make sure you're applying pressure to the "mouth" of the section of rope that is doing the swallowing rather than the section that is being swallowed. Pressure on one side of the bury allows the rope to adjust in one direction, and pressure on the opposite side of the bury lets the rope slide in the opposite direction.