Suspension Questions/Advice Needed Please

**jifigz** · 03-23-2015, 18:47

Hello all,

An experienced backpacker and camper here but new to hammocks. I discovered camping/backpacking hammocks a few years ago browsing the web and didn't have the funds to spare to buy one. Well, time has lapsed and I kind of forgot about them and was content sleeping on the ground and then, boom, my girlfriend surprised me with a Hennessy Ultralite Explorer for Christmas and, while that wasn't the hammock I remember picking years ago to purchase (it was a WB BB, if you care) but I am tickled with it. Okay, so now that I am finally rigged out with everything needed to take it on its first backpacking trip to the Allegheny Front Trail here soon I am considering replacing the stock Hennessy suspension. Naturally, I would feel like whoopie slings are the way to go, but please help me set these up properly for my Hennessy. I have been browsing at Dutch's place and am just not sure how it is best to choose my required items. How long should my huggers/webbing straps be? Should I put a continuous amsteel loop onto the Hennessy and then whoopie hook/carabiner the fixed end of the whoopie sling to the continuous loop? Should I attach the whoopies directly to the hammock?

I can tell you that I am leaning towards going with the straps to the tree (threading the end through the webbing loop on the strap) and then using the marlinspike/toggle set up. The adjustable loop on the whoopie will go over the knot, not the toggle (thanks Shug) and then the fixed loop will be connected via a Black Diamond Neutrino Carabiner to the continuous loop....does this sound correct? I am attempting to forgo the dutch clips and whoopie hooks for now just to save on money but will probably buy them eventually. So, how long for those webbing straps? And what is a common source of a toggle that is easy to acquire that I might possibly have around the house? I understand the importance of a water break on the suspension for rain and that is why I am leaning towards the continuous loop/carabiner setup.

Thank you everyone,

Jifigz

**Bladerunner** · 03-23-2015, 19:44

I personally DIY all of my gear so I cant speak as to replacing the suspension on that particular hammock its a gathered end hammock it should have a channel you can use to run your whoopee sling through. A lot of people use the tree strap and marlinspike hitch method to attach you hammock to the tree(including myself) and its a light, simple and strong suspension. I would make the tree straps between 6-8 feet long and out of polyester webbing, dutch sells both premade straps and the webbing to make them yourself so you cant go wrong there. if you have an outdoor shop nearby with an archery section you could ask someone there if they have any cut ends from arrows, they make great ultralight toggles and most places will probably just give them to you for free. if that's a bust just pick up a cheap arrow from walmart and cut it up. you want your toggle to be about 3in in length and not horribly fragile (a lot of people just use sticks they find at the camp site). with whoopee slings and straps you really don't need anything else for a water break. both the strap and the end of the whoopee will direct the water away from your hammock and keep It nice and dry(slept in heavy rains with no issues) happy hanging and good luck

**BGRFFDave** · 03-23-2015, 19:56

What a great surprise & nice gift! I'm still pretty new at this hammock thing, and don't have a ton of posts, but I've been studying up and I'll take a stab at some of your questions. If I totally botch this or forget something big I'm sure others will chime in.

Dutch has some great gear available as individual pieces or as customizable sets. Another place to look is on whoopieslings.com which, I believe, is done by a user here. There is a video section on this site that has one showing exactly what you want to do... change a stock Hennessy suspension to whoopies. This video is from 2012 and it sounds like the newer Hennessy hammocks are a little different.

This looks like it's pretty straight forward. From what I've read the most important thing, for a Hennessy, will be that the fixed length loop on the whoopies will need to be 15" long where for most other hammocks it would be 8"... again based on the older (?) ones. Most anybody that sells whoopies offers the "Hennessy" loop option if you need it. There are a bunch of different connection options but for simplicity the sling can be directly attached to the hammock.

The length of your huggers/webbing will vary a bit by the average size of the trees, and to a lesser extent the distance between them, where you'll be camping. They can be as small as 4' and can be 12'-15' feet long. It sounds like 6'-8' is the average unless you've got really big trees. The toggles can be about anything 3"+ long and shaped like an aluminum arrow shaft, knitting needle of comparable size, etc. Whoopieslings.com has some arrow cutoffs in the store. Many vendors that sell suspension parts have toggles; Dutch doesn't because he has specialty hardware like the Dutch Buckle which replaces toggles. You'll see a lot of users say they just use sticks from the trail/campsite.

As far as water breaks, some will say hardware/connections are enough and many others say use the good old piece of string method just to be safe. A great video on water and how different setups shed water is: Hammock Water Breaks and Drip Line Test on YouTube by Derek Hansen of The Ultimate Hang. I think he's also a member here. His water flow comes from a faucet showing high and low flow rates. It does illustrate that hardware and connections aren't foolproof. If you look closely in videos by users that are well respected here you will notice that many of them use a small piece of string/cord on their suspensions.

**Bubba** · 03-23-2015, 19:58

The set up you are thinking of is good to go. The continuous loop is not mandatory but it makes swapping suspensions easier plus if you find your minimum hang distance is short you can forgo the whoopie sling and attach the continuous loop to the straps allowing you to get your hammock closer to the tree.

Tree strap length - 6 to 8 feet is usually long enough for most people used with 6 foot whoopies.

Toggles can be anything that resists compression. Old tent stakes, pvc pipe, arrow shafts, wooden dowel etc. A trail stick is easy since it's free and you don't need to worry about losing or forgetting them.

There's a thread here that outlines converting the Hennessy but I recall the newer ones are not the same as the old ones that had the two holes and required a longer continuous loop than other gathered end hammocks.

**jifigz** · 03-23-2015, 20:08

Thanks for the replies so far. I have already made some good upgrades to the Hennessy such as hanging the tarp on its own separate ridgeline using some Dutch bling. The Hennessy stock suspension seems okay, but the huggers are only 3.5' long and that might be a little short and restrict me to finding skinny trees. I am excited about this hammock thing. I bought an awesome underquilt from Enlightened Equipment and made my own Climashield top quilt. I said to myself that I wasn't even going to try to use a pad in this thing, that just seems like a hassle.

**SilvrSurfr** · 03-23-2015, 20:14

I replaced my HH stock suspension with 6 ft. whoopies and 8 ft. straps using a Marlin Spike Hitch. I quickly found out that was ridiculously long for the trees in the Northeast.

I've since sold my Hennessy, but if I had it to do over again, I'd have gone with continuous loops, a Dutch Whoopie Hook suspension, and four or five ft. straps. Toggles and marlin spike hitches are a real pain in the butt.

Four ft. straps work great for the majority of trees in the Northeast. If you ever find any larger, old-growth trees you want to hang from (good luck with that), just carry some Amsteel 7/64" continuous loops to lengthen your tree straps.

**jifigz** · 03-23-2015, 21:01

Okay, so here is a question for everyone. I see Dutch sells 6' whoopie slings but what are The max and min lengths that supplies can be adjusted to? Now I'm thinking I'll just attach the whoopies directly to hammock and forego any continous loop. I will then wrap hugger around tree, thread loop through the other loop and snug up, then use my black diamond carabiners to attach the strap to the adjustable loop on the whoopie. This would work, right? But how much length variation is in the whoopie itself?

**BGRFFDave** · 03-23-2015, 21:21

I believe a "standard" 6' whoopie (two can be DIY'd from 25' of Amsteel) adjusts from about 2' min to 6' max... give or take.

The only drawback to using the carabiner in the way you describe is having no adjustment in the strap portion. Also, after threading the strap through the loop, if you need to slide the strap up the tree and over a limb you'll have to take the whole thing apart. Consider using the carabiner (in lieu of a Dutch Clip) to connect the loop to the strap at the tree and a toggle or Dutch Buckle on the strap. The whoopie does the lion's share of the adjustment either way but because the toggle/Dutch Clip can be moved you'd get quite a bit more range in length.

Everyone looks to start slow budget wise but this is a place you might want to splurge up front, if you can, and get a complete tried and true setup right from the beginning. You're already talking about getting two whoopies (+/- $14). Seriously consider the Dutch Buckle Suspension Kit. For $53 you'd get two Dutch Clips, two 6' tree straps, two Dutch Buckles, AND two whoopies. If you already have straps the set will only set you back $32.

While it may sound like I do, I swear I don't work for Dutch!!

**Bubba** · 03-23-2015, 21:52

You can use the carabiner in the marlin spike hitch and it will hold. There has been some discussion on using the MSH in this way since it was not meant to hold a load in this manner but it does work. A clove hitch in the strap to hold the carabiner works well too.

**jifigz** · 03-24-2015, 07:07

Okay so I ordered two whoopie slings and a pair of 5' huggers from Dutch. I am planning to use the carabiners like I mentioned in a previous post (carabiner to the one loop in the webbing and then to the adjustable loop in the whoopie) and if I need an more adjustments I will just use the carabiner as the toggle in the MSH. This seems to pretty much cover all of my bases and I should be set. Does anyone see any problems with this?