Tensa Outdoor and the commercial packable tensahedron stand

[benfishin]

My V2 arrived yesterday. I’m very excited to use it over and over again! I’ve listed my V1 for sale to cover the cost. I’ve been waffling over keeping both of them for quite some time now, but finally settled on just keeping one of them after reviewing the budget. It wouldn’t be fair if Dad is the only one with cool stuff at Christmas because I kept both stands


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[KBr00ks]

[snip]That said, Dynamystic’s DynaFly looks like it was made for the stand. Mr. DynaFly visited recently to show me whIle passing through Portland. We ended up trading wares, one of his preproduction flies for the one and only v2 Tensa4 then in my possession.

DynaFly has a diamond-shaped top panel that mirrors the stand shape, its center pole echoing the baseline. The other panels similarly seem to hug and complement the stand’s shape.

Brilliant! It's amazing how these two independently designed products really do look made for one another. Great minds think alike!

[snip]
I didn't have too much time to experiment but I did manage to soft shackle the DynaFly to the stand in place of the Tensa4 ridgeline. The reinforced ridge seam was plenty strong enough for me to be confident that the stand's ridgeline wasnt really required. I then used my tarp's split ridge zing-it suspension as a head and foot tether to 8" msr groundhog stakes. I know the stand is design to shift about a bit but I decided to try and just lock it down with a well tensioned tarp ridgeline instead to see what happened. With the appropriate decline at the head end, as the Tensa 4 was intended, in conjunction with the DynaFly guy lines, everything was incredibly stable. I bounced around with no noticeable flex in the stand. I sat on center and even slightly towards the foot end and didn't see any noticeable stress on the stakes.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around all of the physics invloved here but for some reason it seems like the DynaFly is actually helping the structural stability of the stand. I have more experimentation to do before I can make any bold conclusions but I know for a fact that the Tensa4 is a fantastic stand, especially for my DynaFly.

Interesting...
Raftingtigger and Latherdome have said that the Tensa is meant to have a bit of play and not be totally locked down, but is there any harm in doing so? Seems like having a solid head and foot anchor would be good (though not totally necessary).

I don't "need" another tarp, or a hammock stand, but you bet I'm saving my pennies for both...

[KBr00ks]

Oh -- one last question -- is that a Wookie or a DIY clone in the photos?

[Latherdome]

Raftingtigger and Latherdome have said that the Tensa is meant to have a bit of play and not be totally locked down, but is there any harm in doing so? Seems like having a solid head and foot anchor would be good (though not totally necessary).

The issue is that locking the stand down with any big tension on the guylines increases the load on the poles in ways that make it hard to stand by the 400lb weight rating. It lowers the effective rating by an unknowable amount. If you're forcing a shallower hang angle than the unconstrained stand will find on its own, you're increasing the suspension load and sort of fighting the system. If you're locking the head down because you're taco-terrified and unable to relax with the head end significantly lower than foot, you're fighting the system. Will locking the head end down result in terrible things happening? Haven't heard of it yet. I should probably relax. But I'd say it's not optimal, even if it's actually fine most of the time.

Oh -- one last question -- is that a Wookie or a DIY clone in the photos?

That is a 30F Bonefire Whisper (http://www.bonefiregear.com), comforter of the Hangers of the North, General of the Felix Legions, loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius... oh wait. As far as I know it is the original "only where you need it" diagonal integrated UQ design, of which Wookie is arguably a clone or at least the best kind of flattery. The whole hammock is 2lbs insulated with bugnet and gear loft, double-layer hexon, and I love it.

[Hangdang]

Just a couple random questions...

What is a good starting length for the base line (orange one)?

What effect if any is there if the stands head is much lower than the foot?...I know it tocos if the foot is lower.

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[Latherdome]

What is a good starting length for the base line (orange one)?

What effect if any is there if the stands head is much lower than the foot?...I know it tocos if the foot is lower.

About 6' is reasonable for baseline. Narrower and you're liable to have head or feet touch pole. Wider and your seat height might feel inadequate. Of course how you hang the hammock affects both of these too.

If you have the head end too low, you'll likely touch pole with your head, or just not be able to get the lay comfy. Tension on your guyline will also go up, so if anchor is weak it could be an issue. It won't taco if you use the head tether regardless, but there's just not any upside to setting up the foot lower than head.

[Hangdang]

Thank you...I was concerned that the lower the head, the more the stress on the head poles.

Like Shug...I'm more a looker than a thinker

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[Dynamystic]

Brilliant! It's amazing how these two independently designed products really do look made for one another. Great minds think alike!



Interesting...
Raftingtigger and Latherdome have said that the Tensa is meant to have a bit of play and not be totally locked down, but is there any harm in doing so? Seems like having a solid head and foot anchor would be good (though not totally necessary).

I don't "need" another tarp, or a hammock stand, but you bet I'm saving my pennies for both...

It really is uncanny how well they seem to fit. I'm really looking forward to playing with the combo more when I make it back to Seattle. We just arrived at Crater Lake for a little site seeing on our way back from San Fransisco.

The issue is that locking the stand down with any big tension on the guylines increases the load on the poles in ways that make it hard to stand by the 400lb weight rating. It lowers the effective rating by an unknowable amount. If you're forcing a shallower hang angle than the unconstrained stand will find on its own, you're increasing the suspension load and sort of fighting the system. If you're locking the head down because you're taco-terrified and unable to relax with the head end significantly lower than foot, you're fighting the system. Will locking the head end down result in terrible things happening? Haven't heard of it yet. I should probably relax. But I'd say it's not optimal, even if it's actually fine most of the time.

I remember you saying something along these lines regarding the possible weight rating reduction when we met up. I'm really curious about all this math and physics involved but finding the right balance seems to be at the heart of the equation.

I had decided to tether both ends, not for fear of tacoing, but rather because I wanted a little more tension on the DynaFly ridgeline for a nicer pitch. I definitely had the head end cantilevered lower which is what I'd do if I hung between trees anyways. I can certainly see how the forces would get all out of balance if you were to try and have the stand set level and used the tethers to stabilize an out of balance stand. But, if it is set up properly initially to where you almost don't need the tethers at all, is it possible that the extra tension along the ridgeline from a tarp suspension to a small stake might not actually be exerting all that much extra stress on the stand? I'm also wondering if the force vectors acting on the stand from the DynaFly's unique shape and guy line tension points might also be offering other stabilization or stress distributing factors. All I know is that my 180lb butt was bouncing up and down just to the head side of center and sat slightly off center towards the foot end and I didn't find any signs that would cause me concern over the structural integrity of the stand. Am I correct to assume that I'd see flex in the poles if they were getting overloaded? Or might the concern be the spring clips popping from the compressive force?

Again, these are just initial thoughts/questions from a short experiment. You can bet I'll be doing some more investigation and experimentation in the near future and I'll be sure to share my findings.

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[LadyFaile]

And what a good trade it was!

I had an opportunity to play with the DynaFly and Tensa4 together in the yard at a friend's house for a few hrs the other day. They really are a match made in heaven.

Oh man... Now I need to start saving up for a pair of DynaFlies to go with my pair of Tensa4 stands. If only I could get my last V1 stand to move along to its new home that would certainly help the budget out. The tarp looks really awesome and should serve me nicely whether my son and I are using our Tensa stands or hanging next to each other sharing a pair of trees. Think these will be available before next spring?

[Latherdome]

Re selling v1, I know that 1 sold very quickly on https://advrider.com/f/, these proving popular among motorbikers. Maybe somebody there missed the chance and is still on the hunt? You could ask the party there who sold for referral?

Re danger of overloading, I'm just more comfortable with the known scenario of only one side anchored. Yes, the poles will deflect before outright buckling in the normal compressive load case. I have video of this occurring when we tested *smaller, weaker* tubing than we're now using with a heavy bouncy load. Still I have mild daymares imagining horseplay of, say, swinging in the hammock (nobody does that right?) and said swinging bodies or a large animal in the night hitting the poles broadside while they're under heavy load. Bad enough under any circumstance, but if the stand isn't locked down it could jump or shift a bit maybe avoiding failure, while if it's locked down, I'd expect buckling.