Continuous Loops

[Roundtrip Raven]

If you know you are always going to be using Continuous Loops on your hammock, are there any downsides with splicing the loop into the channel instead of larks-heading it?

Potential pros:
*The hammock doesn't bunch up to a single point and could lead to a more comfortable lay (I'm just guessing). The end channel still bunches up, but is slightly spread out more.
*You can choose where to attach your suspension onto the loop so that the wear is more even
*There is no kink/hard bends from the larkshead, so the breaking strength is higher
*You don't have the loop coming off the hammock from one side that makes the end tilt slightly
*Aesthetically it looks cleaner

Potential cons:
*Because the continuous loop is not locked in place, it is free to shift in the channel. After many many hangs, the friction from the sliding between the rope and the channel could wear on the fabric.
*It will require a little more effort to splice the continuous loop inside the channel, but not by much.
*You can never swap out the CL for a different suspension, but again I don't plan on using anything other than a CL as the attachment point for the suspension.

Did I miss anything else?

[jeff-oh]

Larks head puts two lines through channel and distributes load to hammock fabric over larger area. Less stress on fabric.

[Dutch]

cons,
Generally 8 inches id the smallest you can safely make a Continuous loop so if you splice it on, you will have an extended minimum hang distance. Also if it is larks headed on, the rdgeline is more secure and won't easily fall when packed.
Pros,
It would be easier to rotate you loop so you can spread out the wear.
You can make smaller than 8 inch loop saving some grams.

[cmoulder]

Larks head puts two lines through channel and distributes load to hammock fabric over larger area. Less stress on fabric.

+1

Also, if you don't want to splice you can join the CL with double fisherman's bends and it is plenty strong.

[OCDave]

A continous loop around outside would maintain a greater level of adjustment. With a shorter hammock, you will find there are occasions that you can enhance your hammock's comfort by altering the way that you gather the end before applying the larkshead.

Hard for me to explain without photos or vidieo but imagine: loops through = rolled fabric (always rolled) vs loops outside (allows rolled, allows accordian fold, allows pulling center of accordian out slightly to lift the body of the hammock slightly relative to sides, allows to refold gathered end to eliminate that one odd ridge that becomes annoying, ect).

Perhaps, this just adds a bit of fiddle factor and I imagine all the above benefits. It took me a few adjustments (redoing the accordian fold) on my LightOwl before it felt "just-right" but, now it is the most comfortable hammock on the planet.

good luck

[Roundtrip Raven]

Larks head puts two lines through channel and distributes load to hammock fabric over larger area. Less stress on fabric.

That is true. I guess if I were to make only one line go through the channel, I would need a rope close to almost 1/4 of an inch thick to achieve the same amount of surface area contact as two lines made out of 7/64th amsteel.

cons,
Generally 8 inches id the smallest you can safely make a Continuous loop so if you splice it on, you will have an extended minimum hang distance. Also if it is larks headed on, the rdgeline is more secure and won't easily fall when packed.
Pros,
It would be easier to rotate you loop so you can spread out the wear.
You can make smaller than 8 inch loop saving some grams.

Ah that bloody ridgeline. Yeah that would be akward trying to stabilize a ridgeline on an open loop. You would have to splice the loop through the eye of the ridgeline, and even then it would be floating around on one side.

[Roundtrip Raven]

A continous loop around outside would maintain a greater level of adjustment. With a shorter hammock, you will find there are occasions that you can enhance your hammock's comfort by altering the way that you gather the end before applying the larkshead.

Hard for me to explain without photos or vidieo but imagine: loops through = rolled fabric (always rolled) vs loops outside (allows rolled, allows accordian fold, allows pulling center of accordian out slightly to lift the body of the hammock slightly relative to sides, allows to refold gathered end to eliminate that one odd ridge that becomes annoying, ect).

Perhaps, this just adds a bit of fiddle factor and I imagine all the above benefits. It took me a few adjustments (redoing the accordian fold) on my LightOwl before it felt "just-right" but, now it is the most comfortable hammock on the planet.

good luck

I'm definitely going to need some illustrations to wrap my mind around this. As for the fiddle factor, I think that comes with the hobby. A little higher there, a little shorter there. We would be in trouble if we did not enjoy a little fiddling.

[HandyRandy]

That is true. I guess if I were to make only one line go through the channel, I would need a rope close to almost 1/4 of an inch thick to achieve the same amount of surface area contact as two lines made out of 7/64th amsteel.



Ah that bloody ridgeline. Yeah that would be akward trying to stabilize a ridgeline on an open loop. You would have to splice the loop through the eye of the ridgeline, and even then it would be floating around on one side.

The thicker cord sounds like a clever solution to that one issue. As for the SRL, maybe you could splice the CL through the SRL eye like you suggest, but do it right in the middle of the sewn channel of the hammock by introducing two more holes in the channel. I don’t know if this would weaken the hammock body though.

And the other issue is it may interfere with an integrated net, but I’m not sure.

[GadgetUK437]

Generally 8 inches id the smallest you can safely make a Continuous loop

I made a 5 inch circumference CL with overlapping tails once.... that took a while!!

[hutzelbein]

Or you could make an improved soft shackle and be more flexible! Another option I have used to play around is to thread a dog bone through the channel and clip the ends into a biner. Without a biner, they come lose pretty quickly, so it's not a good option if you don't want more hardware.

Initially I thought that this type of gathering would improve the comfort, but after trying many different options, I can't say that I noticed a huge difference. I don't think I could pick out the hammock with the "loose" gather blindfolded. However, I put in some effort when larksheading continuous loops on my hammocks, to prevent uneven gathering.