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  1. #1
    Senior Member jeff-oh's Avatar
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    DIY Tensahedron Stand - Field Report

    This past weekend, I was at the Dover, Ohio Steam Show and stayed in my DIY Tensahedron stand and hammock. Link: DIY Tensa Stand

    Saturday afternoon a heavy thunderstorm rolled in with straight line winds that flattened the tents in the Boy Scout camp area. Awnings were blown all over the place. On the stand I use a 10' square tarp. It is nothing special but it fits the stand just right.IMG_2080.jpg. The square trap wrapped the poles of the stand forming a double layer door. the guy lines were fed through the mid-side tie-out loop and then wrapped around the back leg of the stand and staked down. This made an impenetrable little cocoon to ride the storm out all high and dry. I was a little concerned about the wind as it was really fierce, but the metal legs of the stand gave great tarp support and structure.

    I cannot say enough positive things about this stand style. If you make one or buy one I am sure you'll like it too.
    Last edited by jeff-oh; 08-20-2019 at 11:30.

  2. #2
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    Glad to hear you and your rig weathered the storm! I’d love to see photos of the tarp ends configured as you describe.

  3. #3
    Senior Member
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    Awesome. I spent a very cold windy night in mine last year, under a winter tarp battened down tight. The roar of the wind fluttering the tarp made earplugs mandatory. Big gusts would cause the apexes to pull inward, dandling me up and down inches in the hammock all night, like at sea. I reason that the flex in the system might have prevented components from failing, instead redistributing the energy. I kept waiting for a fall that never came.
    --
    Tensa Outdoor, LLC, maker of the Tensa4, Tensa Solo, and Tensa Trekking Treez hammock stands: http://tensaoutdoor.com/

  4. #4
    Senior Member jeff-oh's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 100 Ton View Post
    Glad to hear you and your rig weathered the storm! I’d love to see photos of the tarp ends configured as you describe.
    Will do. Try to get them in a day or so.
    Quote Originally Posted by Latherdome View Post
    Awesome. I spent a very cold windy night in mine last year, under a winter tarp battened down tight. The roar of the wind fluttering the tarp made earplugs mandatory. Big gusts would cause the apexes to pull inward, dandling me up and down inches in the hammock all night, like at sea. I reason that the flex in the system might have prevented components from failing, instead redistributing the energy. I kept waiting for a fall that never came.
    Since I bolted the apexes on mine and the wind came from the foot end. (the staked end) everything was sturdy and did not move too much, little shaking side to side. The big wind only lasted 5 to 10 minutes and the heavy down pour about 20. But it was intense. These antique machinery shows are putting the old tensa to the test. Last year it was Tropical Storm Gordon that left the area flooded after heavy all day and night rain. Tropical Storm Gordon Field Report.l


    Only real issue I have is getting the foot end properly staked out. Last year I tied off to a tree. This year to the truck hitch. I have been using 8" twisted gutter nails and if the ground is soft enough to push them in by foot then they will pull out. I have a sand hog stake (1/4" re-bar with a triangular plate welded to it and one of those dog lead screws I'll have to try.
    Last edited by jeff-oh; 08-18-2019 at 22:04.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by jeff-oh View Post
    Only real issue I have is getting the foot end properly staked out. Last year I tied off to a tree. This year to the truck hitch. I have been using 8" twisted gutter nails and if the ground is soft enough to push them in by foot then they will pull out. I have a sand hog stake (1/4" re-bar with a triangular plate welded to it and one of those dog lead screws I'll have to try.
    I built my first DIY Tensahedron stand yesterday (post to come). tied off to truck it works fine, but I discovered that a screwdriver stabbed into the ground is WAY insufficient. methinks the screwdriver may have been launched into orbit! I will need to investigate better portable and affordable ground stake options.

  6. #6
    Senior Member
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    Quote Originally Posted by wienerman View Post
    I built my first DIY Tensahedron stand yesterday (post to come). tied off to truck it works fine, but I discovered that a screwdriver stabbed into the ground is WAY insufficient. methinks the screwdriver may have been launched into orbit! I will need to investigate better portable and affordable ground stake options.
    Coghlans's orange twist anchors are cheap and excellent for ground soft enough to screw them into. The $12 larger Orange Screws are better able to be driven into harder ground. But harder clay or rocky ground is often too hard for them. This is where hammer-in nail type anchors are best. There is unfortunately no one superior for all ground types.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by jeff-oh View Post
    Only real issue I have is getting the foot end properly staked out.
    Quote Originally Posted by Latherdome View Post
    Coghlans's orange twist anchors are cheap and excellent for ground soft enough to screw them into. The $12 larger Orange Screws are better able to be driven into harder ground.
    Those are what I use. They seem to work best at the places I've been sleeping, but even so I've managed to yank one out of dry ground with the help of my rowdy 3-year-old. A good lashing at the stake end of whatever you use is important so that when it pulls out of the ground it doesn't become a projectile.

    Keeping in mind the taco failure mode of the tensahedron-style stand, you could accurately call it a trebuchet.

  8. #8
    Senior Member jeff-oh's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Snaps View Post
    A good lashing at the stake end of whatever you use is important so that when it pulls out of the ground it doesn't become a projectile. ...you could accurately call it a trebuchet.
    Exactly! I may have to start double pinning it.
    Last edited by jeff-oh; 08-20-2019 at 06:20.

  9. #9
    Senior Member Diz's Avatar
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    I have used a criss crossing three nail, tripod configuration, lashing around the intersection point of all three and it has held quiet well in all but the softest ground. I have been thinking about making a reinforcement/alinement plate similar to what comes with the Handy Hammock for improved performance in poor ground conditions. But in truth I have not yet been mousetraped in good conditions using only a single nail. Again, No One Single solution for all conditions nor any right or wrong way Hang if you stay off the ground.


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  10. #10
    Member mad_matze's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Latherdome View Post
    The $12 larger Orange Screws are better able to be driven into harder ground. But harder clay or rocky ground is often too hard for them. This is where hammer-in nail type anchors are best. There is unfortunately no one superior for all ground types.
    I've had the orange screws fail when the ground was too soft + wet. Any suggestions for this kind of scenario?

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