strapworks.com is pretty good, as well as jacksrbetter.com. I made my own whoopie slings, so i'm not sure what to tell you about those, but i know a bunch of place sell them
strapworks.com is pretty good, as well as jacksrbetter.com. I made my own whoopie slings, so i'm not sure what to tell you about those, but i know a bunch of place sell them
I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I have not lived.
-Henry David Thoreau
I recently ordered all the same supplies as you're looking at now, and I ordered components from both Arrowhead Equipment and Whoopieslings.com I haven't received my AHE order yet but I've been very impressed with the customer service. The order from whoopieslings arrived and was exactly as described and nice workmanship on the sling.
My current suspension (which whoopies will be replacing for weight-saving reasons) is Tri-Glides with Dutch Clips together - see this thread for details. This is about as simple a suspension as you can come up with, and requires no knots, as easy as adjusting a belt. The way I've got it set up obviates the need to even thread the tri-glide buckle around the tree, but you can do it that way too if you don't have the dutch clips.
If you go with Tri-Glides alone, you have to thread the loose tail of the strap around the tree and back through the buckle, and reverse the process to take it down. If you use Dutch Clips or biners, you can just wrap the tree strap and clip it onto itself, so it saves you some effort in exchange for some added weight. If you watch Grizz's suspension videos he demonstrates the Tri-Glides as well as most of the popular suspension types.
I ordered the Tri-Glides + straps and the Dutch Clips from Jacks R Better. Unfortunately they're out of stock on the clips right now, but you may be able to find some from another supplier or even another forum member with a spare set. Alternatively, if you wanted to use a similar suspension you could use biners in place of dutch clips and it'd be just as easy to use.
-Jay
Paul Gibson at Arrowhead Equipment will make you some lightweight tree straps to your specified length...sewn in loops and fast shipment. He also sells lightweight climbing-rated 'biners if you want to use them.
FWIW, when I'm using my whoopie slings, I just loop the strap through the sewn loops (no hardware - 0 grams) and tie a Marlinspike Hitch in the "loose" end. I carry one each 6' strap and 8' strap. That handles 99+% of my tree sizes where I usually go. I always have some extra Amsteel to extend the reach of the straps in case there is a REALLY big tree.
"The more I carry the happier I am in camp; the less I carry the happier I am getting there" - Sgt. Rock
“Indian builds small fire and stays warm, white man builds big fire and stays warm collecting firewood”—unknown
“The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea”—Karen Blixen
From what I gather from reading this forum, it's just personal preferences/convenience. I don't believe there's much difference in reliability (unless you are over the weight limit for your suspension of course). The clip/biner basically just makes it easier to attach a tree sling without having to feed the strap through the sewn loop, or tie a knot etc.
If threading the strap through the eye loop doesn't bother you, you can save the weight and cost of clips or biners for the tree straps.
I do like the idea of keeping it simple. So, if I just loop the tree strap through the eye, the eye stitching should be sufficient to hold the weight? (I know, I have read this plenty of times, for some reason I feel the need to ask on my own...)
“Indian builds small fire and stays warm, white man builds big fire and stays warm collecting firewood”—unknown
“The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea”—Karen Blixen
Arrowhead Equipment -- For all your hammock camping and backpacking gear
Arrowhead-Equipment.com Visit AHE on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Check out pictures on Instagram
Sign Up for Arrowhead-Equipment Gear News: Click Here
hahaha, i thought the same thing the first time i used a strap that i sewed myself. it will hold as long as you sew it well enough. i just use 3 parallel bars to secure it. if you want to get even simpler (though less elegant) just tie a double figure 8 on the end of the webbing to create the loop. either will hold just fine.
on a side note, my grammar in this thread has been horrible lol. thats what i get for typing quickly from my phone >.<
I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I have not lived.
-Henry David Thoreau
Thanks,
I bought 4 descender rings and a few pegs from REI, tree straps, 7/64 amsteel and suspension straps from Arrowhead, and a tarp from Ben's Backwoods. This should make the Skeeter Beeter Pro a complete outfit.
Bookmarks