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  1. #1

    amount of weight saved w/ Amsteel

    Greetings all,

    A trivial pursuit question if I may.

    If i have a HH Expedition does anybody know about how much weight would be saved if I cut the stock HH cord and replaced it with Amsteel at the stock HH cord length?

    Also if Amsteel was used as a suspension line is there any problems with the Amsteel holding a simple clove hitch knot when attached to a carabiner?? Does the construction or small diameter of the Amsteel make knot holding difficult?

    Thanks in advance for helping a newbie out.


    Thank you kindly.

  2. #2
    Senior Member bigbamaguy's Avatar
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    Weight savings......I don't have a clue about if you were to change over to amsteel. Most folks that switch over do not use knots in the amsteel, knots degrade the load capacity of the amsteel. Most folks are making whoopie slings out of the amsteel and then using a beiner or Marlin Spike Hitch to attach the whoopies to the tree hugger. The reason for the whoopie sling is the adjustability of the hammock suspension. Check out Shug's 10 part Hammocks for Noobs videos in the video section at the top of the page. It covers several hamock, suspension and insulation types in the videos.

    Also welcome to HF from Bama.........thanks for hanging out with us.
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  3. #3
    Thanks for the response Bigbamaguy.

    I have watched Shugs videos and began to read up on Whoopie slings. The Whoopie Sling seems very interesting, its just that I am trying to keep my suspension as lightweight and easily packable as possible(which the Whoopie excels at) and simple (which is where I fear the Whoopie is a bit complex). Maybe its unfounded, but where I use my Hammock is in southeast Asia and there are no sports store outlets to get more gear when I'm camped out in Laos and Cambodia and my biggest fear is having an issue with the Whoopie in the field. Maybe a bit more reading will show me that nobody has had any issues with the Whoopie Sling in usage. However so far I still prefer a simple cord suspension and a clove hitch knot around the tree hugger. This gives me simple adjustability with the Clove Hitch knot and I'm not introducing anything in the system that has potential to fail.

    My goal is to lighten the susoension and am wondering if I could replace the HH cord with Amsteel. However you pointed out the diminished load capacity when it is tied in knots which is a concern. Thank you for that info.

    I guess the key issue is determine if the weight and packability savings in the Amsteel is worth it. If anybody could shine some light it would be appreciated. Once again thank you Bigbamaguy.

  4. #4
    Senior Member Bubba's Avatar
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    Beside the load bearing being decreased, Amsteel has a coating on it that make it slippery and therefore not the greatest at holding knots.
    Don't let life get in the way of living.

  5. #5
    odds and bigbamaguy - Well thanks so much. my newbie hairbrained idea of using the Amsteel as a liteweight cord suspension for my hammock has had its pitfalls shown to me by those that know. Thank you

    What would be the lightest weight cord that could be utilized as a suspension with a knot tied in it??? I'm a lightweight myself at only 140 pounds if that info is needed.

    Thanks again.

  6. #6
    Senior Member Cold Butt Stephen's Avatar
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    before you throw away the whoopie sling idea, I know that there are a lot people that can testify to its longevity, it seems to last quite a while. Also, it's super easy.

    If you're set on cord, though. I am 200 pounds and have used 2mm cord before. Use at your own risk, though. The other difficulty with really small cord is getting your knot welded on and not being able to remove it. It can be overcome, but that's another thing to think about with moving to small cord.

    Good Luck!
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  7. #7
    New Member unicycleman's Avatar
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    you dont need to throw the idea of using amsteel out completly.
    Any rope at all has decreased breaking strength from a knot and 7/32 amsteel is rated to 1600 lbs. so even with half the strenth is more than strong enough to hold your weight.

    as for the slippery surface, i say that you just need a new knot. Ive noticed that sometimes a clove hitch will slip regardless of what material rope is used, especially with a smaller diameter. I would suggest that you use a two half hitches to attach to your tree hugger. you can also make it a lot easier to untie if you make it a slip knot.

  8. #8
    Senior Member Rug's Avatar
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    To answer your main question about 'how much weight': A LOT I don't have a scale, but I'd guess the original suspension accounted for 75% of the total weight.

    As has been stated already, amsteel is slippery stuff. So make sure to backup any knot, with a hitch and/or stopper. (like a stick on the ground).
    I ride a recumbent.
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    Rug.

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  9. #9
    Senior Member bcaron's Avatar
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    Timely question as I just changed the suspension on my HH Expedition last night.

    The stock HH line alone, per side weighs 62 grams. The completed whoopie sling, 13' of Amsteel, weighs 17 grams. Just a straight line, even less. But why tie knots when you don't have to?

    So, for the gram counters out there, that's a savings of 90 grams total for the hammock with full slings.

    The biggest benefit to me is that the amsteel basically disappears in the bag. The stock line is very bulky and brittle in comparison. Don't let anyone tell you the conversion is difficult....it's a breeze. Make your own slings, it's fun and easy to do.
    " I have not yet begun to procrastinate!"

  10. #10
    Senior Member mountain_man_mike's Avatar
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    I was surprised how easy it was to make the whoopies and impressed on how strong they are. There are a bunch of tutorials for them, along with loads of other facets to hanging and trekking in general here so before you decide it's a bad idea, check some of them out. In my case, I am a DIY guy and making the whoopie slings caught my eye immediately. I used a piece of floral wire my wife had lying around, stripped the green fuzzy stuff from it, bent it in half, pinched the loop together and ran it through the amsteel just fine.

    Here is one tutorial I clipped from a HF member, but again, there are several out there.

    Happy Trails...
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