Ridgeline and amsteel

[strung2tite]

Could a amsteel ridgeline help protect against unseen widowmakers? Thoughts please. Thanks...

[Catavarie]

Given my basic understanding of physics, no. Any braches large enough to be considered a widow maker traveling at terminal velocity (which only needs roughly 25 ft to achieve, if I remember correctly) would easily snap through the 7/64 or 1/8 amsteel which is most commonly used. But even if the amsteel did hold the force of it hitting the amsteel would still cause the violently fold and the branch could snap or at the very least whip around the amsteel causing enough lateral force to inflict major injury.

Of course I haven't studied physics since High School, many, many years ago so I could be wrong. But its still easier to just look up in the trees before you hang.

Now a tarp of Kevlar may do the trick if rigged with 1 inch amsteel

[oldgringo]

At the very least, it would be better than nothing at all. Even if it did break, it would absorb at least some of the energy of the falling limb.

[tbctx]

Stop it probably not, slow it down to a degree, so it may buy you a trip to the hospital vs the morque but I wouldn't use it as a reason to not check for them.

[Youngblood]

At the very least, it would be better than nothing at all. Even if it did break, it would absorb at least some of the energy of the falling limb.

My guess is that it is like airbags in automobiles. They will help a lot in many cases but in a catastrophic situation they are not likely to change the outcome.

A roof over your head protects you against a lot of limbs, branches, and trees falling that if they hit you outside they might kill you. But a huge tree can slice right through some roofs and their structures and kill you... it happens and in those cases that roof over your head was worthless, so to speak. It is all about the degree of protection you get.

It figures that a strong cord as a ridgeline in your hammock will help in some cases. My backyard is like a forest with a lot of huge trees, I have seen thousands of limbs and branches come down over the years and a couple of trees, even had a moderate sized one did damage to my roof but did not crash through to the living quarters. I don't want to be outside in high winds but any protection overhead is better than nothing. If I was trying to 'include a seat belt in my hammock setup', I would use Amsteel as a continuous ridgeline for my tarp and then if I wanted to add an 'airbag for my hammock setup' I would also use Amsteel for my hammock's ridgeline.

[MrClean417]

There was a couple of pictures in a post a month or so ago of a guy who was packing up to go home and a widowmaker fell down and hit his car. If 2 tons of steel can be devastated by a tree limb I doubt a tiny strand of Amsteel, albeit mighty for it's size, is gonna help much.

[MrClean417]

You'll probably have to replace your tarp too.

[oldgringo]

There was a couple of pictures in a post a month or so ago of a guy who was packing up to go home and a widowmaker fell down and hit his car. If 2 tons of steel can be devastated by a tree limb I doubt a tiny strand of Amsteel, albeit mighty for it's size, is gonna help much.

To state the obvious: it depends on the limb.

Not so obvious, is the variability of the strike. If the limb lands on the rl at the limb's cg, the full force of the falling weight will be borne by the Amsteel. In all other cases, the limb will pivot on the rl, and the force will be reduced by some amount, depending on the distance from the cg of the limb.

[gmcttr]

From what I have observed in my yard and woods, limbs frequently fall positioned like an arrow. It is common for me to find them buried 8" to 12" deep. The diameter of the limb would present a very small target for the amsteel to catch.

[Catavarie]

So in short for best possible protection carry a net of amsteel to rig above you.