Just starting

[Soda]

My HH exped was waiting on the doorstep when I got home from work last night so of course cutting the grass got put off until tonight so I could get the feel of hanging it. There was a little hestitation when I first lowered myself into the hammock but once I realized my lashings would hold wow! Should have slept in it last night but give it a full test later this week and am actually hoping for some rain.

That said, as a newbie questions will keep cropping up. First, for other HH user, do you find the standard tree hugger straps adequate or do you have a hard time finding trees small enough to accomodate the straps when finding a site to hang?

It'll be a month until the first backpacking trip so l'll have plenty of time to practice and definitely need practice with rigging a nice taut tarp but it'll come.

[whitejb]

Soda, welcome to the addiction and glad to hear your liking your hammock so far. I also have a HH with the stock straps. The only time I have had an issue is when testing in my backyard because I have only the trees in the yard to choose from, but on the test hangs while hiking it is easier to find a tree to fit as there are so many more to chose from. I haven't gotten past the testing stage so I am by no means an expert, but if you hike the same area/park you should quickly figure out if the existing straps will work or you need longer ones. I am holding off until I have used what I have a few more times before I order anything else. I have used it on trees larger than the straps and just used the rope to make up the difference, but I have read good and bad on that, maybe someone with a little more knowledge will speak up.

[Soda]

l'll be hiking the AT for about 90 miles or so south of Shenandoah NP and based on my past sections there should be plenty of trees to choose from.
My yard sounds like yours since most of my trees are fat.

[Cali]

I use cinch buckle straps from Harbor Freight (12' long and 1" wide) for $4 a pair. I cut off the cinch buckle and sewed a loop in the end. I use elephant trunks and a continuous loop and find this such an easy set up. You can just get the straps and use them with your set up. $4 is a great deal for straps. Good luck. I have the HH Safari, DJ and the Explorer UL. Love them all, but the smooth silky DJ material is my favorite.

[Soda]

I use cinch buckle straps from Harbor Freight (12' long and 1" wide) for $4 a pair. I cut off the cinch buckle and sewed a loop in the end. I use elephant trunks and a continuous loop and find this such an easy set up. You can just get the straps and use them with your set up. $4 is a great deal for straps. Good luck. I have the HH Safari, DJ and the Explorer UL. Love them all, but the smooth silky DJ material is my favorite.

Okay, really new here...what do you mean by elephant trunk? Sounds like the cinch buckle straps should be available in any decent hardware store.

[raiffnuke]

It takes the place of a marlingspike hitch in your suspension system.

smartoutdoors.webs.com

[sodakgrrl]

Congratulations on your new HH! One of the first thing boothill and I did when we got our hammocks was to make longer straps. We used 1" polyester webbing and made them 7' to fit around the pine and spruce we find here in the beautiful Black Hills. (And sometimes we use every inch of the 7'!) This is a super-easy DIY project. Have fun!

[Soda]

Thanks raiffnuke..... a picture really is worth a thousand words.

[raiffnuke]

Glad I could help.

[grannypat]

Glad you brought this up. I'm new to this and have mostly fat trees also. Once I figure out which trees in my woods are my favorite hanging spot, I will make custom home hanging straps.