Ring Buckle Supports

**blackbishop351** · 02-08-2007, 18:54

Originally Posted by slowhike

i bought two Omega Pacific MSB 20kN AB rings today.
it's all they had in winston-salem. i haven't weighed them yet, but i'm sure they are a little heaver than the ones jeff showed.
seems like someone else showed a link to them but i don't see it now.
they work great!
one thing i learned is that the webbing needs to stay strait, in-line w/ it's self or it will slip. so i ran a bite back through the rings just to keep it strait. took a rest (oh, the life of a tester)... no prob.
probably the only reason it pulled to the side is because i didnt want to use the wal-mart webbing & i don't have any of ed's right now, so i used some tubular which is much heaver. so just the weight of the tubular webbing pulled it to one side when there's no weight in the hammock.
but now i'm going to try using the bight like suggested in the last post. should accomplish the same thing.

The bight idea should help keep it straight. I've also noticed that tubular webbing tends to be quite a bit slipperier than Ed's poly stuff.

**slowhike** · 02-08-2007, 19:37

Originally Posted by blackbishop351

The bight idea should help keep it straight. If also noticed that tubular webbing tends to be quite a bit slipperier than Ed's poly stuff.

yep, i figured it would be more slippery.

**speyguy** · 02-09-2007, 00:15

Where did you find load-rated D-rings? I've looked for those and haven't had any luck so far.

I bought them at a local army surplus store where I live. They sell lots of buckles and DIY hardware. In all honesty I never thought to varifiy that they were load rated. But they appear to be welded closed where the metal joins and they support me while in the hammock.

**blackbishop351** · 02-09-2007, 00:20

Originally Posted by speyguy

I bought them at a local army surplus store where I live. They sell lots of buckles and DIY hardware. In all honesty I never thought to varifiy that they were load rated. But they appear to be welded closed where the metal joins and they support me while in the hammock.

Wow - You're a lot braver than I am! I don't think I could bring myself to trust something that wasn't rated for a suspension...let alone something welded. I guess that's a leftover paranoia from my younger climbing days.

**Coffee** · 02-09-2007, 11:55

You guys may have said this somewhere. I tend to get lost over a couple pages of posts. But instead of using a biner or loop sewn into the webbing for around the tree, how about sewing another ring into the loop. Then run the webbing through the ring in the loop.

It would be a little slower and less versitle than a biner, but worth a look if your biner is heavier than the ring.

**blackbishop351** · 02-09-2007, 11:57

Originally Posted by hammock engineer

You guys may have said this somewhere. I tend to get lost over a couple pages of posts. But instead of using a biner or loop sewn into the webbing for around the tree, how about sewing another ring into the loop. Then run the webbing through the ring in the loop.

It would be a little slower and less versitle than a biner, but worth a look if your biner is heavier than the ring.

It might be a little more durable than just running the webbing through the loop, but I haven't noticed any wear on mine at this point - or on the loops on my slapstraps when I was using those. It would add a little weight (very little) too. I guess if I were going away from the loop by itself, I'd probably just use a 'biner for the convenience.

**stoikurt** · 02-09-2007, 11:59

Originally Posted by hammock engineer

You guys may have said this somewhere. I tend to get lost over a couple pages of posts. But instead of using a biner or loop sewn into the webbing for around the tree, how about sewing another ring into the loop. Then run the webbing through the ring in the loop.

It would be a little slower and less versitle than a biner, but worth a look if your biner is heavier than the ring.

That could be an option and definitely reduce stress on the strap that I noticed by just threading it through it's own loop. But if the ring weight is comparable to the biner weight I would go with the biner. It's much more versatile and quicker.

**TeeDee** · 02-09-2007, 16:01

Originally Posted by stoikurt

That could be an option and definitely reduce stress on the strap that I noticed by just threading it through it's own loop. But if the ring weight is comparable to the biner weight I would go with the biner. It's much more versatile and quicker.

The Nano Wire biners are equivalent in weight to the descending ring. Both are 0.8 oz. You can get the Nano Wire biners here:

http://www.amazon.com/C-M-P-USA-Nano-Wire/dp/B000A3WGUO

That's the best price I've seen.

**Just Jeff** · 02-09-2007, 17:46

I like the biner b/c I just clip it on, rather than running the webbing all the way through. That means I don't have to separate the webbing from the buckle each time I set up and it stays all in one piece when I put it away.

**speyguy** · 02-09-2007, 18:04

Originally Posted by blackbishop351

Wow - You're a lot braver than I am! I don't think I could bring myself to trust something that wasn't rated for a suspension...let alone something welded. I guess that's a leftover paranoia from my younger climbing days.

I never claimed to be a genius.

But I put the rings together. Set it up low the the ground and voila. Seems to hold just fine. But the load test point was well taken.