Well, it finally happened. After at least a year of nonstop use, I got dropped by my Panther Cleats and my stock Hennessy. If you don't know what the cleats are (they went out of fashion just about as soon as they were mentioned on the forum waaaay back in 2007). I'm not aware of anyone on the forum still using them.
You can see them here
http://www.cabelas.com/prod-1/0001551018030a.shtml
I don't sleep enough, probably because I don't have a hammock in my house, and on many days such as today, I go take a nap in the park at lunch. I'm much more productive at work as a result.
Unlike most days, the rope on the head end slipped completely out of the cleat and down I went, thump on my back/left side. Actually, it wasn't a hard fall and I've experienced far worse in Judo. Still, it was a bit surprising.
I set the system back up and continued with my nap.
The cleat wore out from continued use and lost friction at the contact points. The rope makes a zig-zag path around the base of the cleats and the nylon has taken on a rounded shape that matches quite nicely the diameter of the rope. The cleats used to contain ridges that ran perpendicular to the rope's path. Those ridges are now gone; rather, they are bent smooth.
The fun part of this story is that for the past, oh maybe 10 naps or so, I've been waking up to hear a rapid slipping sound and feel a small drop. I always assumed that it was the tree hugger slipping on the tree. Nope.
The stock Hennessy rope has also slipped a bit internally. The outer sheath is now longer than the stiffer, inner core. I suspect that there was enough grab on the outer covering but not enough to contain the actual part of the rope that was keeping me off the ground.
So, after nearly a year of fairly regular use, the cleats are done. I really liked them. They were simple and fast to use. They required no modifications to the stock Hennessy system.
On to the next system, and time to hit the Suspension Summary thread.
FreeTheWeasel
Bookmarks