Greetings Hangers - I've just joined the forum. I've been hanging since the early 90s using a surplus navy hammock & the faithful blue tarp. Had some beautiful experiences but that's for another day. What I haven't seen in all the sites I've been to is someone using cargo straps - the ratchet kind in case there's any doubt. It's as simple as it gets, it doesn't stretch and I've yet to see any damage to bark as a result of using them. Granted, if weight is an issue you might think twice but for short trips or if you tend to use a vehicle, why not? Even if the ratchet breaks as mechanical things are want to do when your furthest from the nearest hardware store, throw it into your trash bag, run the strap back to the eye of the other hook and tie it off. I don't even get fancy even though as a sailor I love to tie knots. In fact, if weight isn't that great an issue, just go without the ratchet.
Oh yeah, I'm getting ready to do a coast to coast run on the Harley and upgrading my hammock to a Hennessy Explorer. The bugs are fierce back east and I'm sure I'll hit some pretty good precipitation. Later.