~ʎpuıɔ~
If you teach a child to reason they'll think for a lifetime.
2019 Great Pumpkin https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/showthread.php/154092-NH-gt-Alexandria-NH-gt-Oct-11-13-2019-gt-Great-Pumpkin-Hang
Considering the weight of the kids, the mule tape I get is 5/8" wide... not as wide as us adults use for tree straps, but these kids weigh half that of an adult...
http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/s...ad.php?t=22514
I've used it a LOT for hanging in my garage and back patio. . . I'm 220lbs... ish...
"Do or do not, there is no try." -- Yoda
The Harbor Freight straps are not only cheap, they have performed better than some polyester straps for me. Sew a loop in one end and teach the girls the marlinspike hitch. Have the girls make their own whoopies, too. Twelve-year-olds are extremely capable when motivated. Designate a pair of test trees or a hammock stand and put a mattress on the ground. Get the tree to tree distance right or they won't be able to reach high enough to place their tree straps. Sounds like fun.
WV is wise, the HF freight straps are better than mule tape, it all comes down to your budget.
John
"Do or do not, there is no try." -- Yoda
Enjoy and have fun with your family, before they have fun without you
I would recommend the 60x126 tablecloth hammocks ($12.99) , and let the girls make their own whoopies (probably less than $1 per whoopie with your supply). Your 500 ft. aren't going to go very far though, and you have no room for error. If you make 6 ft. whoopies for each hammock, then it will take 480 ft. of Amsteel to do that for 20 hammocks.
As for straps, I would probably stay away from having the girls sew loops with a machine - that sounds kind of tough for the girls to master, time consuming and quite possibly dangerous. I'd go with strapworks.com (unless an adult is sewing the loops). I think my 8 ft. straps from strapworks were around $3.75 each with 2 inch sewn loops, but you could probably go shorter and cheaper with 6 or even 4 ft. straps.
The only knots they would have to learn is the Marlin spike hitch.
Last edited by SilvrSurfr; 01-22-2013 at 22:40.
Good suggestions and most will probably also go with the 126 since the girls can grow into them. Another suggestion I'll make to shorten how much Amsteel you'll use the UCR method. Sgt Rock has a great video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=Ch-bqE7OQZw
Enjoy and have fun with your family, before they have fun without you
And if you do let them make whoopies, the girls could personalize them with their own personal stopper beads for the adjustable loop.
I made some stopper beads from dice (or die):
Bookmarks