Tree straps too short

[MDSH]

That sounds like a lot of suspension - and you're not even counting hammock length? I'm sporting 4 ft. straps, 6 ft. whoopies, and an 11 ft. hammock for a total length of 31 feet. I used to have 10 ft. straps and 10 ft. whoopies but never saw those conditions.

Do they even have old-growth trees in Texas?

I was counting hammock length --the SRL with carabineers is 8.5 feet.

Yes, we have Live Oaks that are quite old. Some are estimated to be 1000-2000 years old. There are old growth alpines in the Davis Mountains. But most of my camping has been in the Southern Rockies of New Mexico and Colorado. The lounging hammock that I gave to my son had 25' of polypro rope on each end and some hangs used nearly all of it.

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[Pipsissewa]

You don't say what else besides straps your suspension entails, but if you have whoopie sling and toggles, this'll work:

Get the strap around the tree (this is the hardest part!) Run the whoopie sling's adjustable loop through a loop in the strap and pull the whoopie sling loop toward the other end of the strap to "bridge" the gap around the tree. Attach the other end of the strap to the whoopie with a marlin spike hitch and toggle. The whoopie sling is still adjustable with this system. The adjustable loop just slides through the loop in your strap as you tighten or loosen.

No extra gear required!

[FLRider]

I carry 8' straps for this reason, in fact. There are a lot of big longleaf pine trees down here, and they get to be ~7' or 8' in circumference fairly frequently.

That being said, if I hang in mixed hardwoods down here, I usually have less of a problem; most of the old-growth live oaks have been cut down over the years or are part of city planning (and therefore not available to me on backwoods trips).

Hope it helps!

[backroad]

On my first multi day hang I went up through California to southern Oregon, land of the big trees.
Just to be safe I made a 20' strap as backup. Our spot at Richardson Grove State Park needed at least a 15' strap.

As a motorcycle/car camper it's all about bulk, weight is of little concern.

[nu2hike]

I have the Darian UL which came with 4 ft tree straps, 6 ft whoopies, and Dutch ware! I traded out the 4ft straps for 5ft ones but still have problems with larger trees!
If I feed the whoopies through the loop on the tree straps that may solve the problem without having to go to longer straps. On the other hand carrying some Amstel "extensions" would be useful as they could serve more than one purpose.
I've also had problems with my whoopies being too long.
Finding the perfect distance between trees can be harder than you think!

[MDSH]

I suppose that with a dedicated set of straps for the tarp I am already carrying extenders.

Duh!

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[WV]

I usually carry straps of different lengths, one 4' and one 6'. I also look for smaller trees. Big ones may have fearsome dead branches so high they're harder to spot from the ground. Beyond these precautions, I'd use Pipsissewa's method in post #12.

[turnerminator]

I usually carry straps of different lengths, one 4' and one 6'. I also look for smaller trees. Big ones may have fearsome dead branches so high they're harder to spot from the ground. Beyond these precautions, I'd use Pipsissewa's method in post #12.

+1 on all this. Different length straps and passing the whoopie through one of the loops on the straps.

I've been doing this for a while and the whoopies don't seem to be affected by the small amount of contact with the bark.

Whoopie hooks make this method very easy