How many feet?

[bigsilk]

I'm going to make my own straps. 1" webbing good enough? How long should each strap be?

[Tendertoe]

There are many threads on this.

Here's one from a few weeks ago.

As long as your tarp ridgeline can accomodate I say plus carry an Amsteel extender or two to accommodate the random long hang or large diameter tree.

That equals 15 feet a piece for me plus 2 extenders.

One inch webbing is fine. Some folks use 1.5 or even 2 inch but 1 inch is the norm.

[Curmudgeon]

It will depend on how you're using them. How is the rest of your system designed? Are you using straps with climbing rings attached near the hammock, or are you using straps with toggles and whoopie slings? (or something else?)

I have 12' straps which I use with toggles and 6' whoopies. I've hung from some pretty big diameter trees, so I like 12' straps. When hanging from small diameter trees, I have a lot of strap left, which then lets me determine how close to the tree I want my toggle to be. I consider the weight and bulk penalty of a longer strap very worth it.

Usually I end up using the straps as the macro adjustment, and use the whoopies as fine tuning beyond that. It keeps me from having to re-adjust the toggles. On very short tree distances I've removed the whoopies entirely and hung my hammock from my end channel continuous amsteel loops and toggles tied off right at the tree.

For me, flexibility and adjustability are what it's all about.

[nyhiker50]

Here's a way to avoid any surprises. Remember that sometimes the tree you use may "eat" up some of the straps. That means that if you put the strap around a five foot tree you may only end up with less than a foot to hang with. This is why I carry extra long straps of my own making. It might sound like overkill, but if you encounter some large trees or trees that are too far apart that extra length comes in handy. My straps are twenty feet song and that of course gives me a lot of wiggle room. Also, any extra and you can put a marlin spike into it and hang almost anything on it to get them off the ground.

[JollyGreen]

Here's a way to avoid any surprises. Remember that sometimes the tree you use may "eat" up some of the straps. That means that if you put the strap around a five foot tree you may only end up with less than a foot to hang with. This is why I carry extra long straps of my own making. It might sound like overkill, but if you encounter some large trees or trees that are too far apart that extra length comes in handy. My straps are twenty feet song and that of course gives me a lot of wiggle room. Also, any extra and you can put a marlin spike into it and hang almost anything on it to get them off the ground.

(2) - twenty foot long straps? Is that a typo?

[ShellHammock]

two 12' lengths of 1" webbing do it for me, if I am using cinch buckles. I carry a single Whoopie sling as 'extra' cordage and can use it in a pinch. It really depends where you are doing your hiking and hanging. I have lived in CO high country, and was born in KY, this combo is always adequate.

[iRokk]

20 sounds like overkill. I have never run into a problem when my 9-fters weren't sufficient

[JollyGreen]

20 sounds like overkill. I have never run into a problem when my 9-fters weren't sufficient

Yep, I carry 8 footers and I've never needed it all

[bigsilk]

Normally I'd have done the research, but I found a new Kelty Redwing 50 on ebay for $70 and wanted to add the webbing and a couple of things before someone else snagged it.

I ended up getting 30' of 1". I'll make adjustments from there.

Thanks for the help.

[Insaniac99]

Yep, I carry 8 footers and I've never needed it all

It depends on where you live IMO. Up here we get huge trees, I made myself longer straps because the 9 foot ones I had would sometimes only have a foot at most after getting around a tree.