When I upload myself into my hammock, the pressure is on the tree

[Detail Man]

Just hang and enjoy. You're thinking too much and math makes my head hurt.

Some of us have a need to know that ranks right up there with food and water. Your right that seeking understanding needs to be tempered with the whole purpose of hanging in the first place. Thanks for the reminder.

[JotM]

Jotm, I just found out you are Dutch as well. Do not worry about hanging. Rather present us as the people without worries, who are living below sea level.

I don't think that's a fair way of putting things keeping the origin of most people on HF in mind.
If "we" (at RWS) would deliver a brochure like ASCE's to your mailbox, I don't think you could set aside any worries that easily.


You and many others can shed your worries, knowing there are engineers out there putting a huge effort into keeping your feet dry. And love doing that, to be honest.

[Bothwell Voyageur]

I've been looking at the two hitches shown and thinking of the hitches we use for anchors in white water safety and rescue.

The choker hitch is known as a girth hitch- loop on either end of a length of webbing, wrap round the tree, one end through the other then tie the load to the end loop. We were advised not to use them due to multiplication of loads as well their tendency to damage trees if the load shifted direction.

The basket hitch is known as an inside-outside loop. As you illustrated the key to it working properly is to keep the angle between the tails less than 90 deg. to prevent the load from being multiplied.

If we have enough gear we will use multiple anchors back to a single load point- hitches round several trees back to self equalizing point. This reduces the load on any single anchor as well as letting you set up a haul system from a point midway between anchors. It should be possible to do the same with a hammock, always remembering teh 30 deg rule throughout the system.

The other hitch used is a knotless wrap. Three times around the tree and their is enough friction so that their is no need to tie the end back to itself. I've seen a few folk mention using multiple wraps with their tree straps, in effect making a knotless wrap, and then clipping back onto the hammock strap. If you are looking at loads it would be worth considering this system as a variation on your choker hitch with the load all one one side of your Y arrangement.

Finally I'm surprised no one has mentioned slacklining yet? I see they sell tree pads for slacklines but I'd be interested to know if they have any research behind how effective they are.

BV

[sargevining]

Tree 1, the choker hitch, is what we do with a Dutch clip or carabiner. Tree 2, the basket hitch, or more appropriately called a double wrap basket hitch, is something that most of us don't use. It wouldn't be hard to incorporate a double wrap basket hitch into a suspension, just different. Below are some helpful images I found at http://practicalmaintenance.net/?p=748

Thanks, it is essentially what I thought you were describing. Its very simlar to the Crazy Creek Crib suspension.

There's a bit of a problem with it.



It is a channel end hammock that is designed to arrange the suspension strap in essentially the same manner as the basket hitch. Now the shoulder squeeze there is probably more pronounced because it is a short, narrow hammock, but I don't think that a wider, longer hammock would drape any differently.

While the basket hitch looks to be a superior way to hang a bridge hammock, arranging the end supports in such a manner that the strap is basically a continuation of the side of the hammock (much like the cables on a suspension bridge), and thus will drape the hammock in an arc between them 90 degrees to the length (as opposed to an arc along the centerline of the hammock itself) it may not be the best way to drape a channel end or whipped end hammock.

Edit to add:

Here's a better picture of the suspension method used on the Crazy Crib:

[grannypat]

Cogito ergo sum

(je pense, donc je suis - René Descartes)

So if my mind wanders, do I exist?

[Bothwell Voyageur]

Thanks, it is essentially what I thought you were describing. Its very simlar to the Crazy Creek Crib suspension.

There's a bit of a problem with it.



It is a channel end hammock that is designed to arrange the suspension strap in essentially the same manner as the basket hitch. Now the shoulder squeeze there is probably more pronounced because it is a short, narrow hammock, but I don't think that a wider, longer hammock would drape any differently.

While the basket hitch looks to be a superior way to hang a bridge hammock, arranging the end supports in such a manner that the strap is basically a continuation of the side of the hammock (much like the cables on a suspension bridge), and thus will drape the hammock in an arc between them 90 degrees to the length (as opposed to an arc along the centerline of the hammock itself) it may not be the best way to drape a channel end or whipped end hammock.

Edit to add:

Here's a better picture of the suspension method used on the Crazy Crib:

Sort of but the basket hitch goes round the tree another time. The straps on that picture look like they could easily slide down which could easily strip the bark off. Would be even worse on something smooth like an aspen or cherry.

[E.A.Y.]

Interesting.
I might try a wrap or two around the tree next time I find two skinny trees and am out with my cinch buckle suspension.