buntline hitch

[Michigan Man]

NOOB trying to keep suspension simple. Would it be sufficient to attach Amsteel with fixed loop to marlin spike hitch in tree hugger with other end secured to hammock using ring and buntline hitch? I weigh 250#.

[Bubba]

Amsteel is pretty slick. Knots can slip and they also derate the breaking strength of amsteel. I'm assuming you want to use the buntline hitch for adjustability. A whoopie sling or UCR would give you quicker adjustability than tying and untying a knot and it would allow you to have a much higher breaking strength.

[GrizzlyAdams]

NOOB trying to keep suspension simple. Would it be sufficient to attach Amsteel with fixed loop to marlin spike hitch in tree hugger with other end secured to hammock using ring and buntline hitch? I weigh 250#.

I've done this routinely, but closer to 200#. Make sure it is a 'slippery' buntline hitch. There is something aesthetically pleasing about using only as much cord as you minimally need to hang.

It will pinch the Amsteel slippery loop, and it can sometimes be a wrestling match to undo the hitch. It seems also to be sensitive to getting the buntline tied just right; pass the slippery loop on the wrong side of the cord when completing the hitch, and there's a very good chance the hitch will twist and jam pretty hard under tension (care to guess how I know this For Sure?)

A different knot I'll use I don't even have a name for it. I take the cord, make a 'round turn' (B in the figure)

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and then create a 'hole' by passing the working end over the top of the the standing end and then pull a bight through. Tighten up and now you've got a bight between the ring and the cord you passed over the standing end. Now I take the remaining working end, form a bight and pass the second bight through the first, and tighten up the first bight.

I'd call it the 'recursive bight' if I had the chance.

This one is harder to screw up, and is just about as easy to break up after a load has been placed on it.

That all said, I build UCRs into the suspension of my DIY hammocks and more typically use those now.

[Michigan Man]

Thanks Grizz. Any reason the 'recursive bight' would be considered more or less secure than a whoopi or UCR? I could use 3mm Amsteel for any approach if recommended for my body weight.

[GrizzlyAdams]

Thanks Grizz. Any reason the 'recursive bight' would be considered more or less secure than a whoopi or UCR? I could use 3mm Amsteel for any approach if recommended for my body weight.

You likely get more strength degradation from the tight loops around the ring than you get with a constrictor method. But with 3mm Amsteel you can have a lot of degradation and still have ample safety margin.