Another Loopie Sling Mod

[SnarkyJosh]

I made a loopie sling out of a scrap piece of 7/64" Amsteel and was trying to find a use for it. But the loopie sling has the the disadvantage of having having a non-load-bearing tail end and, like a UCR, you have to come up with a way to tension it. I put fixed eye into mine and thought to use it like a whoopie, but putting tension on the adjustable loop stretches the entry point of the bury. So I decided to run the adjustable loop though my fixed eye and now it seems to work fine.



You don't see a lot of loopie posts because they don't seem as useful as whoopies or UCRs. With that in mind, I decided to try and justify putting it in my pack. One advantage to a loopie is that it can adjust down to a small size and can extend to any length you want to make.



But, like a whoopie, it also has the disadvantage of using double the cordage. So to justify bringing it along, it has to take the place of something and have multiple uses. My loopie adjusts out to about two feet, so it can take the place of my two 12" dogbones. I've only ever used them as tree strap extenders and the loopie seems to work fine for that.



Also, so I can guarantee that it will always be in use, it has replaced the 1" strap and buckle I had around my poncho liner. And it gave me a use for one of those tiny s-biners I attached to my pack.



Thanks to gmcttr for that idea, I saw his picture of a loopie around a CCF pad.

[DoctaD]

That's an interesting mod. I was thinking of something similar today to use to hang my bridge hammock at minimum tree distance. I wonder if there is a risk with the short bury and also at the point where the loops cross.

[SnarkyJosh]

My measurements for this loopie are the same as my whoopie slings, which I made following this samson splicing guide. The adjustable bury is 8 inches, and the tail of the locked brummel is 5 inches. I haven't had any issues with my whoopie slings, so I don't think it would be an issue to use this as part of the suspension.

I don't think using it at it's minimum size would be an issue. In the traditional arborist's use of a loopie sling, you are making a girth hitch with the bight in the center of the adjustable bury. Just don't shrink it so small you can't fully milk the bury.

Where the two loops intersect, the only problem I see occurring is friction melting the fixed eye. But as long as you are aware of it, and make slower adjustments, it shouldn't be an issue. I see it as being similar to using a soft shackle to connect a whoopie's adjustable loop to a continuous loop.

[DoctaD]

Thanks for the explanation. It appeared as though the fixed loop had a shorter bury than it actually is. It looks like a useful bit of line to have for short hangs.

[DoctaD]

Thanks for the explanation and link. It appeared as though the fixed loop had a shorter bury than it actually is. It looks like a useful bit of line to have on hand.

[WV]

Double the cordage means double the strength. I've made my loopies out of Dynaglide accordingly. I'll try this configuration instead of the bungee prussics I've been using to maintain tension on the tail end. What I'd like to find out is how easy it is to learn to adjust them. It took me a while to become comfortable adjusting my loopies, whereas I can adjust an amsteel whoopie sling in the dark.

[SnarkyJosh]

... What I'd like to find out is how easy it is to learn to adjust them ...

Although I don't plan using this as a replacement for a whoopie sling, I'm currently using UCRs, I decided to try it out under tension to answer your question.



I noticed a few things in this test:

1) My bowflex is looking kind of dusty.

2) It's kind of cool that both up and down adjustments are done by pulling in the same direction.

3) When adjusting the loopie like this, you can only shrink it down to the length of your bury. If you look at the picture, you will see my attachment point would act as a stop, and as the loop shrinks further, it would begin to compress the bury. This makes my minimum working length about 9.5 inches.



4) So if you wanted to use the loop at it's absolute minimum, you would probably want to do that without any load, and maybe without anything attached to the adjustable loop. I'm not sure how often you would need to do this, so maybe it's not an issue.