Question about tying stock fly to trees

**LeviJ4** · 05-26-2009, 18:12

HH Expedition Asym

I just got my first camping hammock today, and I set it up in the back yard!! I'm very excited and I need to iron everything out before I go camping Thursday. I have a few concerns I'll list here but my main concern is with the fly.

1. The stock fly is a little limp and doesn't look as tight as they do in all of you guys great pictures, so how exactly do I go about tying the fly to the tree independent of the hammock. I am looking for the simplest answer, and I hope it has to do with going to get some 550 cord and tying it. Please be specific including the knots and all I may have to use.

2. Some of the videos showing you how to wrap the webbing around the trees shows them double wrapping the trees with the webbing. The two trees I just used were too big to allow me to wrap it around twice, and when I did it there was some slack in just wrapping it around once but it seemed to be very stable when I laid in it. Is that going to be a problem if I don't wrap the trees twice?

Thanks!

Also, the snake skins are awesome!

**Ramblinrev** · 05-26-2009, 18:22

Originally Posted by LeviJ4

HH Expedition Asym

I just got my first camping hammock today, and I set it up in the back yard!! I'm very excited and I need to iron everything out before I go camping Thursday. I have a few concerns I'll list here but my main concern is with the fly.

1. The stock fly is a little limp and doesn't look as tight as they do in all of you guys great pictures, so how exactly do I go about tying the fly to the tree independent of the hammock. I am looking for the simplest answer, and I hope it has to do with going to get some 550 cord and tying it. Please be specific including the knots and all I may have to use.

2. Some of the videos showing you how to wrap the webbing around the trees shows them double wrapping the trees with the webbing. The two trees I just used were too big to allow me to wrap it around twice, and when I did it there was some slack in just wrapping it around once but it seemed to be very stable when I laid in it. Is that going to be a problem if I don't wrap the trees twice?

Thanks!

Also, the snake skins are awesome!

hmmm... we would take all the fun out of the adventure if we addressed your questions to the degree you seem to desire. Have fun and tell us what unique ideas you have adapted.

The tree hugger webbing tightens up when the hammock is loaded. I seen reports of it slipping but I never experienced that when I was using the stock suspension. However, do yourself a favor and change over to a ring buckle/cinch buckle system as soon as practical. It makes a world of difference in get setup and tearing down.

**Dutch** · 05-26-2009, 18:27

I like to use Figure9's for the ridgeline of my tarp. If you have the stock asym tarp for the HH you will want it to be very close to the hammock or there is a chance you will get wet. There isn't much room for error, but it will do. The best way to get it close is to tie the tarp lower then the hammock. i go down about 4 inches, more for trees that are farther apart.

As for the double vs single wrap- I don't think it makes a difference. If you have trees the are at the minimum distance you may need to do the double wrap. If you wind up with slack in the huggers there is a chance they could slip down but it is doubtful once you have weight on them. It can be nice to adjust the height when there isn't weight in them.

**TrailH4x** · 05-26-2009, 20:55

Originally Posted by LeviJ4

1. The stock fly is a little limp and doesn't look as tight as they do in all of you guys great pictures, so how exactly do I go about tying the fly to the tree independent of the hammock. I am looking for the simplest answer, and I hope it has to do with going to get some 550 cord and tying it. Please be specific including the knots and all I may have to use.

Hey, welcome to the ranks of the elevated ones...

Your a man after my own heart. 550 cord is the answer to anything!

(1) First off, try your hand at JustJeff's sling shot tensioners (they'll keep you sane working around the stretch in the 550 cord). I made mine about 12" long from loop tip to loop tip for the ridgline.
(2) Rob the tarp attachemet hooks off of their current string and attach them to them to one end of each of the new tensioners.
(3) Stretch a length (mine is 20') of 550 above your hammock set and secure with knot combo of choice to each anchor object.
(3) Secure a tensioner to your ridgeline with a cat's paw (same knot currently holding the tarp attachement hooks to the main hammock suspension) at both locations of the stock tarp attachment strings.

Tarp can now be tranferred to the new tensioner attachement points and is free of the restraints of your suspension! You'll learn height adjustments to fit your needs over time. I stuff my tarp in a net sack then wind my ridgeline in the same sack. If its wet when you stuff it, strap it outside the pack. Hammock is always last up and first down for me, so it is almost always dry enough to snake up and stow as is.

Play with the knots and hitches and let us know what works best for you!

**Coldspring** · 05-26-2009, 21:12

Y'all are filling his head with too many ideas!

To Keep It Simple.
Get some strings to tie your tarp onto trees. Tie it lower than your tree huggers and adjust it down as low as possible to your ridgeline.

I would wrap the tree huggers around twice till you get the hang of it. It's okay to only wrap them once, but it depends on the tree...If the tree has a bump or knot, of has rough textured bark, something to help hold the strap up, you should be okay. I have had straps slip on smooth straight sideded trees, like pines for instance. You will find that the small stock straps are nearly useless, except for hanging on small trees. Hanging on smaller trees is usually safer by the way.

Just use what you've got and keep reading the forums. Look everything over while you're out and figure out the next step in your hammock life.

**LeviJ4** · 05-26-2009, 22:41

Thanks a ton for all of the ideas. I was looking at the "Tips for getting the fly tension right " on the http://hennessyhammock.com/setup.html page and I'm trying to figure out how to actually do that. These are some good ideas and I'll see what I can do with them.

**billvann** · 05-27-2009, 08:20

Originally Posted by TrailH4x

(1) First off, try your hand at JustJeff's sling shot tensioners (they'll keep you sane working around the stretch in the 550 cord). I made mine about 12" long from loop tip to loop tip for the ridgline.

Great tip! Thanks for the link.

**LeviJ4** · 05-27-2009, 08:26

Referencing http://hennessyhammock.com/tips-from-users.html

Under the section "Ideas to keep the rain fly tensioned" it says;

"You can tie a few loops of shock cord between the “O” ring and the nylon adjustment cord on each side of the rainfly. Use the stretch in the shock cord to take up the stretch in the nylon when it gets wet."

Where and what is the "O" ring it talks about here? When I spread my nylon adjustment cords out as far as they go to the half hitch knot on either tree in my last setup it was not nearly long enough to tighten the rain fly.

**adkpiper** · 05-27-2009, 10:53

Originally Posted by LeviJ4

Where and what is the "O" ring it talks about here?

At least on my Hennessy tarp, there are nylon O rings attached to all four corners of the stock tarp. On the ridgeline, they're the things you snap into the Prusik loops to tension the ridgeline. On the side tie-outs, they're just there as attachment points.

**LeviJ4** · 05-27-2009, 12:54

Originally Posted by adkpiper

At least on my Hennessy tarp, there are nylon O rings attached to all four corners of the stock tarp. On the ridgeline, they're the things you snap into the Prusik loops to tension the ridgeline. On the side tie-outs, they're just there as attachment points.

I'm dumb, I must not have noticed those on the side.