hanging, how far is too far?

**pyro fiend** · 05-01-2014, 00:43

Hi guys hope i put this in the right spot but iv been pokin around a few hammock forums here lately because i just miss my old hammock that broke 2yrs ago. But im a BIG guy.. im 6'2" 350lb so its hard to find a nice hammock ment for large amounts of weight. Now iv recently moved and the only anchor points would be 2 trees 35+ft away (streaches side to side of yard so not doing that) or a tree and a basketball hoop set in concrete (4"wide steel not solid) which stand aprox 24' apart... now iv read if you hang it too far youl have ballance problems, yet they sell straps for 20+ft hangs... now if it was only me in it id be okay looking silly but the hammock i decided on has a rating of over 800lb (score! Lol) and is plenty big for 2. So if i was to hang it and my gf (maybe 160lb sopping wet in jeans) was to try and join. Would this be where the balance problems would hit? Would they be tricky from the getgo? Should i just make/ invest in an ungly stand for the hammock itself?(propertys not quite level ao would be even more work xc)

Thanks for your time and i hope this wasnt too dumb of a question just getting mixed answers

**Insaniac99** · 05-01-2014, 02:28

I think 24' feet will be fine. I have not tried long hangs but as long as you do two things:

Use a structural ridgeline on your hammock; this will take a lot of guess work out of the hanging. the extra length won't matter as much with a SRL helping you.
Make sure that you have them strapped level, that is parralel to each other, regardless of the ground height difference

I think you should be fine

**Jrprince** · 05-01-2014, 06:46

Since you don't want to build a stand, what about sinking a post into the ground near one of the trees and using it as your second tie off spot?

**pyro fiend** · 05-01-2014, 08:14

Originally Posted by Jrprince

Since you don't want to build a stand, what about sinking a post into the ground near one of the trees and using it as your second tie off spot?

Tbh that was kinda the fall back if everyone said its too far or unsafe.

**pyro fiend** · 05-01-2014, 08:15

Originally Posted by Insaniac99

I think 24' feet will be fine. I have not tried long hangs but as long as you do two things:

Use a structural ridgeline on your hammock; this will take a lot of guess work out of the hanging. the extra length won't matter as much with a SRL helping you.
Make sure that you have them strapped level, that is parralel to each other, regardless of the ground height difference

I think you should be fine

Thanks. I figured that on the paralell but ill keep all this in mind

**pyro fiend** · 05-02-2014, 09:33

Can anyone elese chime in? Maybe with experience?

**oldgringo** · 05-02-2014, 10:09

24 feet is too far. Build a simple bipod out 2x4s and stick it under the suspension on one end. You should be good to go.

**Bubba** · 05-02-2014, 10:17

24 feet is a bit far but if you can get the anchor point around 9 feet high, you could get the same feeling as if the distance was closer. Check out the hammocks hang calculator to mess around with some numbers.

http://theultimatehang.com/hammock-hang-calculator/

**craige** · 05-02-2014, 10:58

You could try a single line suspension with that large of a distance, or just really strong suspension and ridgeline and hang the suspension at less than the recommended 30° angle, there will be much larger forces on the anchor points that way though. Or like bubba said, have the suspension 9ft up?

**OCDave** · 05-02-2014, 11:14

Play around with your numbers here: http://theultimatehang.com/hammock-hang-calculator/

If your trees are robust, it is just a issue of getting your hang point high enough.

Good Luck

EDIT: Sorry, I now see Bubba already referenced this tool.