Wear and Tear on Your Whoopies?

**snidetripod** · 07-04-2014, 12:16

I love the lightweight whoopie sling, I have installed them on my HH exped and my SLD Streamliner. They are easy to make after a few tries and offer a lightweight alternative suspension.
Recently, the whoopies on my Streamliner are beginning to show signs of wear, especially where the amsteel comes in contact with the tree strap and where it enters the bury on the " finger trap " section.
I guess I know the answer to my question, and I will have to replace my slings at some point. I am wondering how much wear and tear can 7/64 amsteel endure before it breaks? Should I be replacing my whoopies as soon as I notice the wear, or can I hold off and replace them when I notice the threads breaking? Is there a method of preventing this wear?
It just does not seem cost effective if I have to make new whoopies every couple of months, I would rather find something more durable. Saving weight is not an issue to me, but I love the ease of use.

Thanks all and happy hanging!

**lazy river road** · 07-04-2014, 12:21

HYOH and don't take my advice but I weigh 230 and been using the same dynaglide woopie is for years now. Some wear yes but no fraying of the individual strands. That's what I look for. If a strand fray's then it's time for new ones. But a picture would be helpful and u have to hang on what u feel comfortable with.

**snidetripod** · 07-04-2014, 12:29

Here are two pictures of the whoopies on my Streamliner, the hammock I have been using most lately.

This picture shows the wear at the bury. Is this normal?

This picture shows the loop where it hangs from the marlin spike. Is it normal to be flattened and stretched out?

I do feel comfortable hanging on these, they have provided months of fun. My interest in this was piqued the other day when my GF was in the hammock and I was dialing in my UQ. I noticed the wear right away and thought that maybe I may be doing something wrong, since I have heard that whoopies should last a long time. I feel certain that this is normal wear and that I may just be over thinking things.

**Bubba** · 07-04-2014, 12:51

A little fuzzing is normal and the separating of the weave where the adjustable loop exits the bury in the first picture is normal. Definitely replace them if you see an individual strand severely frayed and about to break but otherwise you still have plenty of life on those. I haven't made a new whoopie sling in a couple of years now.

**brooklynkayak** · 07-04-2014, 12:55

Considering the weight rating of Amsteel Blue 7/64", I suspect you could wear half of the strands and still be safe.

I wouldn't worry at all about the wear at he bury.

The wear on the loop looks negligable, but since it is a wear point, it will get worse. I suspect the rough finish of the tree straps are slowly abrading that area.
I replaced the marlin spike hitch with soft shackles and do not show any wear at the tree strap connector point. I suspect it is because the softshackle and the whoopie are both made of the slippery Amsteel and so very little abrasion occurs.

Either way, it doesn't cost much to replace your whoppies when the time comes, but I would wait until I saw much more wear than what appears in the picture..

**snidetripod** · 07-04-2014, 12:56

It's nice that I can buy amsteel right across the street from my house.

**snidetripod** · 07-04-2014, 13:02

Originally Posted by brooklynkayak

I replaced the marlin spike hitch with soft shackles and do not show any wear at the tree strap connector point. I suspect it is because the softshackle and the whoopie are both made of the slippery Amsteel and so very little abrasion occurs.

In regards to replacing the marlin spike hitch with soft shackles, do you soft shackle through the loop on the end of your tree strap? If you have pictures it would be helpful.

**brooklynkayak** · 07-04-2014, 13:29

I don't have a picture, but yes i use the soft shackle like a carabiner connecting the tree strap loop to the whoopie.
If my tree straps didn't have loops, I could create them using a figure-8 knots.

**gmcttr** · 07-04-2014, 15:00

Originally Posted by Bubba

A little fuzzing is normal and the separating of the weave where the adjustable loop exits the bury in the first picture is normal. Definitely replace them if you see an individual strand severely frayed and about to break but otherwise you still have plenty of life on those. I haven't made a new whoopie sling in a couple of years now.

This^^^...also, all I see in the first photo is the normal displacement of the strands to allow the entry/exit rather than wear.