Suspension and Fit

[Timmerton]

Hi all,

This might take a while to flesh out because of my workload, but this is going to be my thread for getting a good fit with my hammock and UQ. And unfortunately I don't have a place to hang at home so I can't do quick tests, have to take it out to a park or forest every time, which is why this might take a while. So bear with me, please.

I had a hard time with my UQ this past weekend. The first night was pretty rough, couldn't get a good fit, plus the line locs kept slipping on me, and it was in the mid 30's. The second night was better, was about 10-15 degrees warmer, and I had a better fit with the UQ, but would get an air gap at the foot unless I slept with my feet right at the end - uncomfortable. My experience left me wondering if gathered end hammocks were for me and whether I should look into the Ridgerunner (you may have seen that thread over at WB) or just ditch the whole idea of hanging period. However I have resolved to make this work!

After doing a bit of research and reading up on Adam's thread about the updated suspension I'm starting to realize that I must have been doing it completely wrong. I didn't realize there is a primary and secondary suspension. I thought the four corners that attach the the S-biners were the primary means of securing and tightening, which possibly explains why the line kept slipping through the line loc every time I tried to moderately tighten it and then lay down. I've come to understand now that the large continuous loop running around the perimeter of the quilt is supposed to be the primary suspension. Is that correct? My next question is, what do I do with it? Am I supposed to attach it to the S-biner as well? Or directly to the hammock? Also is it better to attach the S-biner as close to the hammock end as possible?

Attached is a picture & markup of my suspension. I assume this is the most current version offered by HG? Anyway any pointers or clarification you can offer would be greatly appreciated!

Susp markup.jpg

[hutzelbein]

Both primary and secondary suspension should connect to your biner. The primary suspension (the shock cord that goes through the channels on the sides) carries the weight of the underquilt. That's why it's beefier. The primary suspension should be tight enough to lift the empty hammock, but it should not be so tight that it bothers you when you're lying in the hammock.

The secondary suspension is the one going through the linelocs. The part that is currently attached to your s-biner should go to the same place as your primary suspension. You pull the loose ends to increase the tension. If you have air gaps, increase the tension. If you're too hot, loosen it.

I took some pictures of my underquilt to illustrate.

The end of the underquilt with the logo is the head end. Make sure it is on the head end of your hammock, because HG underquilts are cut differently on both ends.



Here you can see that primary (top) and secondary (bottom) suspension are running parallel.



I'm not using an S-biner, but the principle is the same: both suspension shock cords go to the same biner. My secondary suspension is not larksheaded onto the biner but can move freely. This works for me, but you can leave it as is on your biner. I prefer to run the suspension over the hammock - that is, I thread the hammock ends through the suspension. If I unclip my biners, the underquilt would hang on the hammock. The reason why I do this is to get the underquilt pull up. I feel this seals it better against the hammock. The "triangle thingies" do something similiar. It's a bit fiddly, to set the uq up this way when hanging the hammock, but I feel it's worth it. You can just as well just run the suspension under the hammock and just clip it to the hammock supension.



Hope this makes it clearer.

As I said in the other thread: don't be afraid to crank the secondary suspension tight, as long as you have air gaps. It's supposed to pull the uq tightly against the hammock. Don't overcinch the shock cord at the ends (the thin one, that has a small cord lock on both sides). It's supposed to just about seal the quilt. If you pull it too tight, you'll get air gaps.

[SilvrSurfr]

I have three HG underquilts - first thing I do is lay down in the hammock and get an experienced user to eyeball the secondary suspension to eliminate air gaps. It's hard to do it by yourself (try using a mirror if you do). Once properly adjusted, I usually don't ever readjust.

Yes, both the secondary and primary are attached to the S-biner, which is clipped onto the end of the hammock. From your picture, I'd say you have the secondary suspension way, way overcranked. Let some line out before the fish gets off the hook!

[Timmerton]

Thank you guys! First of all, I learned there is a primary and secondary suspension today. And now I know that the primary needs to clip into the biner, and the secondary should be loosened. Interesting Idea of putting the suspension above the hammock as well. I'm not sure I can fully visualize how to do that yet, but I'll have to try it next time I set it up.

[OutandBack]

Susp markup.jpg

From your picture I would suggest you untie that knot on the s-biner and just clip that line in the s-biner so the line can slide.
Also put the primary suspension line thru the same s-biner. This will allow the shockcords to slide/self adjust/equal shockcord tension when you get diagonal in the hammock.
Do that to both ends.

I really like hutzelbein instructions and really can't add much more.

[SilvrSurfr]

From your picture I would suggest you untie that knot on the s-biner and just clip that line in the s-biner so the line can slide.

Stormcrow ships his UQs with the secondary suspension knotted on the s-biner, and I like it. Each leg of the secondary suspension is equal length with the knot. I don't see any reason why the secondary suspension would need to slide, personally (unless you just want to eliminate the s-biner as hutzelbein has done). Eliminating the s-biner does sound a bit fiddly when setting up the hammock/UQ, and essentially, just shortens both suspensions by approximately 2 inches (the length of the s-biner), or four inches if you count both s-biners.

[OutandBack]

Stormcrow ships his UQs with the secondary suspension knotted on the s-biner, and I like it. Each leg of the secondary suspension is equal length with the knot. I don't see any reason why the secondary suspension would need to slide, personally (unless you just want to eliminate the s-biner as hutzelbein has done). Eliminating the s-biner does sound a bit fiddly when setting up the hammock/UQ, and essentially, just shortens both suspensions by approximately 2 inches (the length of the s-biner), or four inches if you count both s-biners.

Because when you get diaginal in the hammock the outer shockcords will be very tight compared to the inter shockcord.
Allowing the shockcords to slide will equalize the tension.

This solves a couple issues.
Some have complained the UQ pops off there outer shoulder.
Some have complained they can feel a really tight shockcord on there face when laying on their side.

Why does Stormcrow tie it?
I don't know but the engineer in me says it is not better. Maybe he will join in the discussion and let us know the advantages.

[Timmerton]

Well I just took the knot off the secondary suspension and hooked it back into the biner. It seems to play better with the line for the primary suspension now so I think that's how I'll leave it. Seems to make sense with trying to get the quilt at a diagonal.

[SilvrSurfr]

Because when you get diaginal in the hammock the outer shockcords will be very tight compared to the inter shockcord.
Allowing the shockcords to slide will equalize the tension.

This solves a couple issues.
Some have complained the UQ pops off there outer shoulder.
Some have complained they can feel a really tight shockcord on there face when laying on their side.

Why does Stormcrow tie it?
I don't know but the engineer in me says it is not better. Maybe he will join in the discussion and let us know the advantages.

I think Stormcrow's post on his updated suspension explains it.

https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...ght=suspension

"Another advantage to using the secondary suspension is that the line locs allow the quilt corners to be adjusted individually. This can sometimes help if you are having any problems with shoulder slippage that can sometimes occur with a more extreme diagonal lay."

So if you remove the biner knot, you've effectively removed the ability to adjust the quilt corners individually. You go from four points of adjustment on the secondary suspension to two points. In fact, I really think you go from four points of adjustment to zero by removing the knot in the secondary suspension. It becomes just another primary suspension (a secondary primary suspension).

As Stormcrow says, "Another thing to note…you do NOT have to use the secondary suspension. If you have always had good results with only the primary suspension, you can continue to use that system with all new quilts. You can even save a bit of weight (not much) by removing the secondary suspension altogether."

Removing that knot seems about the same to me as not using the secondary suspension at all.

[Timmerton]

Oh shoot, that's a strong argument as well! Now what am I going to do!!?