my suspension is too... long?

**titanium_hiker** · 01-10-2011, 05:42

So, I seem to be picking up a vibe that slings + webbing are sometimes dictating hugely high hangs because the trees need to be far apart.

I'd like to see a pic of your hanging set up and how your suspension is too long, if it's happening to you.

I'm sure something can be modified to make hanging easier!

TH

**Shewie** · 01-10-2011, 06:53

I've trolled through my Photobucket pages and can't believe I don't have one decent picture of a setup.

As a rule I pace out the distance between my trees, I'm looking for around five to six long strides for my perfect hang.

First up is the tarp, with my over-the-top continuous ridgeline at just above head height, I like to hang it high so I can stnd underneath my tarp. My suspension then goes as high up as I can reach, usually around 12-18" above my ridge. With my 12ft whoopies I still get around 2ft of line to play with before it all gets too short.

**BlazeAway** · 01-10-2011, 07:49

Originally Posted by titanium_hiker

my suspension is too... long?

There is no end to how to shorten your suspension system. To make it longer is the difficult part.

**titanium_hiker** · 01-10-2011, 08:52

Originally Posted by BlazeAway

There is no end to how to shorten your suspension system. To make it longer is the difficult part.

That's what I was thinking, but I've seen several posts by different people that the whoopies+webbing are too long, so I thought this would be worth a thread.

TH

**Rat** · 01-10-2011, 09:22

I think the problem is when the distance between trees is too short, not the length of the suspension. On Wildman's maiden hang I noticed he tried to compensate for the short distance between trees incorrectly. I showed him how to tie a barrel hitch and all is well now.

We have to choose to carry the longest tree hugger for the largest trees we will likely hang from, or the average anyway. What happens then is that we find two trees that are a little too close and they are very small diameter to boot. So the person hangs the tree straps like usual (wrap once and clip in 'biner), whether they use dutch 'biners or carabiners; this leaves 3-4 feet of strap hanging off the tree and causes the suspension to be too long.

How I deal with this is I don't tie off like normal (wrap once and clip); I tie a barrel hitch around the tree using the tree hugger. This is easily done with either Dutch 'biners (I did it with Wildman's two weekends ago) or regular carabiners. This takes up all the slack and puts the whoopie loop right next to the tree so the suspension fits.

I have also refit my hammocks to have the shortest possible distance between the end of the hammock and the beginning of the whoopie bury. So, with a 10" bury, I now have about 12" from my hammock end to the end of my whoopie loop bury; which means I can hang from trees with a minimum distance of 10 feet (three paces) very easily.

Timber Hitch (Barrel Hitch) animation

**BlazeAway** · 01-10-2011, 18:34

Originally Posted by BlazeAway

There is no end to how to shorten your suspension system. To make it longer is the difficult part.

Here is an even simpler way of shortening your suspension.

**gargoyle** · 01-10-2011, 09:17

Start here
Grizz' suspension how-to video, he has three or four videos that explain easy adjustments for your situation.

**gargoyle** · 01-10-2011, 09:52

Rat,
I do the same basic thing with my marlin spike hitch. Wrap webbing around tree, place the hitch and toggle at a suitable location (be it near the tree or out on the end of the 8' strap, or anywhere along the length of the strap) as tree span dictates. Then attach the whoopie to the toggle. (not really on the toggle, but on the knot behind the toggle.)

**Rat** · 01-10-2011, 12:37

Originally Posted by gargoyle

Rat,
I do the same basic thing with my marlin spike hitch. Wrap webbing around tree, place the hitch and toggle at a suitable location (be it near the tree or out on the end of the 8' strap, or anywhere along the length of the strap) as tree span dictates. Then attach the whoopie to the toggle. (not really on the toggle, but on the knot behind the toggle.)

Yep, togglers have the option of placing the toggle very close to the tree thereby eliminating much of what I covered. However, I have a continuous suspension; my whoopie is attached the hammock, the whoopie loop is attached to the tree hugger - nothing comes apart. My only point of attachment is the carabiner on the tree hugger that wraps around the tree. The JRB system is similar but mine doesn't use the Dutch 'biner and uses a carabiner in place of the Dutch Clip. IOW, I don't have the option of moving my whoopie loop closer to the tree along the webbing. I chose this suspension because I was going insane loosing toggles in the woods.

This way I un-clip the carabiner and everything stays together, but sometimes I need to tie a Timber Hitch to get it the right length; life is about compromises and I would rather tie a Timber Hitch every now and again then keep up with toggles!

**DannyBoy2k** · 01-10-2011, 15:39

Rat, thanks for introducing me to the Barrel (Timber) Hitch! I like the idea of being able to use the end loop on the strap for a biner rather than using a toggle, so this is great!

Originally Posted by Rat

... life is about compromises and I would rather tie a Timber Hitch every now and again then keep up with toggles!

A trick I've read in a few places here is, if you have loops on both ends of your tree straps, drill a small hole in your toggle, tie a loop of cord through it, and girth (lark's head) hitch your toggle to one of the loops on your tree straps. Now the toggle stays with the tree strap.

~Dan