I've sniffed out a few threads on this subject (how tight to hang the Hennessy), but I'm not entirely sure that they covered the topic from the angle of heavy dudes. Also, the threads were quite old, and it's possible Hennessy has changed the ridge line since then.

I just got an Explorer Deluxe Asym Zip, and I'm trying to figure out how tight to hang it. Currently I've gone with roughly 30 degree angles down from horizontal at the trees, as recommended in The Ultimate Hang (Great book by the way!). The threads I saw all seemed to say the same thing: hang it as tight as you can (unless you have cinch straps or some other form of mechanical advantage). Even the video of Tom Hennessy hanging up his hammock suggests to do it tightly.

My concern is that the ridge line seems quite tight, even with my 30 degree angle (angle measured without weight in the hammock). Is it possible that I'll end up on my arse if I pull it too tight? Is the ridge line up to the task?

I'm not up to the 300lb limit, but if I were to put on a bit more weight (my wife owns a cake and cupcake decorating business ), and with all my stuff hung from the ridge line, I could be pushing 280 I guess.

Should I replace the line? Should I hang it loose? Should I just stop worriting, hang it up tight and go to sleep?