Hangers show me your suspension hardware please ;-)

[John Donewar]

At Ken's suggestion I've re-posted this thread in the appropriate forum. It was originally posted in the Gear Forum.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=88408&skip_to_post=753345#753345

Here is the OP with the same request for descriptions and pictures. I'm a sight learner. LOL ;-)

I've made whoopie slings and endless loops. I've got whoopie hooks. I have ultralight climbing rated carabiners.

I've ordered some 1" webbing and a pair of SS cinch buckles.

I'm about to order some aluminum descender rings because 4 of them will weigh a tiny bit less than the two cinch buckles and may be a little easier to use.

Cold, wet and possibly frozen whoopie slings have me considering my options.

Show me what you use and tell me why you settled on your particular choice if you will.

My current suspension is whoopie slings, whoopie hooks, endless loops and 1" polyester double loop tree straps.

I'm considering moving to 15' x 1" single loop straps, endless loops and either cinch buckles or descender rings. The possibility of trees just a little further apart than the length of my hammock is moving me to try and find the most versatile system for a wide range of distances between trees.

Thanks in advance.

Party On,

Newton ;-)

[Reggie]

All I use are whoopies and 1" tree straps with marlin spikes. Whoopies are connected directly to the hammock. Very simple, easy, nothing to loose. I've been out in really cold weather, terrible thunderstorms, etc and they have never let me down.

[Dale South]

No hardware. Just whoopies directly to hammock, tree straps with whoopies connected with marlin spike to carbon fiber toggle. Hammock with whoopies 7.7 oz. Tree huggers with toggle 2.4 oz.

[John Donewar]

Reggie and Dale,

"Whoopies are connected directly to the hammock".

How do you guys control water migrating / dripping / running into your hammocks?

I used to use two pieces of pack towel, one on each end, larksheaded over my suspension lines as a drip point. My whoopie hooks now handle that function.

Do either of you do anything like that?

Party On,

Newton ;-)

[TLG]

I use decender rings as a water break between my whoopie slings and continuous loop on hammock. Whoopie sling hooks to tree strap with dutch clips and buckles. They look big and heavy, but they are light. You could use a dutch biner instead of the decender rings.

Looks like this

[John Donewar]

Travis,

I've been considering descender rings and the dutch buckles for use with webbing as a catch all suspension system.

You answered my question with the function of the descender rings in your suspension. I still wonder how well the dutch buckles would perform the same function if I were to go that route. 4 rings = 44 grams while a pair of dutch buckles weigh in at 20 grams.

I'm quibbling over 1 ounce of weight and a three dollar difference in price. The buckles weigh less but cost more. The rings are a bit bulkier but they seem to have the ability to be used with webbing and / or amsteel.

It occurs to me that the cinch buckles that I already have on order weigh more than the 4 descender rings. I keep going back to the question of how well the dutch buckle would work as a drip point on my suspension.

Grizzly on the HF shows in one of his videos a rather ingenious method of only using one descender ring on each end of the hammock and it is still easily and quickly adjustable. He uses some line and descender rings with tree straps and toggles.

Right now I have whoopies with toggles attached to an endless loop with a dutch hook and web straps for the trees. MY set-up forces me to find just the right spacing between trees. Your system seems more forgiving of distance between trees.

Thanks for sharing.

Party On,

Newton ;-)

[John Donewar]

I did some web searches on Google for some images a.k.a. pictures. I told you that I was a sight learner.

;-)” height=”56″ src=”https://dpcr19kltm61a.cloudfront.net/backpackinglight/user_uploads/1394251634_100373.gif” width=”91″ />

I found some examples of the dutch buckles used as an attachment point "a la marlin spike hitch". It occurred to me that if my endless loop were placed over the dutch buckles and rested on the webbing, I.M.O., water could easily track right down the webbing, onto the endless loop and into my hammock.

I ordered some descender rings from DIY Gear Supply to try along with the cinch buckles that I had already ordered from Simply Light Designs. I'll experiment with both of these systems and determine which I like better. As far as the weight difference goes, I believe the 4 rings are 9 or 10 grams lighter than the 2 cinch buckles.

I plan on attaching the cinch buckles directly the the endless loop on my hammock. I'll try the rings with webbing, line and using the single ring on each end that was shown in Grizzly's video on the HF.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=IGRAnzEoXZI

Whichever system I settle on only means that it suits my set-up and personal requirements. It is by no means the best or the one that everyone should start using.

My goals were to learn how to best suit my needs for flexibility in length over a wide range, ease of use, simplicity and light weight. Another goal was to avoid CWBS, (cold wet butt syndrome). ;-)

Thanks to all for your kind assistance.

Party On,

Newton ;-)

[Reggie]

Newton,

I've never had water run down the whoopies and get my hammock wet. Water flows to the lowest point possible. I always leave the end of the whoopie hanging loose. Even on those nights when I endured huge t"storms, water never flowed all the way down to the hammock.

I also hang my stuffsacks at the end of the hammock on the whoopies Maybe that helps divert the water.

carry on, Newton. :)

Reggie

[John Donewar]

Reggie,

Thanks for your reply and sharing the info on your experience.

Party On,

Newton ;-)

[Dale South]

Newton, shames as Roger, never had a problem with water running down the whoopies and getting my hammock wet and I have been in some doozies of storms.

[TLG]

If you are using whoopie slings you should only need 2 decender rings. One for each side of the hammock. The only reason you would need 4 (2 on each end) is if you were going to use webbing for your suspension.

Here is a better picture of how my water break works.

The continuous loop is larksheaded to the ring and hammock, then the whoopie is larksheaded to the ring and you have an inline water break. The whoopie offers a great range in adjustment.

I do not think that the dutch buckle itself will work that great as a water break, simply because the tarp might no always cover it. The dutch buckle just replaces the toggle in the Marlin spike hitch. Whoopie sling goes over the buckle just as it would the knot of the MSH.

[John Donewar]

A picture is worth a thousand words. ;-)

Currently I'm using a 7/64" whoopie sling, dutch hook, endless loop…

…and tree straps with 1/2" cpvc x 3" toggles.

The questions that I had about the cinch buckles, dutch buckles and descender rings came about because of my looking for a suspension system that worked if the trees were 20 -25 feet apart all the way down to just a little further apart than my hammock is long.

In a word, versatility.

I found that my whoopie sling suspension while easily adjustable and light is somewhat limited to a certain tree spread. I have a 10.5' hammock with a pair of 6' whoopies and 48" x 1" tree straps for a suspension system.

;-)” height=”413″ src=”https://dpcr19kltm61a.cloudfront.net/backpackinglight/user_uploads/1394300053_100386.jpg” width=”550″ />

The two pipe supports of my patio that my suspension is attached to are 19.5' apart. The next closer distance between pipe supports is 13.5'. The smaller distance is a little tight for my suspension, hammock and MYOG asym tarp.

That old rule of thumb of finding two trees spaced a minimum of 15' apart keeps popping into mind. FWIW I like coverage in a tarp. My tarp in the picture has a 13' diagonal ridge line. I've been considering buying or building a hex tarp with an 11 or 12 foot ridge line to bring everything together.

(e.g.)

A shipping update from the USPS this morning let me know that I will soon be able to experiment with a webbing based suspension as my webbing and cinch buckles are to be delivered this afternoon. The descender rings are ordered but will be a little later getting to my door. ;-)

Thanks,

Party On,

Newton ;-)

[Steven McAllister]

I use whoppie slings for both hammock and tarp. I got rid of all metal from my hammock and tarp suspension by using Soft Shackles with the easy release pull tabs.
Easy to use and durable.

I may only save a few ounces this way, but this is a backpackinglight forum:-)

I was

[Marc Eldridge]

I use fixed loops to the gathered end then a nacrabiner attached to the fixed loop and a whoopie sling to the nacrabiner. I have 8' by 1" straps and bamboo toggles. When the trees are too close to use the whoopies I put the fixed loops over the toggles and adjust with the marlin spike. My tarp ridge is 11' so 12' between trees is the closest I can go. I have also sewn loops at each end of my straps allowing me to pass the whoopie sling through one loop and attach to a toggle on the other loop if the straps don't fit around the tree. I have 6' whoopies and this system works well for me for the variety of hanging options.

[John Donewar]

@ Steven,

I have considered going the soft shackle route and at this time I do have some leftover 7/64" amsteel that I can use to make some.

@ Marc,

Our suspension systems are essentially the same with the exception of my tree straps being 48" as opposed to your 96" straps. The ridge line length of my tarp also limits how close the trees can be to each other.

At present I am experimenting with a suspension based on a pair of 15' webbing straps. The straps have a sewn loop on one end. The end of the straps can be threaded through the loop. A carabiner or a soft shackle can be used around the webbing and through the loops. I have installed cinch buckles on both of my endless loops for webbing adjustment purposes.

I am considering a tarp with a bit shorter ridge line to allow for trees that are closer together.

Also I have a set of descender rings ordered to experiment with just to see what I like better.

I am tempted to go the no metal suspension route on both my hammock suspension and tarp ridge line.

I've actually seen a post on the HF that has a suspension based on a "hybrid" of a soft shackle and a UCR where the "eye" of the soft shackle holds on to a diamond knot at the end of the adjustable length UCR.

I'm "knot" too sure about how secure I'd feel in my hammock using that suspension set-up. ;-)

Thanks guys

Party On,

Newton

[Steven McAllister]

Re: "hybrid" of a soft shackle and a UCR where the "eye" of the soft shackle holds on to a diamond knot at the end of the adjustable length UCR."

I'm not familiar with the combination, but suspect it could work if there is always going to be enough tension on the line that holds the long bury tight.

I think I know how this could work and I'll try to follow the huge thread on HF.

I do have faith in the soft shackle. They are well respected in the sailing yacht community and do not fail if done correctly.

[John Donewar]

Steven,

Here is the link to the HF thread that I was referencing.

https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/showthread.php?t=89510

The posts are by "kerryandjane". It is a very interesting departure from the normal methods of hammock suspension.

My experiments have resulted in this version of a cinch buckle attached to a endless loop on my hammock.

What I've done different in my version is that I have passed the ends before burying them in the endless loop through the side of the amsteel.

My hopes are that this keeps the "windings" permanently in place. I haven't seen this done just this way anywhere else when cinch buckles were attached to an amsteel endless loop. Other examples seemed to leave the windings or wraps "loose" at the sides. :-?

Some others simply larksheaded the amsteel loop to the cinch buckle.

Party On,

Newton ;-)

[Steven McAllister]

That should work except for one bad thing shown in the diagram, the fixed end is shown dangling.
I asume they are going to hang a weight or something from the fixed end, but the one problem with a UCR is that people forgot and/or don't understand the importance of having tension.

Without the tension on the fixed end the loop has questionable grip on the adjustable end and can slip. It's just another thing that can go wrong if you aren't careful or if someone removes the tension without your knowledge.

I use a more conventional system where a soft shackle connects the tree strap end(s) to the adjustable end of a whoppie sling the fixed end of the whopie is tied as a loop around the end of the hammock.

The adjustable loop on the whoopie can slide on the soft shackle and so always maintains tension on the long bury. No slip ever, and less chance of an incorrect hang if I'm careless.

[John Donewar]

Steve,

I've also started working on getting all the metal out of my suspension.

Yeah I know I just got finished with the cinch buckles and my descender rings haven't even arrived at my front door yet! LOL ;-)

Like I said, I am experimenting with different suspension systems. A month ago I didn't even have a hammock in the house. I had sold my Hennesy on Gear Swap a good while back. Now I have one Grand Trunk and one MYOG hammock plus three full suspensions.

I'm a gearhead with a MYOG problem!

;-)” height=”56″ src=”https://dpcr19kltm61a.cloudfront.net/backpackinglight/user_uploads/1345047722_66770.gif” width=”91″ />

Yes, the fixed end dangling can be a problem. I've seen on the HF where a prussik knot is used as a "safety" after everything is adjusted.

My tarp continuous ridge line is now metal free. I removed the carabiners and D rings. They were replaced with soft shackles that have fixed loops larksheaded to the tarp grosgrain loops. The ridge line itself has a diamond knot on one end and an adjustable prussik knot on the other end. The prussik has a diamond knot on it and the end of the ridge line is just buried back into itself. The softshackles lock onto the diamond knots and the prussik makes the whole thing adjustable.

I going to explore doing this to my tarp suspension with either whoopies or UCRs.

Knots and lines are one of my soft spots. ;-)

Party On,

Newton ;-)

[Troy Childs]

Sorry no pictures available.

I use a couple sticks off the ground for drips, whoopies, and a couple seat belts for tree straps (for the trees I carry a little more weight than necessary for just hanging purposes with the wider seat belt straps) The narrower straps seem to dig the edges of the strap in pretty bad where as the wider straps seem to grip the tree without digging the edges of the strap into the bark.

I started being a little more careful with the trees when I noticed the bark was getting pretty well destroyed at the more popular hanging spots right on the water at my local trekking spot.

[Michael Gunderloy]

I swapped lightweight carabiners for soft shackles the last couple of trips. Then I had to pack up in 33 degree weather last weekend and it took my fingers quite a while to loosen the soft shackles. I'm rethinking that ounce of savings now.

[John Donewar]

Mike,

Do your soft shackles have the release like the ones at Colligomarine? See the video below.

http://www.colligomarine.com/gallery-documents/documents/colligo-how-to-splice-videos

It might help with the frozen fingers. ;-)

Party On,

Newton ;-)

[Michael Gunderloy]

Alas, no. I've got the minimalist version ;) Switching to soft with release might be a good middle ground, thanks.

[Bunta Fujiwara]

http://www.backpackinglight.com/backpackinglight/user_uploads/1394299075_100384.jpg

Like yours.
6' whoopies with hooks,and 96" x 1" camo tree straps.
I ordered 96" straps because i can hang in very large diameter trees(there are some big ones in my area).

[Michael Gunderloy]

My solution for large trees is to stick with small straps. Then I made a loop of paracord and attached it to one end. For large trees, the paracord feeds through the end of the strap and provides a carabiner attachment point. For small trees, it just hangs loose.

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