What's up Y'all?

I've been reading in some of the hammock threads about how some you you hangers have switch to straps instead of the rope/tree hugger set-up.

How is this done? :-? I have a HH and was wondering how hard it would be to convert it to a straps.

Also, any of y'all have photos of the straps in action?

Thanks!

Sew a loop in one end of the strap, cut the HH Spectra to about 8" and tie it to the loop.

I haven't done it yet, but it seems like that would work.

What's up Y'all?

I've been reading in some of the hammock threads about how some you you hangers have switch to straps instead of the rope/tree hugger set-up.

How is this done? :-? I have a HH and was wondering how hard it would be to convert it to a straps.

Also, any of y'all have photos of the straps in action?

Thanks!

Sirbingo,
If you're thinking about converting, think again. Many hangers have reported problems (on the yahoo hammock camping forum) with straps and rain water leaking down into the hammock. It seems that because of the more extensive surface area of a strap it is harder to block rain water from dropping into the hammock. Many types/fashions of drip strings of been tried with limited success. Using the spectra rope with snake skins and a strap around the tree is still the most parsimonius way to go. If you are insistent about building your own hammock and using straps instead of rope then it is time for you to think water absorbency and removal--that's all I need to say along those lines. Good Fortune to you.:-?
R.

Sirbingo,
If you're thinking about converting, think again. Many hangers have reported problems (on the yahoo hammock camping forum) with straps and rain water leaking down into the hammock. It seems that because of the more extensive surface area of a strap it is harder to block rain water from dropping into the hammock. Many types/fashions of drip strings of been tried with limited success. Using the spectra rope with snake skins and a strap around the tree is still the most parsimonius way to go. If you are insistent about building your own hammock and using straps instead of rope then it is time for you to think water absorbency and removal--that's all I need to say along those lines. Good Fortune to you.:-?
R.

Yet, people are making thier own hammocks using webbing instead of rope and having success...

Yet, people are making thier own hammocks using webbing instead of rope and having success...
If you define 'success' as holding the hammock up & between two trees you are correct.
If you define 'success' as allowing rain to disperse down the straps into the hammock you had better have a more effective solution than what has been presented on the 'net.
By the way, my first hammock, a Bana Travel hammock, has 1" wide polypropolene webbing (fifteen ft. each side) straps that do a good job in securing the hammock to trees. They don't keep the hammock dry during wet weather.:-?
R.

Sew a loop in one end of the strap, cut the HH Spectra to about 8" and tie it to the loop.

I haven't done it yet, but it seems like that would work.

This is what I did. I haven't trid it in the rain, but I do not think it will be an issue. I think the knot in the spectra and loose end will delfect the water. Untied though.

http://www.eaglesnestoutfittersinc.com/slap-strap-pro.html

The above link takes you to ENO's Site. They make straps from webbing and if you scroll down the page to product photos there is a small icon at the bottom of more photos... a picture speaks a thousand words I know.

I gave up on rope entirely...I either use Slap Straps or 9/16" webbing.
I've been doing this for a while..I have had no problem from stretching or water...
I first used 1 inch webbing from my rock climbing gear....works great and there are some pictures in my gallery of a hammock hanging under a rock ledge with it.....in that picture the webbing is around a tree for one anchor and the other end is secured in a rock crack by a cam..it's hard to judge distance in that picture. I like webbing over rope for a bunch of reasons but that's me...to each his/her own... I use 9/16" webbing and do not see the need for anything bigger than that....or heavier than that.

I hope that helps but at least there's some pictures for you...let us know what you come up with.

i've already gone through one set and wont be long until this set is eaten up by the kevlar rope on the lite racer...maybe i'm string it too too tight.

If you define 'success' as holding the hammock up & between two trees you are correct.
If you define 'success' as allowing rain to disperse down the straps into the hammock you had better have a more effective solution than what has been presented on the 'net.
By the way, my first hammock, a Bana Travel hammock, has 1" wide polypropolene webbing (fifteen ft. each side) straps that do a good job in securing the hammock to trees. They don't keep the hammock dry during wet weather.:-?
R.

I made a Speer Style Hammock with 1.5 inch webbing. I have used it in the rain, and I have stayed dry. I may be missing something, how hard was it raining when you tried? How long did you stay out in the rain?

. Many hangers have reported problems (on the yahoo hammock camping forum) with straps and rain water leaking down into the hammock.

I use the standard 1 inch straps from Speer Hammocks, and just wrap narrow strips of shop rag on them, with the ends hanging down, just before the hammock itself. No problems. I've been meaning to replace the shop rag strips with Pack towel strips. These would dry faster.

I made a Speer Style Hammock with 1.5 inch webbing. I have used it in the rain, and I have stayed dry. I may be missing something, how hard was it raining when you tried? How long did you stay out in the rain?
All day & all night long. You might call it a 'drenching' rain.
R.

I use the standard 1 inch straps from Speer Hammocks, and just wrap narrow strips of shop rag on them, with the ends hanging down, just before the hammock itself. No problems. I've been meaning to replace the shop rag strips with Pack towel strips. These would dry faster.

Most excellent! You have begun to think the problem through. Strips from a microfiber towel (more absorbent) would work well. Think defense in 'depth'.:-?
R.

One of the problems with webbing is that it can "roll" into a "U" shape when weighted. If that "U" is open to the top, it basically forms an aquaduct towards the hammock...that's why basic drip strings don't work as well as they do on rope. The rag strips or bandanas can compensate for this...they act just like a drip string, but with enough surface area to work on webbing.

I've personally never had a problem with straps wetting my hammock in the rain, but most of my rainy experience was with Spectra. Of all the Speer users on the net, I've only heard a few people say it was an issue - but for those few people it was enough of an issue to start working on a better solution.

FWIW, the Crazy Creek I'm testing has a small silnylon disk, with a slit right in the middle to pass the webbing through, that's called a "drip guard". I've already noticed that this hammock makes the webbing form a "U" so the drip guard doesn't make contact with the entire surface area of the strap. I think the "U" is usually pointed to the side rather than like a funnel so it may not be an issue...I'm waiting on some rain so I can test it, though.

With regard to webbing making a U shape and forming a channel, the 4 season tent that I used for over a decade had 3/4" webbing tieouts, and webbing should always be set up with a twist in it, or it will hum like a 747 in the wind. Water can't channel through a 360-plus degree twist. Or perhaps American water is more adventurous than the stuff we get down here? :)

I'm in the process of changing over from ropes to webbing, so I have no idea how well the system will stand the rain (and here in the tropics it really pisses down). However, I'm just using 6mm Bluewater line from the end of the hammock to where the fly attaches, then tape through double metal rings attached to the lines. Any water on the tapes will just fall off when it gets to the rings, and the fly attaches immediately after them. There are a couple of knots in the lines forming breakwater/lowpoints, so that's more of a water deterrent. Somehow I can't see much getting past it all.

One of the problems with webbing is that it can "roll" into a "U" shape when weighted. If that "U" is open to the top, it basically forms an aquaduct towards the hammock...that's why basic drip strings don't work as well as they do on rope. The rag strips or bandanas can compensate for this...they act just like a drip string, but with enough surface area to work on webbing.

I've personally never had a problem with straps wetting my hammock in the rain, but most of my rainy experience was with Spectra. Of all the Speer users on the net, I've only heard a few people say it was an issue - but for those few people it was enough of an issue to start working on a better solution.

FWIW, the Crazy Creek I'm testing has a small silnylon disk, with a slit right in the middle to pass the webbing through, that's called a "drip guard". I've already noticed that this hammock makes the webbing form a "U" so the drip guard doesn't make contact with the entire surface area of the strap. I think the "U" is usually pointed to the side rather than like a funnel so it may not be an issue...I'm waiting on some rain so I can test it, though.

Excatly, there are a bunch of people over at Ed Speer's forum making and using his hammocks in rain with no problems. So go ahead an use webbing; there are plenty of people using successfully in rain conditions or else Ed Speer wouldn't be in business and there would be so many people making thier own Speer style hammocks.

With regard to webbing making a U shape and forming a channel, the 4 season tent that I used for over a decade had 3/4" webbing tieouts, and webbing should always be set up with a twist in it, or it will hum like a 747 in the wind. Water can't channel through a 360-plus degree twist. Or perhaps American water is more adventurous than the stuff we get down here?
I think that it's not just the 'U' that can allow water down the webbing (though that'll make matters worse for sure), it's also the porosity of the webbing itself.

I started out using 1 inch tubular nylon webbing with my homemade Speer-type hammock, and it never formed a U. It did soak up water like a sponge, and at the point it attached to my hammock in a double sheet bend, the hammock material did get wet. It was not enough to get me or my sleeping bag wet, but enough where I took the hammock apart after the campout and let it dry, then reassembled it.

I also tried polypro webbing, but never had it out in the kind of rain that I experienced with the original webbing. I did notice that the polypro did not seem as heavy (relative to being dry) after a rain, and I know that polypro is not as prone to absorbing water, so the stuff that Ed sells might not pose as big a problem.

I switched to Technora 4mm rope, tree huggers and a webbing loop at the hammock because I like wider material on the trees and lighter stuff between my hammock and the trees. Personal preference, it's not a perfect solution.

Aramis, twisting the rope is one of those "duh - why didn't I think of that" things. I don't think hammock webbing would hum b/c it's so weighted down, but it would surely help with the water if the webbing is making a "U". Not sure it would solve ALL of the problem, but it's certainly a step in the right direction. Look forward to hearing about your setup after you get some testing done.

My current homemade setup uses Air Core Pro from BPL and some huggers. Haven't decided if I like it or not yet.

Excatly, there are a bunch of people over at Ed Speer's forum making and using his hammocks in rain with no problems. So go ahead an use webbing; there are plenty of people using successfully in rain conditions or else Ed Speer wouldn't be in business and there would be so many people making thier own Speer style hammocks.

I went on an AT hiking trip with my son last month. I took a homemade hammock and he took my wife's Speer hammock. We encountered a very hard rain that lasted most of the night. I was concerned that my son might get wet so I kept checking on him every so often. What I saw caused me to to have one of those head slapping DUH... moments. On all of my homemade hammocks I had the whipped ends pointing up so that I could attach my ridgelines to them. This makes the hammock body the lowest point and encourages the water to run down my back to my butt where it drips off to the ground. The knots on Ed's hammocks point down. As I watched the the rain run down the straps the water would encounter the knots and run down them, dripping (sometimes streaming) off the tips of the knots and away from hammock body. My son stayed very dry. Since then I have modified my whipped ends to point downward I have had the same results on my hammocks. I tried all kinds of drip stoppers before with limited success. The answer, at least for me lies in the angle of the dangle of the knot. 8^). Good luck Sirbingo, and for what its worth I find it much easier to use the straps than the tree huggers.

Brian
T-BACK

I use Poly webing and also have sewn pieces of cotton about 1 inch by 6 inches to the straps. One on each side of the webbing, 2 on each end, four total. I also put a half twist in the strap (at least), to keep water from funneling. My webbing goes throught the whip, so I don't have the option of using that as the water stop, although that is a good idea.

I also have a rubber (innertube) stopper I built as a last line of defense for the hammock body. It is shaped like a funnel and the strap runs through it and the big part surrounds the whipped end. I use silicone to seal it and three zip ties, one in front, one in back and one ties the funnel to the strap. The funnel points towards the tree. I haven't had a good rain yet to try it out but if it works as well as I hope it will I may be able to get rid of the drip lines and use the straps tendency to act as an aquaduct and the funnel to have a pretty cool water collection system. But I need some rain first.