Hammock hanging

[bigtoe]

Hey Y'all, Just joined the group. I am looking into using a hammock, and I was wondering if anyone has any better ideas on the actual hanging of a hammock. i.e. ropes, knots, etc.

[DebW]

What kind of hammock are you using? Also check out the hammock camping email list ([email protected]) and the hammock camping forums on Sgt. Rock's site
(hikinghq.net/forums) for tons of hammocking tips and discussion.

[Rambler]

The Hennessy comes wilth a light piece of webbing with loops at each end. The webbiong goes around the tree, the hang rope of the hammock then passes throught both loops, and then is drawn tight. Wrap the end that you are tightening around the taught line and back throught the large loop now formed by the webbing. The wrap is repeated in a figure eight pattern. Have you ever tied a docking line to a cleat? The concept is the same. No knots are needed, just a few wraps. If you are not using the webbing method you can just loop the line around the tree. Adjust the taughtness where you want it and just take a few more wraps that overlap. Basically you are making a "clove hitch". The key point is that no fancy knot tying is needed. just wrap the line. Ever notice how you can belay a climber by just wraping a line halfway around yourself and bringing the end down between the legs? It does not take much of a turn to get a rope to hold. You could take two wraps around the tree and tie a bow-lin, but who wants to rmember how to do that in the dark? Just wrap, overlapping your turns fo the best result. Then call yourself a treehanger.

[Virginian]

Yeah, what Rambler said. I used a Hennessy , and it goes up fast, safe and dosen't remove tree bark. And sleeps like laying in a cloud

[kank]

1" polypropylene webbing with at least 600lb/in. tensile strength is the ticket for hanging a hammock, unless you are over 250lbs. If so, you should move up to 1.5" (giving you 900lbs. tensile strength at 600lb/in. rating). Webbing will not turn over itself and roll down the tree like cord will and webbing is much easier on the bark. Polypro webbing is low-memory stretch and will not lower you to the ground overnight like nylon webbing can. Like Rambler, I like the wrapping method more than any knot, but it depends on the hammock as to whether you wrap the cord around the webbing or the webbing around the tree. Some hammocks have cord at their ends and some have webbing. Either way, the wrap can be done in the dark and undone just as easily.

[Penscal]

Seen most peole use these on extended Kayaking trips. Seem pretty cool.

Question though, aren't you limited as to where you can "hang your head" (pun intended). What do you do if there are no trees within length of hammack hanging straps?

thanks

[bigtoe]

Thanks for the info. I am looking to do a few weekend trips this summer, and I am trying to get light enough to just carry a lumbar pack, or a small day pack. The hammock seems like the best idea.

[kank]

Originally posted by Penscal
What do you do if there are no trees within length of hammack hanging straps? There are often other possibilities. You can sometimes tie one end to a boulder, root (steep hillside), car door, etc. There's even this trick (http://www.treehanger.com/stafftrick.html) if really desperate. When all else fails, you sleep on the ground. The rain fly becomes your tarp, your hammock becomes a bivy, your bottom insulation (foam pad, etc) becomes your sleeping pad, and your emergency blanket (or perhaps a ripped open trash bag) becomes a ground cloth. A couple of sticks can serve at supports for your hammock ends and rain fly (trekking poles work here, too). Sometimes you have to resort to the hard ground at campgrounds, but sometimes there are poles and trees to be found there, too. If the car is close enough to the site, you can even use it (wrapping around B-pillar can work). You're gonna want the hammock at campgrounds, for sure, since the tent sites are not just hard as a rock, they usually are piles of rock.

Some seasoned treehangers have spent thousands of nights in their hammocks and found suitable hanging sites nearly every one of those nights. Once you get used to the hammock, you start seeing hammock sites in surprising places. Many people avoid hammocks partly because they are so worried about finding hammock sites. Yet, it seems that there are thousands upon thousands more hammock sites than their are tent sites, yet most hikers trust that they'll find a tent site somehow. Hammocks can really suck above treeline and are typically not for alpinists or climbers, but most good camping locations are below treeline anyway. You usually don't want to spend the night on a windy pass or exposed ridge, but rather down in protected areas. There are definitely trips where the hammock won't be the best shelter, but I'd bet those trips are few and far between.