Tree Huggers...making

[WhiteMtns]

Not sure if this is Hammock forum or make gear forum material but...

I was wondering about making tree huggers...specifically sewing.

I have a few yards of 1" tubular heavy duty nylon webbing and I was wondering how to sew end loops.

Would a bar tack every inch for four or five inches hold weight? And what about thread? Can I use the same polyester thread that I use for seems in quilts and hammocks?

And...what about multiple loops like the Eagles Nest Slap Strap?

Is basic outdoor thread going to hold up with weight on it?

I figure that I could go to a shoe repair shop and have some industrial machine put industrial thread through it...but would rather do it here. Just don't want to hear a quick tear as the bar tacks fail just before I hit the ground in my usual trial and error mode.

[flyfisher]

I have used 3 bar tacks across 1 inch polypropyline webbing to make a weight supporting loop many times. I have supported up to 400 pounds with loops made that way, though they did not look afterwards like they would last a very long time. For my 200 lbs, they hold up extremely well.

[peter_pan]

My hennessy tree straps are a box with an X where the ends of the box are triple sewn, then the whole thing is repeated after off setting by 1/2 inch. There is no indication of stress after 100 nights. The thread appears to be regular polyester. Sewing stores that carry Gutermann usually have the black on 100 yard spools of heavy duty.

[hokiebpacker]

I made straps from flat nylon using standard Guterman polyester thread. As with
Hennessy, I made several boxes of stiches with x's inside the boxes. It has held up well. I used 3 2 inch long boxes and went around the box and x several times each somewhat offset.

[WhiteMtns]

Thanks all.

The Hennessy straps are 2 - 2 1/2" as far as I recall...I like how this distributes load accross greater area...

But I happen to already have the 1" so I guess I'll make use of that...now that you've given me some greater confidence. It only has to support me...and that's barely 130#...so hopefully a Box X and some bar tacks above and below will do.

[minnesotasmith]

Isn't that when Californians do it?

Seriously, any product someone wants to sell lots of should have a better name. Anything with a name like that, nonliberals are likely to figure the profits from sales will go to blow up medical research labs that use animals, make us run short of oil faster than we otherwise would, throw honest lumberjacks out of work, appease foreign dictators who give money to American-killing terrorists, or the like.

[hungryhowie]

I use 1" flat nylon medium-weight webbing with a tensile strength of 900 pounds, the same stuff Hennessy uses, and I sew it with Tex 40 polyester thread with reinforcements that are two large offset boxes with "x"s in the middle. The only difference is that I make mine longer (60" v. 40"), and include larger, easier to use loops (6" v. 2"). Note that the length of the loops does not include the extra webbing needed at the end for sewing back on itself.

-howie

[WhiteMtns]

cool.

Mine should work fine then.

Seems you have different Hennessy straps than mine. My old HH...non Asym...has 2" tree huggers, single layer webbing, not tubular. They're pretty much the same as seat belts in the car and have 4 inch loops in the end. Took me a while to dig 'em out to get the dimentions...

[Sandy B]

if your 1" tubular heavy duty nylon webbing, is the military 'type', It might not be the best material to use, The HH tree huggers don't snag as easy as the soft 1in tubular nylon used by the military. Even with the pulls and snags in the material, it should still hold your weight.

Sandy

[oldfivetango]

if your 1" tubular heavy duty nylon webbing, is the military 'type', It might not be the best material to use, The HH tree huggers don't snag as easy as the soft 1in tubular nylon used by the military. Even with the pulls and snags in the material, it should still hold your weight.

Sandy

I am wondering if rope inside a piece of simple garden hose is considered
"environmentally appropriate" if you didn't have any webbing?Inquiring minds want to know.......
Cheers to all,
Oldfivetango

[WhiteMtns]

rope-in-hose might work, but would be a bear to pack compared to rope alone or webbing. As for environmentally friendly, rope itself over 1/2" wrapped twice around a tree with thick bark should have almost no effect...

I prefer straps when the trees are thin barked...and when the suspension rope is thin. I'm hoping to use 1/4" spectra core. I fear this could girdle a thin barked tree if ties directly. More often than not I'm tied to White Pine, with thick, scaly bark. It would be difficult to injure it other than aesthetically...but I want to avoid that too. White Pine self prune lower limbs that are shaded by the upper ones, so hammock hangers have to be very conscious of shaking loose dead wood, but up around here they're the most common tree so we use what's available.

The webbing I've got was cheap, something like a quarter a yard, is smooth black, with two rows of white threads in the middle of one side. seems exceptionally strong. As I plan to retire the HH, I could just pirate those straps, but I want to have made most all I carry. And these should be almost too easy not to make my own.

[hungryhowie]

As I plan to retire the HH, I could just pirate those straps, but I want to have made most all I carry. And these should be almost too easy not to make my own.

When I made my first baffled down quilt 5 years ago I never took the time to make a stuff sack for it. I got ragged at Traildays the next year by my friends for spending the time to make something as complex as a baffled quilt with a footbox, but not taking the time to make a stuff sac. I replied that I already had this particular stuff sac, and if I had to make another one, it would just be a copy of it, which is why I never saw a reason to make my own in the first place.

If you want to make everything you carry, that's cool, but if you've already got what you need, it's ok to use that too.

-howie

[Tha Wookie]

When I made my first baffled down quilt 5 years ago I never took the time to make a stuff sack for it. I got ragged at Traildays the next year by my friends for spending the time to make something as complex as a baffled quilt with a footbox, but not taking the time to make a stuff sac. I replied that I already had this particular stuff sac, and if I had to make another one, it would just be a copy of it, which is why I never saw a reason to make my own in the first place.

If you want to make everything you carry, that's cool, but if you've already got what you need, it's ok to use that too.

-howie

You're right, either way is at least ok. But a self-made stuff sack is better than a factory-made stuff sack. Even if it falls apart, the maker knows how to fix it. Home-made gear is powerful. Making all of one's gear is an honorable thing.

[WhiteMtns]

right

It's just a kick I'm on. preferring homemade.

I'm running pack design over and over in my head and I really would like to make my own harness and hipbelt...but it's too easy to pirate the available ones. My nephew just turned four and his mother, my sister, has the Kelty kid carrier she used his first two years....not a bad harness on that thing now that it's retired...must be built to carry at least twenty pounds...

[The Hammocker]

rope-in-hose might work, but would be a bear to pack compared to rope alone or webbing. As for environmentally friendly, rope itself over 1/2" wrapped twice around a tree with thick bark should have almost no effect...

I prefer straps when the trees are thin barked...and when the suspension rope is thin. I'm hoping to use 1/4" spectra core. I fear this could girdle a thin barked tree if ties directly. More often than not I'm tied to White Pine, with thick, scaly bark. It would be difficult to injure it other than aesthetically...but I want to avoid that too. White Pine self prune lower limbs that are shaded by the upper ones, so hammock hangers have to be very conscious of shaking loose dead wood, but up around here they're the most common tree so we use what's available.

The webbing I've got was cheap, something like a quarter a yard, is smooth black, with two rows of white threads in the middle of one side. seems exceptionally strong. As I plan to retire the HH, I could just pirate those straps, but I want to have made most all I carry. And these should be almost too easy not to make my own.

what about bike innertubes? They are lighter and smaller than a hose. Just an idea. Or you can just shove some extra clothes under the ropes.

[Todd in Tarzana]

I've used a single overhand knot in 1" polypro strap to make end loops. This is OK, but this web is not IMO durable enough. If it gets frayed it can break. Think wider would be better. No real stretch though. And available at Home Destruction as 2 tie down straps for about 5 bucks, 8' long each. Rating on these is something ridiculous like 30 lbs, must be for the crappy stamped steel buckles, cut off and throw away. Strap will reliably hold body weight, if like I said, it isn't frayed anywhere. Better to buy wider off the roll, no doubt. Sewing works but the overhand knot is way faster.

I like polypro and the longer lengths are good for support straps to the hammock. Still looking for the mythical polyester strap which is supposedly largely non-stretch too. This goes beyond tree huggers which are OK in nylon since shorter.

Best, Todd.

[weary]

...I was wondering about making tree huggers...specifically sewing.
....

Sorry. I misread the title. I've encouraged a number of people to be tree huggers. But not the kind that holds up hammocks.

Weary

[helinka]

how about checking out seatbelt webbing at an auto-wreckers yard? i think that stuff would be the right width & strength.

[Just Jeff]

Still looking for the mythical polyester strap which is supposedly largely non-stretch too.

Check Ed Speer's product page. I just got 30yds of 1" Polypro webbing for $20, including shipping.

Used it for the first time two nights ago...it stretches a bit when it's new, but doesn't pop back to its original length the way nylon does, so when you get it all stretched out it stays there. The hammock fabric does that when it's new, too.

FWIW, I spent less than 5 minutes sewing the loops in the end of both 10' straps. Less bulky than the knots (and less weight if you're counting .10's of ounces, but I'm not). I use the overhand knots in my Spectra so I can move the cord to other hammocks easily, though.

Jeff