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  1. #1
    Member bghiker's Avatar
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    Mar 2014
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    A little advice on a light weight suspension, please..

    Hey All-

    I have decided this year to try to lighten my load a bit. My previous suspension consisted of Atlas straps connected to my whoopie slings by carabiners. I bought some speed hooks not too long ago and had planned to larks-head a 10ft length of amsteel to a 6ft tree hugger then use the speed hook to connect it to a continuous loop on my hammock.

    However, with the recent announcements about the possible failures related to speed hooks, I am concerned about their reliability and am looking for an alternative. I had considered making a whoopie sling with the speed hook spliced into the adjustable loop, larks-heading the fixed eye of the whoopie sling to the tree hugger, then using the speed hook as a whoopie hook to attach to the continuous loop on the hammock.

    While searching for other alternatives, I came across the mule tape suspension straps from antigravitygear. They look like a viable alternative but are much heavier than the amsteel. These use no hardware but are larks-headed to the tree huggers then tied to the continuous loop using a slippery sheet bend or becket hitch knot (its referred to both on their website but appears to be the same knot).

    After thinking about it for a bit, I got to wondering if the same knot could be used with amsteel. I was thinking I could splice a fixed eye on a length of amsteel and larks-head it to the tree hugger. I could then use the same slippery sheet bend/becket hitch to the continuous loop on my hammock.

    I know that amsteel is not ideal for knots but have not really ever tried it myself. I was hoping to glean some knowledge from the vast storehouse that is Hammock Forums.

    Any input on this would be greatly appreciated. I have no doubt that some of you have other methods and I am happy to hear those as well. I am on the west coast and do have to plan to hang from very large trees from time to time.

    Thanks so much,

    Eric

  2. #2
    Senior Member sidneyhornblower's Avatar
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    Jul 2014
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    Not sure if you want to go this route, but I have continuous loops on the hammock body, then my whoopie sling fixed loop is larksheaded onto that continuous loop. I use a marlin spike hitch to attach the adjustable end of the whoopie to the tree strap. Disadvantage is that the whoopie is semi-permanently attached to the hammock. That means in wet weather, you've got possibly wet suspension and a dry hammock going into the same stuff sack. A point in this system's favor is no hardware, but it's not a large enough advantage to keep me from one day changing it out to something that allows me to detach the whoopie from the hammock and store separately.

    In actual practice, I find that amsteel doesn't really absorb water. Early in January I hung all night in the rain. When I stuffed the hammock into the stuff sack the next morning, I just let the whoopie slings trail out the ends of the double ended sack so they weren't resting on the hammock. The stuff sack, while not waterproof, did provide some minimal protection to keep the hammock from directly touching the wet amsteel whoopies. But even after a night of rain, the suspension just doesn't absorb water; it's all on the surface seems to me.
    "...the height of hammock snobbery!"

  3. #3
    New Member
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    Oct 2018
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    Old thread but . . . I use Meyerstech white UHMWPE 1" X 15' webbing (sewn at one end) connected to continuous loops with a Lapp knot. Probably weighs just over 2 ounces for the whole suspension, and I can go as close to a tree or post as possible, unlike whoopies.

  4. #4
    Senior Member
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    Jul 2020
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    Quote Originally Posted by Spitch Grizwald View Post
    Old thread but . . . I use Meyerstech white UHMWPE 1" X 15' webbing (sewn at one end) connected to continuous loops with a Lapp knot. Probably weighs just over 2 ounces for the whole suspension, and I can go as close to a tree or post as possible, unlike whoopies.
    I have a similar setup. Here's my Lighterpack list for my lightest hammock setup: https://lighterpack.com/r/avm25v

    Notice that I am using EVO loops instead of continuous loops. That's kept me from slippage, but maybe a lapp knot would be better (or at least equivalent).
    Iceman857

    "An optimist is a man who plants two acorns and buys a hammock" - Jean de Lattre de Tassigny (French Army General in WWII)

  5. #5
    New Member
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    May 2021
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    El Dorado
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    West coast hanger here. Any dyneema or uhmwpe straps for Becket hitch suspension has been my favorite. I carry 15 foot straps and if there are real big trees I bring whoopies for some extra length. Most cottage vendors carry the 15 foot lengths, but you can do custom lengths with warbonnet.

  6. #6
    cougarmeat's Avatar
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    Without changing much of what you already have, there are several daisy chain alternatives to those heavy ENO Atlas straps. Dutchware, for one, offeres daisy chain - you can order by the foot - that is much lighter than Atlas. Note that each option has its pros and cons. Each person finds their own balance between ease of use and UL (ultra light) options. You'll get the most bang for your buck (and keep the convenience) by replacing the Atlas straps with a lighter alternative daisy chain.
    Last edited by cougarmeat; 04-23-2023 at 12:01.
    In order to see what few have seen, you must go where few have gone. And DO what few have done.

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