Despite the warnings... Para Suspension

[Kaerous]

HYOH. Use what you can, and be inventive. That's how 100% of the canon of this forum was developed. There has been a lot of trial and error on this forum and others, and there is a general consensus of what works and what doesn't. But, that doesn't mean you can't experiment, or make do with what you have. I was fortunate enough to be young and well employed when hammocking struck me, but I've had plenty of times in life where the opposite was true and I had to make do with a shoe string budget and only one shoe. I find, as they say, necessity is the mother of invention.

GL nitrousstone.

[jamaulwall]

When I first started hanging I used paracord for my tarp Ridgeline but every morning my tarp was all droopy. I still used it till I could upgrade so, as others have said, make do with what you have, for now. My biggest issue with using paracord in my suspension would be that because of the stretch, the hang would change through the night and leave me less comfortable. Of course it's still better than being on the ground but I don't like to settle if I don't have to, and I don't have to. It's still fun to play around and test gear options and limits though, so have fun with it.

[Clockw3rk]

Oh, and a free source of tree straps... car breakers... seat belt webbing (or pay your local fire station a visit, they practise on wreckers all the time).

Wow! Thanks for posting this! What a great idea for 2" straps. I wonder if seatbelts are generally nylon or poly?
I'm thinking nylon so that there is a small amount of dynamic give during collisions.
Does anybody have experience with this? Either way next time I pull a part at a junkyard for my civic I am grabbin a few straps! I have been wanting to move up to 2" for a while anyway. I love me some trees.

[SwinginIt]

I am curious about the stretch of two strands side by side. Yes 1 strand will stretch a lot for 550/lbs of force, but 1100 because i have two connecting to my hammock shoukdnt stretch as much right?

Just so you know, you don't have 1100lbs of breaking strength. Your breaking strength goes down by 30-50% (depending on who you ask) when you put a knot in it.

[GadgetUK437]

I wonder if seatbelts are generally nylon or poly?
I'm thinking nylon so that there is a small amount of dynamic give during collisions..

Indeed they are, good thinkage Batman! Although the stretch isn't too dramatic for hanging a hammock... massively over specc'ed. (not one for the lightweight camper)

[gmcttr]

...Hey, at least we still have 90 mph tape (also known as gaffers tape)...

For the record, "90 mph tape" and gaffers tape are not the same thing. Gaffers tape has considerably lower adhesive strength and is made to leave little or no residue on removal.

[Sirenobie]

The other thing to keep in mind is that car seat belt material is heavy (for us gram-conscious geeks) and bulky to pack up (unless you roll it into a tight roll when packing up your hammock.

[Sirenobie]

Have you thought about 1" Mule Tape. For people that live in North America, it is available at Lowes and Home Depot. It is light, packs down easily, cheap and great for tree straps. You could still double it, knot it every 6", like you are doing with your paracord, and have a better, more tree-friendly tree strap system

[nitrousstone]

Have you thought about 1" Mule Tape. For people that live in North America, it is available at Lowes and Home Depot. It is light, packs down easily, cheap and great for tree straps. You could still double it, knot it every 6", like you are doing with your paracord, and have a better, more tree-friendly tree strap system

What's the difference in specs as far as weight and strength go? That stuff looks legit

[transeuphrates]

.
Oh, and a free source of tree straps... car breakers... seat belt webbing (or pay your local fire station a visit, they practise on wreckers all the time).

Another good source of webbing is child car seats. They have expiration dates on those now and a lot of thrift stores won't them so you can usually find them stacked behind your local Goodwill in the dumpster. I have dismantled a few to get those precious straps.