Do any of you ever have trouble with rainwater running down the support ropes and into your camping hammock?
Do any of you ever have trouble with rainwater running down the support ropes and into your camping hammock?
Many people have things on their suspension to act as drip stops. If you use hardware for connection points they can stop the flow of water. Tying a small length of cotton string can also work to divert the water downwards.
Don't let life get in the way of living.
People do have that problem, easily solved by tying a piece of string to the suspension rope to act as a "water drip"
The idea is the rain water runs down the suspension rope and hits the string and drips DOWN the string.
In my case I have 1" strap suspension with cinch buckles. The buckles are about 6" from the gathered end of the hammock, so they are under the tarp.
Any rain water runs down the 1" strap, hits the buckle and drips down.
Tie a shoe string to your suspension just above your hammock.
Slack
There is a GREAT experiment with accompanying video from Derek over at the Ultimate Hang that illustrates just how ineffective pretty much any hardware can be. Even the biggest ring setups, if not perfectly vertical, allow water to run down to the hammock. The only thing that was effective 100% of the time was a small drip line attached to the suspension. From what I recall, 1" webbing all the way down seemed to carry the most water, but was also effectively mitigated by a drip line. I, myself, use dutch hooks and thought I was safe with them until I saw the video. I have since added a few inches of drip line to each side of my suspension.
Cheers,
the Goat
Cheers,
The Goat
I don't have hardware that stops the flow of water so I just tie a string onto my whoopie slings.
One time I didn't use string because it wasn't forecast to rain. I woke up with my stuff sack that was still on my suspension fill with water like a water balloon. Ha Ha!
Hanging in the woods, paddlin and catching trout- My kind of living...
***YUP*** once in a while. So I get wet... not a butter cup!
There was an Old Man with a owl,
Who continued to bother and howl;
He sat on a rail, And imbibed bitter ale,
Which refreshed that Old Man and his owl.WOO
Video in question: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0-uOekjcU0
I don't personally think that that testing is very realistic. It's pretty apparent that a hose or faucet is being used, and you'll never see that flow rate in your lifetime. If you ever see that flow rate, you better hope you have a friend named Noah who has a big boat. I've hung in an HH Exped Asym Zip with the stock rope suspension (no drip line) through 5 inches of rain overnight, and didn't get wet at all.
I've been using Dutch Whoopie Hooks for the last four years and have never gotten any water in my hammock.
"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." Ralph Waldo Emerson
Also it might sound like common sense but make sure the dripline is well under the tarp. Anything reaching the line after it has a clear path.
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