Dynaglide vs Amsteel for Suspension?

**boatstall** · 01-04-2017, 20:50

Originally Posted by ShroominDave

Pgibson,
I have between a 10 and 12 inch bury. There are made pretty well if I do say so myself and I have fully inspected them for wear and tear and nothing found. They seemed to perform quite well the first 10 - 15 times used but later seemed to get "sticky" and more difficult to adjust.

Possibly you have tree sap being transferred from straps to the whoopies, being bundled together during storage? Maybe they are indeed "sticky".

**Hangin Hillbilly** · 01-04-2017, 21:05

Thanks everyone for your input. I know going the whoopie sling route I am saving weight compared to buckles and straps (which is what I have now) so the difference in weight between amsteel and dynaglide is irrelevant in my mind. I just wanted to know which cordage is better in the long run for being a suspension system. But I will definitely stick to amsteel for this. Right now I am thinking about doing amsteel whoopies and marlin spike hitching them to kevlar tree straps. I think between that I should be fine hanging from the trees.

And thanks for the comedy posts haha

**michigandave** · 01-04-2017, 21:40

That's what we're here for. Just a big support group for those hopelessly addicted to hanging between trees from thin rope, tiny straps and a couple yards of fabric...

**Hangin Hillbilly** · 01-04-2017, 21:58

Originally Posted by michigandave

That's what we're here for. Just a big support group for those hopelessly addicted to hanging between trees from thin rope, tiny straps and a couple yards of fabric...

That's a great way to put it lol

**MrJames** · 01-05-2017, 06:22

Originally Posted by Hangin Hillbilly

Thanks everyone for your input. I know going the whoopie sling route I am saving weight compared to buckles and straps (which is what I have now) so the difference in weight between amsteel and dynaglide is irrelevant in my mind. I just wanted to know which cordage is better in the long run for being a suspension system. But I will definitely stick to amsteel for this. Right now I am thinking about doing amsteel whoopies and marlin spike hitching them to kevlar tree straps. I think between that I should be fine hanging from the trees.

And thanks for the comedy posts haha

No need for whoopies, marlin spikes, or any hardware or toggles. None of that. The KISS method. Two fifteen-foot Kevlar 3.3 straps (4.3 ounces), the continuous loop already on your hammock ends, and you're done. That's the whole package. Slipped Becket Hitch the straps to loops. Reliable. Gear is fun, for sure, but why add more stuff if you don't need to?

I should add that if you find Kevlar webbing difficult to untie, use an intermediary descender ring or C.A.M.P. biner on your closed loop. Same for any type of webbing.

**Hangin Hillbilly** · 01-05-2017, 08:22

Originally Posted by MrJames

No need for whoopies, marlin spikes, or any hardware or toggles. None of that. The KISS method. Two fifteen-foot Kevlar 3.3 straps (4.3 ounces), the continuous loop already on your hammock ends, and you're done. That's the whole package. Slipped Becket Hitch the straps to loops. Reliable. Gear is fun, for sure, but why add more stuff if you don't need to?

I should add that if you find Kevlar webbing difficult to untie, use an intermediary descender ring or C.A.M.P. biner on your closed loop. Same for any type of webbing.

What about adjustability with just Kevlar straps?

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**MrJames** · 01-05-2017, 11:41

Originally Posted by Hangin Hillbilly

What about adjustability with just Kevlar straps?

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Glad you asked. I use 3.3. Kevlar, 15 footers, so as to accommodate almost any two trees I ever encounter.

Complete beginning to end step by step follows:

1. Take the sewn-loop end of the Kevlar tree strap and wrap it around tree.
2. Pull plain (no loop) end of strap through loop and pull snug around tree at desired height. You now are holding a loose piece of webbing with a plain end, and the other end is secured onto the tree trunk to hold your weight.
3. Pull plain end of webbing through the closed loop on the end of your hammock, and pull until you raise that end of hammock to desired height.
4. Now take that plain end and tie a Becket hitch to the closed loop, using a slipped half hitch at the end.
http://theultimatehang.com/2016/04/h...-becket-hitch/
5. Do the same 1-4 on the other end of the hammock with the other strap.

What's that? Yuh say yer still not satisified? Yuh say yuh want some more fer yer money?? All right, I'll tell yuh what I'm gonna do for you. (I loved the old-time carnival barkers, especially with a Brooklyn accent, and the snake-oil masters like Doc Foster and Doc Bartok..they were terrific.) I've got an absolutely free bonus adjustability here. Takes only five seconds. Here's what you do:

1.You yank on that loose end (the "working end") of the webbing Becket Hitch, and that knot pops loose. So you now can pull more of the strap through the closed loop to raise your hammock higher....or feed some more of the loose end strap back through the closed loop to lower that hammock end.
2. And then, dear friends, yuh just tie another Becket Hitch at that spot on the webbing from the tree. Takes five seconds. That's right, not a second more. If you don't like that position, pull more or less of the webbing through the closed loop again until you do. That hammock goes up or down, anywhere on that webbing strap you please.

Hope this helps. Let me know if it isn't clear.

**MikekiM** · 01-05-2017, 12:01

Originally Posted by michigandave

I kind of dig them too, but at 180lbs more or less, I'll stick with my tried and true amsteel. I'll make up the difference in grams elsewhere.

Well, I hadn't switched to Dynaglide solely because of the weight.. The combination of CL's and ten feet of line don't save that much weight. Truth told I did it because I really wanted to use the Ti Loop Aliens and Amsteel won't fit through the LA holes. The combination of Dynaglide/Kevlar/Ti LA's together make for a decent weight savings.. however...

Originally Posted by goobie

I was fortunate with my dynaglide UCR's. They never broke, but they did slowly lower me to the ground multiple times on their last night. I took their slippage as a sign to replace them. I don't remember the difference in weight, and don't care. It's just not worth it!!

I haven't had them slip or shred when they are locked properly in the LoopAlien. The moment that happened I would have changed the line..

Originally Posted by ShroominDave

Pgibson,
I have between a 10 and 12 inch bury. There are made pretty well if I do say so myself and I have fully inspected them for wear and tear and nothing found. They seemed to perform quite well the first 10 - 15 times used but later seemed to get "sticky" and more difficult to adjust.

They do get difficult to adjust through the Loop Alien's as well..

Originally Posted by Hangin Hillbilly

What about adjustability with just Kevlar straps?

And here is where I see my suspension taking a new turn, likely away from the Dynaglide. I've been playing with the Beckett Hitch between the Kevlar straps and CL's and I am loving the simplicity. This makes the Ti LoopAliens unnecessary, and in most cases the Dynaglide leader as well. In all likelihood I am going back to Amsteel CL's with the Beckett Hitch.

The challenge will be in the event my hang requires longer than the ten foot Kevlar straps..

**Hangin Hillbilly** · 01-05-2017, 12:06

Originally Posted by MrJames

Glad you asked. I use 3.3. Kevlar, 15 footers, so as to accommodate almost any two trees I ever encounter.

Complete beginning to end step by step follows:

1. Take the sewn-loop end of the Kevlar tree strap and wrap it around tree.
2. Pull plain (no loop) end of strap through loop and pull snug around tree at desired height. You now are holding a loose piece of webbing with a plain end, and the other end is secured onto the tree trunk to hold your weight.
3. Pull plain end of webbing through the closed loop on the end of your hammock, and pull until you raise that end of hammock to desired height.
4. Now take that plain end and tie a Becket hitch to the closed loop, using a slipped half hitch at the end.
http://theultimatehang.com/2016/04/h...-becket-hitch/
5. Do the same 1-4 on the other end of the hammock with the other strap.

What's that? Yuh say yer still not satisified? Yuh say yuh want some more fer yer money?? All right, I'll tell yuh what I'm gonna do for you. (I loved the old-time carnival barkers, especially with a Brooklyn accent, and the snake-oil masters like Doc Foster and Doc Bartok..they were terrific.) I've got an absolutely free bonus adjustability here. Takes only five seconds. Here's what you do:

1.You yank on that loose end (the "working end") of the webbing Becket Hitch, and that knot pops loose. So you now can pull more of the strap through the closed loop to raise your hammock higher....or feed some more of the loose end strap back through the closed loop to lower that hammock end.
2. And then, dear friends, yuh just tie another Becket Hitch at that spot on the webbing from the tree. Takes five seconds. That's right, not a second more. If you don't like that position, pull more or less of the webbing through the closed loop again until you do. That hammock goes up or down, anywhere on that webbing strap you please.

Hope this helps. Let me know if it isn't clear.

Thanks that makes sense. I will try this out as well and see which suspension system I like. Great thing about DIY you can can whatever the hell you want to lol.

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**MrJames** · 01-05-2017, 13:17

Originally Posted by MikekiM

...The challenge will be in the event my hang requires longer than the ten foot Kevlar straps..

Well, if you don't want to buy a set of 15-footers, and even if you do, it never hurts to have an extra twenty feet or even ten feet of 1/8" Amsteel in your bag. If your straps are too short, take that Amsteel and tie a *Directional* Figure Eight Loop in one end. You're gonna have an easily untieable custom-fitted adjustable short or long dogbone cord with no splicing needed. This will give you that strap extension you need. Make it on-site with your own fingers while you watch! Yessir. In less than a minute.

Take that Figure 8 loop and Larks Head it to your hammock closed loop. Now you have the too-short webbing strap in your left hand, and the Amsteel cord in your right hand. Tie an Alpine Butterfly Loop in the cord at a spot you think might work, giving you enough loose webbing to do the Becket Hitch on that Alpine Loop, tie the Becket and adjust, same as before. Viola..

Extra Bonus: This is not my idea, and you must try it to believe it. What do you do if you have only one tree to hang from? Impossible? Many would think so. Not if you have a fallen tree or another tree, even a small one you couldn't hang from but that is well-rooted, say twenty or thirty feet away. If you have say forty or fifty feet of 1/8 amsteel, which really weighs near-nothing as it's hollow, or even thirty feet in many situations, you can hang from one tree as long as you can find a sturdy pole about six feet long, one that won't snap on you. Cutting a fresh one or a small tree is best rather than most deadwood.

This gentleman shows how it's done. Note that you want to use Siberian Hitches on the pole, for the reason he mentions: the two opposing lines exit the knots on the centers of the pole.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57I_HLsEnbc

Hope this helps.