Ridge line using 550 paracord

[<-Pointer]

I use 7/64" amsteel as well. It saved me from an unpleasant face-to-face encounter with a tree branch on the the AT this spring when a tree fell in the middle of the night and one of the branches came down across the top of my hammock at 2 am. The tree branch was caught and help up off of my face by the amsteel - I actually had to cut the line to free the hammock and get it out from under the tree because I couldn't pull enough slack in it to undo the clip. I was very lucky.

[Smckinney0031]

Thank God for the Amsteel!!!

[Caminante]

As others have covered, some spectra in the 1.75-2.2mm range works really well. You can overengineer and go with Amsteel which also works just fine. The only thing I would add is that I always put an adjustable SRL on every hammock I make. The 83% figure so often quoted is just a guideline, and every person is a little different. I also find that hammocks of different widths work better with different length SRL's. So I put on an adjustable SRL, tweak it to where I want it, then half-hitch it off. Because at that point I can't be bothered to measure it and make a fixed SRL to that exact dimension when a perfectly good SRL is already on my hammock.

It's also good practice for splicing UCR's or whoopies if you don't want to buy one already made.

[JPCPAT]

Is there a better option than Paracord and 'biners? Yup. if you buy https://www.arrowhead-equipment.com/...uspension.html it will work great and you'll be happy with the result, and shocked by how little it stretches.

If you're DIY inclined then some stuff that may help: Here's a whoopie sling illustrated https://www.animatedknots.com/whoopiesling/index.php

All the lines being suggested (Lash it,Zing it, Dynaglide, Amsteel) are hollow braided Dyneema. Dyneema is a pretentious version of milk jug plastic with really long molecular chains all oriented in the same direction. It's amazingly strong though, and the 1.75-1.8 mm lines have break strengths around 500-600lbs, which seems to be the sweet spot for hammock ridgelines. The "big" stuff is 7/64th Amsteel which has a break strength around 1600lbs. Almost zero stretch, but it's very slippery, so a lot of knots won't hold well. For tie outs, I need a buntline hitch or a truckers hitch. Splicing 7/64 is easy; the smaller line is a little tedious but there are approximately 2.143 million youtube videos to help.

In a lot of cases, DIY is done with leftovers. Lash it and Zing it come in 180ft spools at wal mart. If you want to rig a tarp ridgeline and tieouts, you'll have enough left over for an adjustable ridgeline. If you're making whoopie slings to replace your suspension (and you should) You're probably buying 7/64 or 1/8 amsteel in 25ft increments, so again you should have enough left over for an adjustable ridgeline.

It does come down to personal preference, but also what other projects you might want to take on.

[gunner76]

Rope, lines, cords and or straps made of nylon will stretch so they are not very good for use in anything hammock related that will be under stress.

[jabraso]

I like a true structural ridgeline SRL (7/64 amsteel) over a standard ridgeline. Where I live properly sized and perfectly spaced trees can be hard to come by so my hang angle is sometimes less than 30 deg which puts more tension in the ridgeline. I've read accounts of zingit/lashit (similar breaking strength to paracord) ridgelines snapping under these conditions. The weight and cost penalties of amsteel over zingit/lashit are small, so I'd rather go with the stronger and more durable option. HYOH

[TominMN]

WB hammocks come with 7/64 amsteel SRLs as well.

[Garsk]

I'm el-cheapo, and for the past 2 years hammocked in a Vivere hammock (think ENO knockoff) with a paracord ridge line I added using simply a bowline on each end. I leave it on all the time onced I worked out the length I liked.

I'm a little surprised about all the discussing about the stretch of the cord. I assume you are all right, but I never noticed the stretch enough to make any difference to my sleep/lay. Not sure what all the fuss is about.

[gunner76]

I'm a little surprised about all the discussing about the stretch of the cord. I assume you are all right, but I never noticed the stretch enough to make any difference to my sleep/lay. Not sure what all the fuss is about.

Try using nylon rope or straps for hammock suspension and you will probably be close to the ground when you get up in the AM

[jgscott987]

Is there a better option than Paracord and 'biners? Yup. if you buy https://www.arrowhead-equipment.com/...uspension.html it will work great and you'll be happy with the result, and shocked by how little it stretches.

If you're DIY inclined then some stuff that may help: Here's a whoopie sling illustrated https://www.animatedknots.com/whoopiesling/index.php

All the lines being suggested (Lash it,Zing it, Dynaglide, Amsteel) are hollow braided Dyneema. Dyneema is a pretentious version of milk jug plastic with really long molecular chains all oriented in the same direction. It's amazingly strong though, and the 1.75-1.8 mm lines have break strengths around 500-600lbs, which seems to be the sweet spot for hammock ridgelines. The "big" stuff is 7/64th Amsteel which has a break strength around 1600lbs. Almost zero stretch, but it's very slippery, so a lot of knots won't hold well. For tie outs, I need a buntline hitch or a truckers hitch. Splicing 7/64 is easy; the smaller line is a little tedious but there are approximately 2.143 million youtube videos to help.

In a lot of cases, DIY is done with leftovers. Lash it and Zing it come in 180ft spools at wal mart. If you want to rig a tarp ridgeline and tieouts, you'll have enough left over for an adjustable ridgeline. If you're making whoopie slings to replace your suspension (and you should) You're probably buying 7/64 or 1/8 amsteel in 25ft increments, so again you should have enough left over for an adjustable ridgeline.

It does come down to personal preference, but also what other projects you might want to take on.

They sell Lash It/ Zing It at Wal Mart?