As some folks here know, I am not shy about my adoration of the J-bend and to a lesser extent the Becket hitch as no-hardware suspension alternatives.
However, I must admit that their one weak point, especially for the beginner, is getting that last, teensy bit of adjustment juuuust right in order to achieve perfect hammock height. An inch or two of suspension length can make a significant difference, and it really is annoying to have to untie these after test loading and tie the knot a little higher on the strap or Amsteel cord.
So I had an idea that probably isn't new but which I haven't been able to find elsewhere, which is to put a small 'mini-whoopie' at the foot end of the suspension in order to make very fine adjustments in a much smaller range than required by a full-sized whoopie. I already had some 5-foot, 2" wide Kevlar huggers that I got for my trip earlier this fall to Baxter State Park (where they are required!), so I figured while I was at it I would use these for the tree straps and use 7/64" Amsteel for the remainder of the suspension. (I also carry a 6' dog bone and a couple of Evo loops for other possible challenges/options, but that is a separate issue.)
The suspension at the head end is simply a length (about 10') of Amsteel that is eye spliced into one of the hugger's sewn loops. It attaches normally to the hammock's head-end CL with a J-bend.
The 'fun' is at the foot end, where that hugger has a small 'mini-whoopie loop' with about 10 inches of adjustment that loops thru the sewn loop on the hugger. The free end of the mini-whoopie doesn't need an eye splice because it, like the head end Amsteel extension, attaches directly to the hammock CL with a J-bend.
To deploy this setup, put the fixed-length hugger/cord on the tree at the head end and the adjustable mini-whoopie at the foot and adjust the height as you normally would for any suspension. Attach the head end of the hammock CL with a J-bend, and then attach the foot end, getting the hammock height as close as you can by eyeballing it. Sit on the hammock to load the system and get all the various knots and bits to settle. If the hammock is a bit too low, pull the mini-whoopie's tail and push the bury section up the cord a little to take up some slack, 'milk' the bury to set, and test again. When first setting up — and before getting the height as best you can with the J-bend alone — it is best to extend the mini-whoopie to near its full length because it is almost always going to need to be shortened, not lengthened. It is now easy to adjust the height in 1/2" increments... or even smaller!
I tested this today and was extremely happy with the result... all held fine with a 7" finished bury in the mini-whoopie loop. I gave it a pretty thorough bouncing for a couple of minutes and then took a brief nap. There was no change in hammock height. The combined weight of head and foot suspension is 2.14 oz (60.7g), which even a gram weenie can love!
Head end (fixed-length suspension) is on the left, adjustable mini-whoopie on the right.
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Foot end with the mini-whoopie... hugger is used in strap mode, attached to the small tree with a slipped buntline hitch.
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Close-up showing the mini-whoopie, which has about a 10" range, with a 7" finished bury.
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