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Thread: Tensa SOLO?

  1. #101
    sideshowraheem's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by tlfillingim View Post
    Report back on how you like it. I'll probably order one for the same reason but wanted to test with a 2x4 to see how I liked hanging from a pole on one end.
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    Alright so I got my Tensa Solo yesterday and have tried it out for the past 36 hours, spending quite a bit of time in it last night and this morning. Overall I like it, with one serious caveat.

    You NEED to get those anchors in tight. Whats the golden rule of hammocking? Never hang higher than you're willing to fall! Keep that in mind as you test out the Tensa Solo. I've now had the orange screws come loose from my soil 3 times, falling each time. In hindsight, aerating my yard the day before the Tensa Solo came was a mistake...

    Setup is pretty easy and straight forward. It packs down nice and small and is pretty portable. The pole itself feels totally solid. I had no worries about it bending at all or collapsing on me. It was easy for me to get my hammock and tarp all rigged up to it.

    So now that I've fallen for the 3rd time in the last 36 hours I am looking for some new ground anchors to use in my backyard. I'll keep the orange screws for trips but need something stronger for my yard. I am thinking of getting some 16 inch ground anchors and driving those in to see if they will hold. I did love that I could just pack it up and have all the space available in my yard again when I was done. And it'll definitely get use on car camping trips.

    I think once I get some proper ground anchors we have a winner. I like this setup better than a big cedar post permanently mounted.

  2. #102
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    The brief setup instructions we offer work well for most, but are a compromise between competing goods of stability, small footprint, convenience, and maximum holding power, both of the anchors and of the pole itself. If anchors pulling out is an issue, different compromises are in order. From recent support email, soon to be incorporated into longer form docs:

    “Lawns can be deceptively unsupportive, as you have found. The roots don't run deep, while worms tend to keep the soil below quite loose. Here is a list of tips, not all of which will apply on your lawn. #3 may be the most useful.

    1. Lengthen the guylines to their max to position the anchors as far away from the stand as possible.
    2. Position the anchors closer to each other. If you position them too close, however, your pole might flop sideways under load.
    3. Lean the pole away from the hammock more steeply. This transfers load onto the pole away from the anchors. This also lowers the suspension point and the weight capacity of the pole by some amount. It also heightens the risk of the pole sliding out toward the hammock under load; proceed carefully, assuring that the foot is digging into the soil. Not viable on hard ground, but with hard ground your anchors aren't likely pulling up either.
    4. Dig away any very loose surface soil to anchor in firmer ground below.
    5. Find soil with reinforcing roots and rocks.
    6. Tie to the base of woody shrubs instead of using the anchors.

    Between 1-3 I suspect you will have better luck even on the lawn.“


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    Last edited by Latherdome; 04-04-2021 at 12:47.
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    Tensa Outdoor, LLC, maker of the Tensa4, Tensa Solo, and Tensa Trekking Treez hammock stands: http://tensaoutdoor.com/

  3. #103
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    Recent owner so my experience is limited and opinions subject to change but the only conditions that I have found where the screws perform as well or better than the boomstakes is in forest duff/soil matrix where the screws locked up in the root mat and could only be removed by unscrewing. Otherwise the ability to pound the stakes in and the boomstake geometry turning the stake from a fulcrum into a "hook" seems to provide a much sturdier anchor.

    A third anchor directly in line with the ridgeline helps a great deal as well.

  4. #104
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    Quote Originally Posted by gooless View Post
    Recent owner so my experience is limited and opinions subject to change but the only conditions that I have found where the screws perform as well or better than the boomstakes is in forest duff/soil matrix where the screws locked up in the root mat and could only be removed by unscrewing. Otherwise the ability to pound the stakes in and the boomstake geometry turning the stake from a fulcrum into a "hook" seems to provide a much sturdier anchor.

    A third anchor directly in line with the ridgeline helps a great deal as well.
    Yet we hear often enough that Boomstakes are useless compared to Orange Screws, showing yet again that the variety of ground conditions exceeds what most people imagine.

    To use a third anchor optimally involves some complex rigging. Google “self equalizing anchor system” for ideas.


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    Tensa Outdoor, LLC, maker of the Tensa4, Tensa Solo, and Tensa Trekking Treez hammock stands: http://tensaoutdoor.com/

  5. #105
    sideshowraheem's Avatar
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    Thanks for the advice Latherdome! I ordered some 16 inch ground anchors that should arrive by Wednesday. Going to give the setup a try with the ground anchors, and try extending out the amsteel guylines and moving them a bit closer.

    Like Shug says, you have to embrace the "fiddle factor" with these things, if you cant hammocking just isnt for you. Looking forward to some more hangs in my backyard once I get this all setup. Suppose to rain so the ground might be to soft, we'll see.

  6. #106
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    OK update time.

    The 16 inch ground anchors did great! We've had nothing but rain for the past 2 days and they went in fairly easy and amazingly held! They felt very solid, little movement, I'd definitely recommend them to anyone looking for more hold.

    The bad news is that with all of the rain my solo sunk a good 3-6 inches no matter where I placed it. I got frustrated and called it a day after I kept feeling myself sink lower and lower into the ground as the pole dug in.

    I'm starting to think I should've gone with the Tensa4 and just gotten a solo conversion kit. We've got rain in the forecast for the next 4 days or so. Going to wait out the rain and let things dry out then give it another shot.

  7. #107
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    Quote Originally Posted by sideshowraheem View Post
    OK update time.

    The 16 inch ground anchors did great! We've had nothing but rain for the past 2 days and they went in fairly easy and amazingly held! They felt very solid, little movement, I'd definitely recommend them to anyone looking for more hold.

    The bad news is that with all of the rain my solo sunk a good 3-6 inches no matter where I placed it. I got frustrated and called it a day after I kept feeling myself sink lower and lower into the ground as the pole dug in.

    I'm starting to think I should've gone with the Tensa4 and just gotten a solo conversion kit. We've got rain in the forecast for the next 4 days or so. Going to wait out the rain and let things dry out then give it another shot.
    Place almost anything under the foot to prevent sinking. Scrap wood, flat rock, paver, etc.

    Tensa4 is certainly the more reliable of the designs, Solo being preferable only when the need for hike-ability or a smaller budget demands. But for yard/home use where portability is less a driver, a 5’ 2x4 will do as well as the pole, and cost even less.


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    Tensa Outdoor, LLC, maker of the Tensa4, Tensa Solo, and Tensa Trekking Treez hammock stands: http://tensaoutdoor.com/

  8. #108
    sideshowraheem's Avatar
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    Thanks for the tip Latherdome. I had considered putting a board underneath but wondered if it would slip at all without getting some good "grip" onto the board.

    I'm still happy with the Solo, I think I've just tried it out in possibly some of the worst backyard conditions possible, newly aerated yard, days of rain, etc. Going to give the board a shot after all this rain and see if that works. If not I may end throwing in the towel and purchasing the Tensa4 while I either sell off the Solo or throw it in my car for emergency use.

  9. #109
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    Well, this is my, I hope, final update on the Tensa Solo...

    I got it to work perfectly overnight in some wet soggy soil!

    Between those 16 inch steel ground anchors for the guylines, and placing a sheet of plywood under the Tensa Solo pole it worked great. It was nice at the end to be able to pack everything down and have that part of my yard available again too. Definitely a learning curve, and I apparently have some challenging soil, but it works and I'm happy! Fell asleep in the hammock this afternoon on it listening to a baseball game.

  10. #110
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    Quote Originally Posted by sideshowraheem View Post
    Well, this is my, I hope, final update on the Tensa Solo...

    I got it to work perfectly overnight in some wet soggy soil!

    Between those 16 inch steel ground anchors for the guylines, and placing a sheet of plywood under the Tensa Solo pole it worked great. It was nice at the end to be able to pack everything down and have that part of my yard available again too. Definitely a learning curve, and I apparently have some challenging soil, but it works and I'm happy! Fell asleep in the hammock this afternoon on it listening to a baseball game.
    Good Life~~
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    Whooooo Buddy)))) All Secure in Sector Seven

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