Is there a reason why you would need hardware (metal triangle/loop) to connect the dog bones to a whoopie sling (besides ease of removal)? Are there any reasons you wouldn't want to just larkshead the whoopie sling through the two dog bones? I have a DIY bridge and have been using two washers as the connection point but I'd rather remove them from the system if they're unnecessary.
Rope on rope abrasion may be a concern?
Keeping the 3-point connection tight while packed is a concern.
And any connection point (buckle, ring etc.) acts as a water break.
If none of those trouble you and you are diligent on inspecting, all should be good.
Ambulo tua ambulo.
I do not use any metal connectors of any kind now.Originally Posted by _YEM_
When I started, I saw that Warbonnet and other hammock kits used dedicated metal hardware so initially looked to emulate, but the hardware, while not terribly expensive, made me start questioning why it was used. I quickly discovered using solid metal sewing bobbins seemed to work just as well and were cheap. I thought I that would be the solution going forward until I had to change spreader bar vendors and the tips from the new vendor were larger and no longer fit into the bobbin hole. Necessity is the mother of invention, so I just removed the bobbins and place the tips in the amsteel loops that connect to the hammock webbing...worked perfectly. I have been doing it this way ever since. I have inspected the amsteel over time and have noticed no discernible wear.
Less weight, less cost, less complication....less is more. Until, and unless, I discover a compelling reason to revisit the issue, no hardware is necessary for me.
Last edited by heyduff; 04-18-2019 at 09:05.
Just an emotional aversion for me. From my rock climbing days I'd feel how warm the rope gets when pulled through a descending ring. I was warned never to run a rope directly through nylon webbing because the heat generated by the rope/webbing friction could destroy the webbing. So I don't like cord on cord connections because of potential friction from any rubbing - especially when weight loaded.
I do like rings at my hammock ends so I can easily connect any kind of suspension I want (I switch around from time to time). I'd like to put a ring at the Apex of the WBRR suspension, but the loops on those dog bones are too small. So I have a small Amsteel loop from the apex connector to a ring. But that adds even more distance requirement to the suspension. Life is full of these little challenges.
In order to see what few have seen, you must go where few have gone. And DO what few have done.
Because of the already long span requirement with the Ridgerunner, I've never been keen on using whoopies with it. What I do like, however is using Dutch Beetle Buckles.
I have these on spider/poly straps, which allows for infinite adjustment, just like whoopies would. I've taken the apex traingles and continuous loops off the Ridgerunner, and just attach each dog bone loop to one of the hooks on the Beetle Buckle. Same at head end and foot end. This allows the apex of the bridge hammock's suspension triangle to come right up within an inch or two of the tree, if neccessary - shortening the minimum distance between trees to something like 12-13 feet.
I believe this is the only way to shorten the suspension on the Ridgerunner without shortening the dog bone length; and doing that would make the hammock more tippy and put more stress on the spreader bars.
I'm not that familiar with beetle buckles and I'm curious about this - when you attach the dog bones to the hooks on the beetle buckle, is there anything holding them there if not weight loaded? Is each loop larksheaded on there?
I know with Dutch whoopie hooks, they are shaped in such a way that they will hold a whoopie cord on without pressure (albeit a very light retention).
~~~NJHEART2HEART Dawn~~~
"Seek God, Embrace the Journey, Leave a Legacy of Love"
I haven't tried to attach the dog bone loops to the buckle with lark's heads, just looped over the hooks on the buckle.
Searching Google images, I found this photo from Dutch's site, which shows what I was talking about, except in this photo the hardware is Dutch Cinch Bugs. It works the same with the Beetle Buckles, except the hooks are a little deeper on the Beetles. It never occurred to me to be concerned about the dog bones detaching from the buckles without load in the hammock - and that's something I've not observed so far.
Beetle Buckles
On my bridge I just use a soft shackle to gather the dogbones together. I've also seen a continuous loop used. In both cases I just becket hitch the tree straps to the loop or the soft shackle. You could indeed larks head a whoopie.
The only caveat is that I can see an instance where you might twist the dogbones or something like that, but I believe that would be fixable pretty easily.
"...the height of hammock snobbery!"
Use a soft shackle or a folded continuous loop (Not Girth hitched).
While I understand Cougarmeat's concern- it's the compression that can wear them out more than any friction- so girth hitching can overcompress everything.
If you have an end bar bridge that allows you to swap out the dogbones easily if they wear- no biggie if you can splice and don't mind swapping them every season or so. On some of my SUL models I have done direct larksheads but it's nice to have a soft shackle in line somewhere to speed connections up so I go that route these days.
To Gargoyle's point- an extra water break may be in order- especially if you use a RL.
On one of my channel suspension bridges though wearing out the dogbone ends can be an expensive repair as they are integrated into the bridge itself. Trying to remove them after the bridge has been used usually means damaging the bridge.
I like that the DutchWare Bling can bring the RR real close to the tree. But then I was picturing the whole set up - including the tarp. And the tarp likes to be somewhat free of the tree. If there is room for the tarp (SuperFlay or 13 ft OMW), then there is room for a little extra after the RR apex points.
In order to see what few have seen, you must go where few have gone. And DO what few have done.
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