DIY toggles for marlin spike hitch

[Floridahanger]

I use the chimes off of a miniature wind chime no longer in use. They already have a small hole for my line to not loose them.

[waddy]

Probably not available to some, but my favorite toggles are the tips of small deer antlers

[SafetyThird]

I picked up a fibreglass tent pole from a broken tent at a festival. Cut a 3" piece of that, Good and solid. Perhaps not as light as a titanium toggle but they were free

[cmoulder]

You can also use Bully Sticks.

Seriously, anything remotely resembling a stick will work. But sometimes something with a very smooth surface is better because it's easier to pull out with some of the UHMWPE and Kevlar webbings that cinch down to very small, hard knots when loaded.

[MikekiM]

I've use carbon fiber arrow shafts, slurpie straws, fiberglass driveway markers, cut down aluminum shepherd hook stakes and the Dutch Ti.

Dutch Ti wins for cool factor... cut down aluminum shepherd hook stakes win for strength & price... I think the single stake was $0.99 and makes two toggles.

Picture here... Be forewarned.. the picture is huge!!

[jhymes]

Arrows worked well! Glad I tied cordage to the end, makes pulling them out easier.

[DutchConch]

So do those of you that use a carabiner as a toggle in a marlin spike knot put your whoopie sling over the knot, not the toggle, or can you just simply put your whoopie in the carabiner? Just curious.

[cougarmeat]

Assuming a correct Marlin Spike, you can clip into the carabiner. But ... You have your tree hugger/strap, then a carabiner, then the whoopie sling that seems to add a minimum of 8 inches per end length overhead. That's just too much extra distance before I get to the hammock. The further apart the trees, the higher up I have to hang the suspension. For those of us who are somewhat height challenged, the limit to the max distance for trees might make the length overhead of whoopies too great. I've been using the simple daisy chain and carabiner for a long time. But I might go back to webbing and buckles this summer for a change.

When I was playing with whoopies, it was easy to cut a length of wooden dowel about 3 inches long and drill a hole through it for a tether loop.

[tsshaw78]

My MSH toggles are 3/4 inch PVC pipe cut to length. So far been working great, no breaks yet and the smooth surface makes for easy removal.

[STinGa]

I went to Gander Mnt and got some carbon arrow shaft cut offs. They were just throwing them out so they were free for me. Cut them about 3-4 inches, drilled a hole in them and tied a loop with some mason line. Lark's headed that onto the loop of my tree straps. Don't have to worry about losing them and haven't had a failure in the four years I've been using them.

I used a set of carbon arrow shafts for about 4 years. When that set started showing some wear, I swapped them out. For some reason, the replacement set and 2 other sets only lasted a few hangs each. I switched to fiberglass tent poles from an old tent and have not had any issues.