Beetle Buckles, suspension what I like, dislike, and looking for suggestions.

[mmachenry]

Hey everyone,

I just recently purchase a Dutchware Chameleon Wide Hexon 1.6 with Beetle Buckle suspension and asym bugnet. So far, I love it. I do have some issues I'd like to address. Firstly,

First, I need some Dutch clips. I kind of wish I could go back in time and get the sewn in ones. They'd never fall off the suspension. But maybe the traditional Dutch clips don't fall off easily anyway? I have the spider poly webbing btw.

Secondly, I really love the setup with the double sided stuff sack it comes with. It makes setup a breeze and my hammock never touches the ground, which will be amazing that first time I setup in the rain. However, I'm not thrilled with how the Beetle Buckles fall off of the continuous loops many times. I'll pull out my suspension, attach it to the tree, and then need to go looking around for the continuous loop because it detached in the stuff stack.

There are a few things I could do here. One would be to switch to cinch buckles. They'd stay on. I have also considered putting an overhand knot into the continuous loop so that it can't come off. Or maybe some sort of line lock, I'm not sure. Would it be crazy to push my continuous loop through the hole that's for the spreader pole and then lark's head it around the underside of the hooks?

Does anyone dislike this aspect of the Beetle Buckles? Anyone switch to cinch buckles as a result? Anyone have any personal hacks or customization they've used to make this better?

Is there anyone out there that loves the Beetle Buckles and wants to sell me on keeping them? I do like that they can be detached from the hammock I must stay. Semi permanently fixed to the hammock would be nice, but I like that I can remove them easily if they have been rained on so they can be stored in my pack's outer mesh pocket and not get the hammock wet.

Another thing I like about the Beetle Buckle is the potential to hook the suspension of my under quilt to the hooks instead of carrying an extra S-biner for each end. Does anyone use their Beetle Buckles like this?

[FLTurtle]

You could use climbing rated carabiners instead. Heavier yeah, but at least they won't fall off. You could always order another set of spider poly with the sewn on Dutch clips...or, get the Adutchable clips and use them on your existing straps. If you switched to cinch buckles, it wouldn't be too big of a deal to remove the strap from the buckle. I prefer to keep my straps separate from my hammock when I pack up. They go in the outside mesh pocket, in a mesh stuff sack. I'd say I get some rain about half the times I go out.

As far as hooking my UQ onto the beetle buckle, I guess that would work. The only drawback would be if the beetle buckle fails as a water break (I've never had an issue), potentially getting your hammock and UQ wet. The S biners on my UQ are plastic and don't weigh all that much. I mean, if you lost one or it broke then yeah the beetle buckle would be your go to.

[mmachenry]

I'm not sure how a carabiner would help me here. I still need a watch to adjust it, which would be the beetle buckle still according to your suggestion. How would you attach the carabiner to the beetle buckle?

Those Adutchable clips actually look pretty great. They're the dutch clip and the adjustment in one. Seem harder to adjust, but not really by much. I'd need to look around for some reviews. Thanks.

[FLTurtle]

The carabiner instead of a dutch clip. Clip the carabiner to the loop of the strap and run the tail through the carabiner.

Edit, you can see here with Dutch showing how to use the beetle buckle. He's got a carabiner on the loop end of the strap.

[TominMN]

I use the Tato Quilt Hangers from Dutch to hook a regular UQ suspension to the CLs, not a 'biner. Small and weigh next to nothing.

The beauty of the Beetle Buckles is the ability to remove the suspension! Dutch's June Bug Buckles or any of the other various cinch buckles work well if you really want to leave the straps on the hammock most of the time. I suppose you could add some sort of slider (like a bead?) to the CLs to close them up more around the Beetle Buckles...

The regular Dutch Clips stay on pretty well. No need for Adutchables if you have adjustment at the hammock end of the strap. Where Adutchables shine, IMHO, is to be able to have a adjustable hugger with non-strap suspension from the hugger to the CL, e.g. a Whoopie. I like the sewn-on Dutch Clips but it does call for re-sewing when the straps eventually need to be replaced. Also, the regular ones can be easily moved to a strap of a different length. I definitely like having a clip or a 'biner on the loop rather than threading the strap through the loop every time.

[SilvrSurfr]

I'm having a hard time understanding how the Beetle Buckles "fall off" the continuous loops, and I especially don't understand how you have to "go looking around for the continuous loop because it detached in the stuff stack." The Beetle Buckle suspension is detachable from the continuous loops - it is meant to be detachable so you don't pack a wet suspension away with a dry hammock.

I always pack my Beetle buckle suspension separately from the hammock. I hang the Beetle Buckle suspension on two trees, then I hang the hammock using the continuous loops. I personally don't see how Dutch clips would help you - it sounds like you really want a permanently attached suspension so you can pack the wet suspension with the dry hammock.

[Five Tango]

Ditto what SilvrSufr said.I keep my straps in a separate bag and put it in the hammock bag for a containerized setup.Open the hammock bag,take out the suspension bag,use a Nano 22 or Evo Loop
on the sewn loop at the tree,hook on the CL to the B.Buckle and extract the rest of the hammock from it's bag.

I'm a little paranoid about amsteel wear so I use a Dutch biner on the CL to an additional CL which gets attached to the Beetle Buckles so that it is easy to rotate the loop around for even wear.Every so often I will move the hammock CL such that its not always in the same spot on the Dutch Biner.Over kill,yes,but that Dutch biner provides a nice water break and I use color coded cotton shoelaces right at the hammock for the final drip protection.A little cumbersome but it works for me just fine.

Using the Beetle Buckle makes a handy attachment for a gear hammock or a boot hammock too.I want my shoes off the tick and spider infested ground at night where I can easily reach them.

[MikekiM]

Can't help with the Beetle Buckles.. I'm a no-hardware evangelist.

Instead of the Dutch Clips, a simple and reliable substitute at the tree end is a soft shackle, Evo Loop or Grapplers Hitch. All are easy DIY projects with numerous videos on YouTube.. If you don't know how to splice, shoot me a PM.. I'm sure I have a few soft shackles you can have... or I'll make you a set.

I don't clip my quilt to the CL's. I replaced the biners Hammock Gear provides with a simple mitten hook, and clip that to an auxiliary loop of ZLine I added under the CL. Seems to keep the quilt suspension more orderly.

[cmoulder]

What you will likely find when setting up in the rain is that you'll want to put tarp up first, attach suspension to tree, then attach hammock to suspension. So you will want the CLs to separate from beetles anyway.

When you're out for several days in rainy/damp conditions, all gear is eventually going to be permeated with varying degrees of moisture, so don't worry too much about keeping stuff dry-dry, 'cause it just ain't gunna happen. If you wait for everything to dry out before packing up, you won't be on the trail until noon, or maybe even the next day. Storing a damp suspension with the hammock isn't going to hurt anything... stuff will dry out a lot at the end of the day when you deploy tarp and hammock for the evening.

It's a yukky world out there.

[ahursey530]

As stated above I do not typically store the beetle buckles with the hammock. The buckle stays on the webbing and is stored separately. Even in the events where I do stuff the suspension in the stuff sack (in a hurry on a backpacking trip usually) I still leave the buckle on the webbing. I do have the luxury of having the dutch clips sewn on and it is nice to have but I did use the non sewn on versions for over a year and they stayed on my webbing just fine. Never had one fall off.

Having to search for the buckle is a bit confusing to me.