Thoroughly defeated...

[Detman101]

I can't figure this out for the life of me...
This beckett hitch doesnt seem to hold anything when using amsteel rope...

I just built two whoopie slings for a suspension setup replacement thinking I could use it with short tree straps girth hitched to a length of amsteel. Well, apparently you can't beckett hitch an amsteel connector from your hammock onto an amsteel tree-strap extension.

Guess I'm sticking with heavy old tree straps, carabiners and cinch buckles.
At least that's a one piece deal. I still don't understand how this whoopie system works...haven't from day one of hammocking.
The strap system just made more logical sense looking at it. Less loose parts, quicker setup and takedown...heavier though.
And finding 20 foot straps has been a chore not to mention how quickly the ones you find wear out and sometimes stretch.
Quality ones only come at a max of 10 feet and that's not long enough for me. I figured making a set of 15 foot whoopie slings would give me the options for long hangs that I need but now I have no way to connect them to anything in my setup.

My blackbird has continuous loops with carabiners and I just don't see how these whoopie slings will connect if I don't...

Wait....

Okay...I think I have it...

The hammock connects to the fixed eye side of the whoopie sling...
The whoopie sling connects to the shortened tree strap via the carabiner?
Then tighten down the whoopies to adjust the hammock?

But what do I do with the tree straps?
If I get a set of tree straps that are short and they're too short to go around the tree, how do I hook the whoopie-sling to it?
I mean, hell...I could just wrap the friggin whoopie sling around the **** tree and carabiner it to itself and be done with it...but I'd like to spare the trees as much destruction as possible.

I'm thinking if I get tree straps that are too long, they're a waste of weight and space....too short and they're potentially useless.

I just dont see how these whoopie slings are, in any way, a more efficient suspension outside of gram cost.
There's more separate parts compared to straps with continuous looped cinch buckles.

What am I not seeing besides the whole thing....



:

[Detman101]

Great...
Welp, I've had it wrong this whole time.
Accordign to the video at 04:10....The beckett hitch requires a strap to be used with amsteel continuous loop.
So I'm stuck with the strap setup still.

Damnit...wasted time and money making these stupid 15ft whoopie slings...
Shouldve just stuck with the usual method.
Friggin waste of time.

[poor_jalopy]

If you send the whoopie slings to me you will have done a great service to your fellow man

On the other hand, every time I've felt really frustrated by something hammock related, just before I've resorted to cussing, I've thought: "Wait, I bet shug has a video for that," and he has.

Check out his channel.

[cmoulder]

J-Bend will work Amsteel-to-Amsteel.

J-Bend is a clever variation on the Marlinspike Hitch and is the only (or at least one of the very few) knots/bends/hitches that works with just about anything tied to anything, with no back-up wraps or safety knots needed.

[leiavoia]

Quick Tip: Use the J-Bend, good sir. It will hold amsteel on amsteel. However, that's a side point.

Nothing wrong with the cinch buckle system. As you said, it's the easiest and fastest.

Here's how i do this:

Short hangs:

1. Hammock has continuous loops on it.
2. 15 foot off-the shelf 1" polyprop straps with a sewn eye on one end.
3. Strap goes around tree, threads through its own eye, ties to the CL with X-Bend, J-Bend, Lapp Hitch, Becket Hitch, or any other strap-to-loop knot you like.

Long hangs:

1. Slip whoopies onto CL using a simple square knot / rubberband knot -OR- just larksheed the fixed side of the whoopie to the hammock directly and ignore the CL (best option).
2. Connect other end of whoopie to the typical toggle + marlinspike hitch.

Alternate Long hang:
Use dogbones exclusively instead of whoopies. Dogbones are pieces of amsteel (or whatever) with two fixed eyes and no adjustable portion. Tie the strap onto the dogbone extension just the same way you would directly to the CL.

[Detman101]

J-Bend will work Amsteel-to-Amsteel.

J-Bend is a clever variation on the Marlinspike Hitch and is the only (or at least one of the very few) knots/bends/hitches that works with just about anything tied to anything, with no back-up wraps or safety knots needed.

Thank you, I will have a look at this and try it out.
I'll also take a look at Shug's videos and see if he can help.
If all else fails, send me an address to send these 15ft whoopie slings to...lol. I haven't felt this angry in weeks...

[Detman101]

OMG...this "J-Bend" hitch is AMAZING!!
I would still be stuck with my straps and having to replace them every year though.
Dangit.
I guess I can give it a shot. It would at least get rid of the cinch buckles on the straps and the carabiners on the hammock.
I really wanted to switch to amsteel though...
Ah well. I guess I already had the best setup...
Project failure.

[Detman101]

If you send the whoopie slings to me you will have done a great service to your fellow man

On the other hand, every time I've felt really frustrated by something hammock related, just before I've resorted to cussing, I've thought: "Wait, I bet shug has a video for that," and he has.

Check out his channel.

Thank you. Shug has a J-bend video too.
But it also uses straps. If I'm going to need straps I may as well stick with the setup I have already.
Dangit...Waste of money and time.

[cmc4free]

To the OP, do you have tree straps or tree huggers?

Straps are typically longer and have a loop just at one end - the tree end. The strap goes around the tree and the non-loop end passes through the loop, or a carabiner/Dutch clip is used to attach the loop to the main section of the strap in a way that's easily removable from the tree. The non-loop end is used for a cinch buckle system, a marlinspike hitch, or a Becket hitch, to name a few.
Huggers are typically shorter and have loops at both ends. Typically a whoopie sling or some other suspension option will lark's head to the loop that's not holding the strap to the tree. Huggers are meant to be just long enough to get around the tree, but if you're dealing with large diameter trees, they might not be long enough.

If you have huggers, you can lark's head the fixed eye of the whoopie sling to the loop at the free end of the hugger. The adjustable loop of the sling can attach to the continuous loop of your hammock using the carabiner.

If straps are what you want, and you'd like longer ones, you can have them made to any length using the custom strap builder at Warbonnet. You have the option to choose the material, length, and whether you want the loops sewn at one or both ends. Polyester is the cheaper option, and it won't stretch much at all. Dynaweave is significantly lighter and it's more expensive. It won't stretch either, but it bunches up like rope when you use it to tie a Becket hitch, and some people don't really seem to like that aspect of it. You have to take care to make sure it's flat as it goes around the tree, otherwise it puts just as much pressure on the bark as any rope. You can't use the Dynaweave with cinch buckles.

https://www.warbonnetoutdoors.com/pr...strap-builder/

If you want to use whoopie slings with your straps, you may want to try the marlinspike hitch with a toggle. If you want to use the Becket hitch, you don't need anything other than a strap that's long enough and the continuous loops on your hammock.

As japoly mentioned, Shug has a whole video series on hammock suspensions, and there a couple vids in that series that for sure will help you out.

[cmoulder]

OMG...this "J-Bend" hitch is AMAZING!!
I would still be stuck with my straps and having to replace them every year though.
Dangit.
I guess I can give it a shot. It would at least get rid of the cinch buckles on the straps and the carabiners on the hammock.
I really wanted to switch to amsteel though...
Ah well. I guess I already had the best setup...
Project failure.

Yes, it works great with straps to CL but also Amsteel to CL.

However, straps are IMO better... a little easier to handle and to untie.

No buckles and carabiners... hmm.... welcome to the dark side of no-bling hanging.

Since you're using straps to CL, might want to putz around with the Lapp Hitch. When I first stumbled across this I didn't know what it was and wasn't sure at all that it was a good idea, going so far as to call it the Death Hitch... it just seemed too simple to actually work. Thankfully, Leiavoia figured out what it was and it is now my primary strap-to-CL hitch which has proven rock solid for a good many hangs.