First attempt at splicing zing-it

[LearnedHat]

I was having a lot of fun too --- tying continuous loops, UCRs, whoopies, universal loops . . . . but then I started trying to tie a button knot . . . . watched a lot of videos . . . . now thinking of giving up backpacking . . . . I am either slow or have a learning disability when it comes to that knot . . . probably both.

[Trail Runner]

Good job. I was kind of amazed how easy it was myself when I started a few years ago. Wait until you try splicing some amsteel. It's a breeze compared to Zing-It!.

I go so long between projects that I have to re-watch how-to vids to remind me how

Same here. I have the BrewGuy's videos favorited on YouTube so I don't have to search for them.

[cmc4free]

I am making my own hammock soon, so I need a fixed ridgeline. Instead of my usual "find somewhere to buy one" attitude, I decided to look into this splicing thing. I didn't even know what "splicing" was until years into hanging. I figured it was too complicated and gave up before even trying.

So I got some galvanized wire from the garage and a scrap piece of zingit. EASY!!!! Again, why did I wait so long? This is actually fun!

First rushed attempt actually turned out perfect! I went a little overboard on the bury length though. Now on to a long piece of my hammock!

I don't think it looks like you went overboard on your bury length. For 1.75mm a textbook bury is 5" and for 2.2mm it's about 6.5". 8" bury for 7/64" Amsteel.

One "fid length" = 21x diameter of the rope. Bury length should be 3.5x fid length.

Granted, the "textbook" wasn't written with Zing-It in mind, but I still typically follow those guidelines.

[Yarome]

Granted, the "textbook" wasn't written with Zing-It in mind...

Very true. According to Samson, zing-it/lash-it is "non-spliceable". No matter what rules of thumb we follow, we're apparently doing it wrong.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with doing a bury longer than what is actually considered the "minimum requirement".

[jeff-oh]

I was having a lot of fun too --- tying continuous loops, UCRs, whoopies, universal loops . . . . but then I started trying to tie a button knot . . . . watched a lot of videos . . . . now thinking of giving up backpacking . . . . I am either slow or have a learning disability when it comes to that knot . . . probably both.

IKWYM! I had to sit down one night with 2 different colored ropes and pause the animated knots video every 2 seconds to figure it out. Super cool once you get it though.

[Vickence]

I was having a lot of fun too --- tying continuous loops, UCRs, whoopies, universal loops . . . . but then I started trying to tie a button knot . . . . watched a lot of videos . . . . now thinking of giving up backpacking . . . . I am either slow or have a learning disability when it comes to that knot . . . probably both.

You are not alone! Alot of people have problems with button knots. It sometimes helps to take a break for a while and then come back to it.

[Yarome]

If you "do" opt to go with a loop turner, Dutch sells them for around $6.50 + shipping, however, if you have a Joann Fabrics in your area they typically go for $2-$4 out the door and will drop to a buck around the holidays.

With either Dutch's or Joann's though, the "hook" tips of them have a tendency to pop off the rod end... which happened to my $1 holiday special when I tried to "upgrade" my splice kit. They "are" easier to use and don't require occassional straightening like wire, but a bit of wire has never failed me yet.

[cmoulder]

Normally I like having options, but everything I've ever used (about 10 hammocks over 8 years) had a fixed and it was perfect. I don't wanna start messing with stuff now.

With that in mind... remember that zing-it is very low stretch, but not zero, so take that into account if you want a SRL that is identical in length to your current one.

[OneClick]

With that in mind... remember that zing-it is very low stretch, but not zero, so take that into account if you want a SRL that is identical in length to your current one.

If I measure the old one, should I add maybe subtract a half inch? Or did the hammock material likely also stretch, negating the whole issue?

[cmoulder]

If I measure the old one, should I add maybe subtract a half inch? Or did the hammock material likely also stretch, negating the whole issue?

According to samson, here's how much it stretches based upon weight as a % of break strength (500lb)

It's 1.2% at 30% of break strength (150 lbs), so it could stretch significantly with a 110" SRL with a slightly shallow hang. SRL isn't supposed to be that tight, but as we know stuff happens.

Personally, I had one that stretched more than I thought (compared it to the original) on one of my Dariens (integrated zippered net... careful!) and I had to re-do it. If I were doing one now, I'd pull it really taut when making it, then take off about .75" and call it good.

But I've read quite a few places on the interwebs that there's no stretch and this just isn't the case.