Chameleon suspension

[TominMN]

the turtle ties (https://www.fugal-innovations.com/product/turtle-tie/) is same as the beetle buckles but different design and for me I found that the turtle ties were easier to adjust. was not a fan of the beetle buckles

Turtle ties use Amsteel like Speed Hooks (RIP) and Loop Aliens. Beetle Buckles use webbing.

If you want to try an Amsteel suspension and you don't mind hardware (hardware adds weight), I like using a fairly short webbing tree hugger with an ADutchable. That way you can bring the looped end of the Amsteel (where it is attached to the looped end of thehugger) as close to the tree as needed. Pretty versatile.

[AndyK]

Beetle buckles were a great introduction to hammock suspensions for me. They made it easy to get up and running in an already new and somewhat complicated shelter/sleep system without having to learn a new knot or worry too much about suspension slippage.

After nearly a year of using the beetle buckles, I'm moving switching over to kevlar using a Becket Hitch.

Checkout Shug's video for Becket Hitch visuals.

[soul embrace]

I've never used those, having long since quenched my thirst for hardware by the time they came out. Can you use webbing in place of the blue amsteel shown below? If so, then I can see how you'd get them equally close to a tree as the buckle. If not, then I fail to see how you'd get a turtle to within an inch or so of the tree trunk, since you'd need to join amsteel to tree hugger, and then add the turtle to the Amsteel. I'm not knocking the usefulness of the turtles and I think they look cool. They just came out after I had lost interest in adding any new hardware bits to my kit.

guess I should have said kinda like the beetle buckle because you can't get the turtle ties within an inch (I guess you could if you really tried by wrapping the webbing the amsteel is cooled to around the tree enough or wrap the amsteel around the tree), but if you have to get a 10' or 11' hammock within 1 inch of a tree then I don't think your 10', 11' or 12' (what ever size tarp you using) tarp is going to fit anyway

[cmc4free]

guess I should have said kinda like the beetle buckle because you can't get the turtle ties within an inch (I guess you could if you really tried by wrapping the webbing the amsteel is cooled to around the tree enough or wrap the amsteel around the tree), but if you have to get a 10' or 11' hammock within 1 inch of a tree then I don't think your 10', 11' or 12' (what ever size tarp you using) tarp is going to fit anyway

You're right about 11' and larger tarps. I'll be going a tiny bit off topic here, but it's not the first time.

With an 11' hammock, 83% ridgeline, and typical CLs at the ends, about the bare minimum span that can be used is just under 11'. I have a spot at home that's about 10'9" if I recall correctly. It can be challenging to hang there, but I can do it by using the Beetle Buckles cinched to within an inch or two from the supports and (if I have to for a given hammock) tying an overhand knot in the CLs to effectively shorten them by an inch or so.

I can easily hang a 10' tarp in this location (I have a 10'x10'), but most people wouldn't consider using a 10'x10' tarp in A-frame pitch over an 11' hammock. It only gives about 5" coverage per side past the ends of the hammock, and the CLs will poke out from under the tarp coverage. Plenty of coverage at the sides, not so much at the ends. I also have a custom Trail Haven tarp from SLD which was made with a 10'6" ridge length (from D-ring to D-ring). That tarp fits with little room to spare, using separate ridge ties with Stingerz. The Stingerz are basically touching the supports when I do this.

So, to try to bring this back on track - if you need to cinch a buckle suspension to within an inch or two of the tree, an 11' or larger tarp is probably not going to fit properly. A 10'6" tarp will, but that's not a common size. My guess is an 11'6" distance between trees is about the minimum needed to properly hang a typical 11' tarp, and that would mean you could probably let out the hammock suspension so that the buckles are each ~6"-8" from the tree. However, with the tarp strung that closely to the trees, it would have to be pitched so that the ridge is several inches (probably 6" or more) above the hammock ridgeline to avoid interference between the hammock suspension and the tarp.

[cougarmeat]

ATGIRL20228, I think you are wise to keep light weight as a secondary goal. Just me, but if I were going to do another thru-hike, I’d want to be sure the gear was rugged enough and flexible enough for all the unknown camping scenarios. I wouldn’t use whoopee slings because they add too much to the required tree distance. Daisy chains are very quick and simple, but sometimes the step between loops is too much for best comfort. I’ve handled that by carrying a small Amsteel loop I can double (to shorten it) and use in to move half a step in the daisy chain. But this summer I’ll go back to webbing.

You’ll probably be able to use closer trees for the hammock than required by your tarp. But you can angle your tarp - one end higher than the other - to suspend it between trees that are too close for straight across.

In my camping, trees that are too close together has been more of a problem then trees too far apart. That, and nature's joke about growing two perfect trees, then she puts a third one between them that interferes with guying out the tarp.

Though a UQ is the ultimate in comfort, you may want to consider a simple pad - and UQP if your hammock isn’t double layer. You can put the pad between the hammock and the UQP for insulation and use the pad if you have to go to ground. You can put down a plastic ground sheet, your pad, then the hammock as a bivi bag. Tie what you need to raise the bug net to your hiking poles that will also suspend your tarp.

But I hope you mostly get to sleep in the hammock and gaze at the stars.

[HikerPOV]

As someone who is new to hammocks as well. I went the with beetle buckles and I can attest that with the many many adjustments I need to make every time I hang they make it super easy. Very much recommend!