I have not cut it, but I probably would if I was certain was going to stick with that, and with that length off rope, for good. Or if I was gung ho to cut every ounce. But so far, I have seen no need to. If I want to undo this and go back to some other way, my rope is still intact. And I don't know if the webbing is standrd HH. I have so many webbing tree savers. But, my strap is longer than I remember my original HH huggers being, so maybe different.
But on that, I want to sound a warning.This rope is a lot thinner than the thicker rope that was on my 06 model HH Explorer UL. I don't remember what year tis one is, but it is several years newer than the one I started with, and bought on the October HH sale, probably used. Or maybe some sort of blem, I can't recall. Same model, Explorer UL, but thinner, more flexible rope. With a cover or sheath over some white inner material.
A year or two back, there was a slightly sharp edge(apparently) on one of the metal parts of my hammock stand, and the outer sheath gave way, and it dropped me about a foot(I didn't hit the ground, the white inner stuff held me). So I replaced that with a webbing and cinch buckle and a short Amsteel continuous loop that I got from AHE. And about that same time, I started using the method described above on the other end.
Well today, after taking the picture I posted here, I got a wild hair and decided it was time to undo that figure 8 knot(first time in a very long time) and maybe move it to some other position on the rope. And somewhere near or inside the knot, I found a small bit of abrasion, with one tiny little dot of of the inner white stuff showing. So I am now paranoid that it might not hold. I'm deciding bout one of 2 solutions:
1: Remove the rope, and replace with an Amsteel CL and webbing/cinch buckle. ( I already have a spare, I ordered 2 when I fixed the other end)
2: Simply move the knot a bit closer to the hammock, so that the worn spot is in the tail, or in a part that I would cut off if I was trying to save every oz.
But the reason I am warning you of this: I don't know what kind or HH rope is on your hammock. But it seems the sheathing on the rope on this hammock of mine is not all that abrasion resistant. (my old one did not have any outer sheath, it was simply a one piece and thicker black rope). I'm betting that sheath would never be a problem with the HH figure 8 hitch, which spreads the load out over all of those multiple figure 8 turns, and which is untied every morning(in the field at least) and then retied in a different spot on the rope every night.
But this outer sheathing- at least on mine- may not be abrasion resistant enough to hold up to some of these uses, so be careful. At a minimum, check your suspension for wear regularly. (my Amsteel on the other end is still looking fine). Or, should you decide to go this route, rather than the original HH fig 8 lashing, it might be wise to use some sort of toggle or stick to make it easier to untie, so that you don't have all the wear and abrasion in the same spot every night. Once you learn it, it only takes a second to tie a figure 8 knot. Also, the method you were using, the one that locked up on you, would have likely resulted in the abrasion being moved to a different spot every time you set up.
I just wanted to give you a heads up on that.
Last edited by BillyBob58; 04-02-2020 at 19:40.
Thanks Billy. I think what I'll do is swap the HH ropes for an Amsteel CL and use with a buckle cinch and webbing straps. To me it looks like this is the cleanest and easiest way to hang, with great adjustability.
I've basically ordered this setup now:
Skjermbilde 2020-04-03 kl. 10.23.50.jpg
I think you will like that. The AHE version is what I have on one end of my HH, and I might be about to put one on the other end. It is not the lightest set up out there, but it sure is easy and fast, especially when I use a carabiner. I don't have to use a biner, I could run it through it's own loop at the tree instead. But then I would have to thread the strap through the cinch buckle every time. For me, most of the time, weight is not that critical, and I go for the convenience.
Arrowhead Equipment https://www.arrowhead-equipment.com/
I’m a little late to this party, but I’ve had similar a experience. Woke up and started taking down the hammock and spent maybe 30 minutes working the Beckett hutch loose. I have a backpacker ultralight, and Hennessy puts pretty thin line on that model to save weight. I used a double wrap on the hitch as recommended by The Ultimate Hang. Still, it locked really hard and it was a tough bugger to get out.
Nowadays I’m back to the Hennessy figure 8 lash. But during setup, I use the becket hitch when I first sling it all up. Then I give the whole setup a good look to see how I like it, and I may even crawl into the hammock for a minute to check the lay. I don’t bounce around. If I’m happy with it all, THEN I go back and use the Hennessy figure 8.
That way I’m not doing the figure 8 lash more than I need to.
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