Becket Hitch FAILURE - RIP my tree huggers

[nordmarka]

Hi guys, went out hanging a few days ago and wanted to try out the Becket Hitch. Usually I've just been using the Hennessy recommended lashing, but wanted to try something new.

Looked at a few videos of Derek Hansen doing the knot, and went for it.

The result was abysmal. After getting in the hammock, the knot locked on itself, and I could not get it loose. Trying to pull the rope through, it curled up on itself, making it even more difficult. I had to cut my tree huggers to get the hammock down. The tip that Derek gives in the video to "pull down the loop" to make it easier to release the knot was not working at all. The knot was totally locked.

All I want is a simple, no-fuss setup. Is the becket hitch not the way to go with the Hennessy setup? I read about the new "X bend" on this forum. Should I try that instead?

Thanks!

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[Shug]

Hard to tell if you tied it correctly from the photos.
Hennessy often us a lash type knot.
Good luck with it all. Don't let it get you down.
Shug

[cmoulder]

Becket hitch works fine when webbing is tied to an Amsteel CL.

As shown, it appears to me that the process was reversed with the rope tied to the webbing loop, and your experience confirms that a braided kernmantle rope is not appropriate for the application.

I know absolutely nothing about Hennessy hammocks, but if you could replace that rope with Amsteel and tie the webbing to the CL in standard Becket configuration you will have success.

[jeff-oh]

Looks tied correctly from what I can tell, but backwards from the way Ult. Hammock. and most people do it. That is as Moulder pointed out you tied the hammock to the suspension instead of the suspension to the hammock. Where is becomes the issue is, as you found out, in the release of the knot. The "pull down on the knot" when the suspension is tied allows you to pull against the nearest tree and thus, loosen the knot. In your case, if you pull against the tree you are doing nothing to loosen the knot. In the way this was tied you'd have to pull up on the knot against the tree on the other side of the hammock. Do to fabric stretch and length of the reaction (hammock opposite loop, opposite Becket hitch and opposite tree. You may not get enough leverage to loosen the knot. Then by doing this you tightened the opposite Becket hitch even tighter and you do not have a tree to leverage against.

I am sorry your experience was not positive but you have provided a valuable lesson for all. Is there at least some solace in that?

May also want to consider adding a release loop like Autumn Ultralite incorporates into her suspensions.

[GilligansWorld]

Hi guys, went out hanging a few days ago and wanted to try out the Becket Hitch. Usually I've just been using the Hennessy recommended lashing, but wanted to try something new.

Looked at a few videos of Derek Hansen doing the knot, and went for it.

The result was abysmal. After getting in the hammock, the knot locked on itself, and I could not get it loose. Trying to pull the rope through, it curled up on itself, making it even more difficult. I had to cut my tree huggers to get the hammock down. The tip that Derek gives in the video to "pull down the loop" to make it easier to release the knot was not working at all. The knot was totally locked.

All I want is a simple, no-fuss setup. Is the becket hitch not the way to go with the Hennessy setup? I read about the new "X bend" on this forum. Should I try that instead?

Thanks!

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Marlin Spike hitch - easy Peasy - a bit fiddly as it needs adjustment but....

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

[Moonshiner]

I tie it CL directly to the webbing. Also have to make sure that you tie it so you are pulling down to take it out. I tied the thing so i had to pull up to get it out and that was no fun.

[MikekiM]

Had you cut one of the serpentine loops stacked on top of each other, the whole thing would have let go. Maybe the lesser evil was the strap.

[nordmarka]

Thanks for all the replies, guys.

As shown, it appears to me that the process was reversed with the rope tied to the webbing loop, and your experience confirms that a braided kernmantle rope is not appropriate for the application.

Check this minute out of Derek Hansen's video: https://youtu.be/e7LZTHcNXs8?t=157

I did *exactly* this, and he even mentions the hennessy hammock. I figured this would work.

So is this way still "backwards"?

[BillyBob58]

I have not yet had any issues with this approach: I tie a figure 8 loop(or Bowline) in my HH rope. If I want to make sure I can later undo that loop, I place a small trail stick into the loop, so that when I cinch down the loop, and/or get into the hammock, it tightens up on the stick. Then I can break or wiggle the stick(better yet a small piece of thin, light weight tubing) out of the knot if needed, which then makes the knot much easier to undo if I change my mind. If the stick fails or breaks, then it will just become as though I had not used the stick, and might be very hard to undo.

Anyway, once a figure 8 or Bowline knot is in my HH rope( usually leave it tied for quite a while, like months), I then wrap my strap around the tree and through it's own loop, then through the new loop in the HH rope, and maybe Becket, or some variation on that. Or heck, mostly I just use my old Claytor knot, which amounts to a slippery 1/2 hitch, I think it is called. With a back up knot. Or better yet, there is a trick that is going to be hard to put into words. Look at this slipped 1/2 hitch for the Claytor: http://www.mosquitohammock.com/hammockknots.html

See the loop with a tail to undo it, in the finished primary knot just before you add the back up knot? If you want even more assurance, just make another loop with the tail, and run it through the other(first) 1/2 hitch loop, and snug that first loop down over the webbing loop that has been passed through it. Leave plenty of that last loop sticking through the first loop. Hard to put into words. But essentially like WB shows as the backup for the Becket here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...ature=emb_logo

Or heck, just do the knot as shown by Claytor, with that back up knot. I have NEVER had it slip in 14 years of use, and it always unties pretty easy.

So, summary: running the tree strap/webbing through a figure 8 or similar loop that I have tied in my HH rope, and then using a slipped 1/2 hitch(Claytor style) or a Becket or something similar, has always held me with no slippage at all, and I have never had more than very minor trouble untying.

There is, however, an advantage to the old HH lashing. It not the most convenient, but it is bombproof. It will not slip, and even if it is covered in ice, it is virtually impossible to not be able to untie it. Also, in my experience, it is not needed to do all of the lashings plus the back up 1/2 hitch, as HH directs. Just a couple plus one or 2 back up loops is going to hold me. Plus, rarely have I needed to wrap the webbing more than once around the tree for it to hold. With the webbing wrapped just so that it goes around the back of the tree one time, then tie the figure 8 lashing through the 2 end loops in the webbing, with the final 1/2 hitch back up or two(just takes 1 second to do that 1/2 hitch). Why am I mentioning that? Since the HH lashing takes more time than most suspensions, folks get irritated with it if they need to adjust hammock height, and have to undo and then tie the lashing again. But if you don't wrap the webbing multiple times around the tree(not needed for me unless maybe the tree is very small), and don't tension it too darn tight(not needed and harmful), you can just pull on one end of the hammock, which gives you some slack in the webbing at the tree, and slip the webbing up or down the tree as needed. Usually no need to untie until time to pack up. That HH lashing does take a few minutes, but you will never have any trouble with it.

[Shug]

Thanks for all the replies, guys.



Check this minute out of Derek Hansen's video: https://youtu.be/e7LZTHcNXs8?t=157

I did *exactly* this, and he even mentions the hennessy hammock. I figured this would work.

So is this way still "backwards"?

Why not just tie the Hennessy lash knot? It works and will have you hanging rather than being worried you will get failure.
Shug