Using the slack rope of the whoopie sling as a second attachment point

[Trapper777]

This might be a dumb idea, or one that was already discussed in the mists of time, but I can't seem to find a thread on it and I can't seem to find an obvious problem with it.

I made some whoopie slings for a friend tonight and had the following idea:

What if you used the loose end of a whoopie sling as an optional attachment point? That is, you have a normal whoopie sling, but instead of just having the end of extra rope terminate in some sort of stopper, have it terminate in another fixed eye loop.

That way, you can either use the whoopie sling as a normal whoopie sling, ignoring the extra fixed loop...
...OR you can attach one end to the extra fixed loop. This essentially makes your whoopie sling a UCR, but with one end still an adjustable loop. You can extend it to almost the entire length of the rope used (like a UCR), but only one side is tensioned (like a UCR). You extend it by shortening the adjustable loop, instead of lengthening it.

Pros:
Maintains 100% functionality of the whoopie sling in normal use
--- both sides of the bury tensioned,
--- shorter minimum length than a UCR,

Adds the ability to lengthen to the same length of a UCR.
---- actually very slightly longer than a UCR

Cons:
If you use it in UCR mode, one end of the bury isn't tensioned (just like a UCR)
--- You'd either need to use the ole' boots-tied-to-the-slack-end method
--- or more likely somehow add a temporary prussik to tension it

You need some way to swap out which fixed end your using
--- a lot of current whoopie setups aren't meant for that
--- easiest way is probably adding a soft shackle somewhere

This is all mostly silly
--- there's probably a reason this isn't already standard
--- let's be real we'd all be better off using beckett hitches

I made a little diagram if what I said wasn't clear
IMG_0175.jpg

[Phantom Grappler]

If you can think it, you can do it...maybe
I did not visualize what you have described
If you can, please make a short YouTube video doing what you have described
Thank you for thinking outside the box
Probably 999 out of 1000 of my ideas are destined for the trash, because they don’t work well enough to put into widespread use.
But never give up
Everything we have, was once someone’s idea and without new ideas...
We’d still be living in the Stone Age.
If no video, maybe some photos will help me think enough to see your idea.
Thanks again.

[Phantom Grappler]

Ooops, just now noticed your diagram...
But my iPhone will not enlarge it enough for me to see...it becomes blurry
Phantom not tech savvy

[jeff-oh]

It might work? It may also just pull the loop down to nothing. Not sure how you would maintain the tension on the non-loop side of the bury. UCR's are prone to slipping unless kept taught. (i.e. the loop you are now not using is held tight.)

let everyone know how it works for you.

[Baka Dasai]

I think Jeff Myers has already come up with this idea.

It seems reasonable to me. It costs only a small amount of extra amsteel on the tail end, and allows you to use your whoopie as a UCR if you need it to be longer.

One con you didn't mention is complexity. That's not a problem for people like yourself who understand it all, but it might be difficult for a retailer to sell these and then have to deal with customers getting confused, or getting dropped cos they used the UCR without adequately preventing bury slippage.

[Phantom Grappler]

Just now enlarged your diagram,
Looks interesting
The proof is in the pudding
Maybe you can make one of these and try it out, several nights in the trees.
Good luck!

[cmoulder]

Nice to see people thinking but it'd be more useful if the problem of securing the free end of the UCR were addressed. Using a whipping or a Prusik are some of the standard solutions, and how one of those (or some other option) is incorporated into the design — and how that affects the deployment while in straight whoopie mode — needs to be explored, prototyped and field tested.

It seems the main issue with whoopies always boils down to minimum length for short hangs. Back when I was messing around with whoopies it occurred to me (and I'm certain I wasn't the first) that the simplest way to cut down on length was to place the bury as close to the fixed eye as possible. I made some of these using 5-inch buries (I know, shorter than the "recommended" 8 inches but they never slipped) and got the total minimum length down to about a foot. Yes, you need a little more material for the big adjustable loop for long hangs, but my 3' 7/64 Amsteel dog bone weighs exactly 6 grams so it's not a significant weight penalty even if it adds 3' to each whoopie.

[Trapper777]

Ok, so I tried out the system with my hammock quickly and it went OK, I might test it on my next overnight as well, although tbh I usually use a knot-based suspension due to cmoulder's point.

To keep the line taught I made a little light-duty soft shackle that I can tie into a prusik.

Once I have a few overnight hangs in I'll let you guys know how it goes.

My bet is this is a nice little addition to someone who already likes whoopies to allow for longer hangs, but tbh I don't think it's anything more than a nice little extra.

[Heavyhiker]

I think Jeff Myers has already come up with this idea.

It seems reasonable to me. It costs only a small amount of extra amsteel on the tail end, and allows you to use your whoopie as a UCR if you need it to be longer.

One con you didn't mention is complexity. That's not a problem for people like yourself who understand it all, but it might be difficult for a retailer to sell these and then have to deal with customers getting confused, or getting dropped cos they used the UCR without adequately preventing bury slippage.

I couldn't think of where I saw this until you mentioned Jeff Myers. His video was on making an adjustable ridge line with the loop on the end for doing a larks head onto the ridge line to keep the extra cordage up and out of the way. It was a pain to do but actually worked pretty well. Not sure though how it would work as another attachment point but worth exploring

[nanok]

i see only one problem with this: if you're going to bother, you might as well use a ucr to begin with. the advantage of the whoopie sling is that it's more secure/foolproof, and simple to use once you get the hang of it. the advantage of the ucr is efficiency.

if you want both, you can aslo try what i do: make the tail of the ucr a softshackle, so that you can connect the other end of the ucr to it, and turn it into a whoopie sling "ad hoc". i personally endup using them as ucr's basically all of the time, so maybe that's why my bias is a bit "reversed". nice thinking, keep em coming.