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  1. #1
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    Lowering or raising your hammock

    If you hang your hammock and it is too high or too low do you adjust it at the tree or do you adjust it by tightening or loosening the suspension on each end. It seems either will work.

  2. #2
    cougarmeat's Avatar
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    Seems to me if you keep the hammock at the same tree height and loosen (lengthen) the suspension to lower it, you are also increasing the sag. Increasing the sag changes the lie. Changing the lie, influences the … https://tinyurl.com/yxpxoc83

    Lower the suspension at the tree to keep the same sag.
    In order to see what few have seen, you must go where few have gone. And DO what few have done.

  3. #3
    all secure in sector 7 Shug's Avatar
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    It is and can be a combo of the both to a degree.
    Here are some basics.....
    Shug



    Whooooo Buddy)))) All Secure in Sector Seven

  4. #4
    Senior Member
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    Quote Originally Posted by Shug View Post
    It is and can be a combo of the both to a degree.
    Here are some basics.....
    Shug



    Thanks Shug. Even as someone who has been sleeping nightly at home in a hammock for about 18 months and using hammocks on dozens of outings, I still enjoy and learn from watching your videos.

  5. #5
    New Member j0hnj0hns's Avatar
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    I was going to ask the exact same question.
    I was getting confused as sometimes I seem to need a ladder to get high enough to get the good suspension angle. So I thought "No wucken forries, I'll just use the straps!". But then the height wasn't right or the ridgeline was too tight (or loose). So I've now figured out the greater the distance between the trees then the higher my straps need to be and the cinch buckles are pretty much for keeping the feet closer to one tree and for a little bit of fine-tuning. It took a little while but I got there.... I think.
    SO-14a Assistant Chief Viscount of Research (Hammocks)
    International Space, Clouds and Tree Canopy Research Mission (ISCTCRM) - Sunshine Coast Region - Australia
    Layin' down and swinging. Lookin' up and singing!

  6. #6
    cougarmeat's Avatar
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    j0hnj0hns - second post - welcome to the forum. Yes, the further apart the trees, the higher you have to connect to get the best angle. One thing you can do it decide how high you want to reach up to fiddle with that tree connection. That height will be different from someone who is 5’4” - 5’6” than someone 6’ + so figure how that max height for you. Then you can use a hammock calculator like this one:http://theultimatehang.com/hammock-hang-calculator/

    You can fill in the numbers for hammock size, 30 degree hang, and your desired height above ground. Then, as you specify different tree distances, you’ll see the height of the tree connection go up and down. That way, you can determine the tree distance range that works best for you - and look for that when you are out camping.
    In order to see what few have seen, you must go where few have gone. And DO what few have done.

  7. #7
    New Member j0hnj0hns's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by cougarmeat View Post
    j0hnj0hns - second post - welcome to the forum. Yes, the further apart the trees, the higher you have to connect to get the best angle. One thing you can do it decide how high you want to reach up to fiddle with that tree connection. That height will be different from someone who is 5’4” - 5’6” than someone 6’ + so figure how that max height for you. Then you can use a hammock calculator like this one:http://theultimatehang.com/hammock-hang-calculator/

    You can fill in the numbers for hammock size, 30 degree hang, and your desired height above ground. Then, as you specify different tree distances, you’ll see the height of the tree connection go up and down. That way, you can determine the tree distance range that works best for you - and look for that when you are out camping.
    Thanks for that cougarmeat! I have been using that calculator and it is handy. I was confusing myself initially because I was using the hammock length instead of my ridgeline length (which was shorter than 83%), then I was fiddling with the straps and making the angles way too shallow etc. All good now though, after a few trial runs at home and out and about I think I've got the hang of it (pun intended).
    SO-14a Assistant Chief Viscount of Research (Hammocks)
    International Space, Clouds and Tree Canopy Research Mission (ISCTCRM) - Sunshine Coast Region - Australia
    Layin' down and swinging. Lookin' up and singing!

  8. #8
    cougarmeat's Avatar
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    If you put in a 10 foot phyiscal length 120 inches) for your hammock, the auto calculation for ridgeline length sets it at 104 inches - which is 86%. Same for the hammock calculator app for phones/tablets. That just points out there there is nothing especially sacred about 83% - it’s a starting place. Some like it, some want a little more, some a little less. The concern is the hang angle.

    Usually it’s taught that the hypotenuse is the slanted line of a right triangle (triangle with 90 degree corner). So if you imagine a right triangle, the vertical line down represents your weight in the hammock - the weight pushing down. Now as you make the base longer - changing the angle of the slanted line - that slanted line gets longer and longer. That’s the force pulling on the hammock suspension. See how much longer it is compared to the vertical line. That’s showing that even though you might have 10 or 100 or 200 pounds in the hammock - the vertical line of the triangle - the resulting force on the hammock material and suspension is the hypotenuse, the slanted line. So if you have 200 lbs in a hammock rated at 250 lbs, but your hang angle is narrow, you can put more than 200 lbs force on the hammock fabric. … unless you have a structural ridgeline on the hammock.

    Another exercise they might have taught in school is having someone smaller pull on a rope held by someone larger (like the teacher). The small kid can hardly move the teacher. Now tie one end of that rope to a fixed object (unfortunately there are very few trees inside American class rooms) and have the teacher hold the line tight. Then have the kid pull on the center of the line. The force on the teacher will be much more that the kid could generate by pulling directly. So your fixed point is the tree and the teacher is the hammock and the force of the kid’s direct pull is the weight in the hammock. But the force generated on the hammock ends can be so much more if the hang angle is shallow (long hypotenuse). That’s why we try to cluster around a 30 degree hang angle. It result in close to the weight of the hammock occupant being equal to the force at the ends.

    If you have a structural ridgeline - a line of amsteel going from one end of the hammock to the other and it's 83%-ish long - the hang forces pull on the Amsteel, not the hammock. And the force amsteel can take is far higher. But wait - there’s more. That doesn’t mean you don’t have to worry about angles with a SRL (structural ridge line). That force is also applied to your anchor. So if that anchor is wimpy - a weak tree, a 2x4 interior wall stud, some pillar held together just by mortar, it may feel secure if you just push or pull on it, but the forces generated by a hammock hung at a shallow angle could be much higher.

    Cougarmeat solving a problem in highschool geometry
    FindX.jpg
    Last edited by cougarmeat; 12-04-2020 at 13:35.
    In order to see what few have seen, you must go where few have gone. And DO what few have done.

  9. #9
    New Member j0hnj0hns's Avatar
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    Wow! Thanks. And here I was feeling all chuffed that I remembered how to work out the hypotenuse for my tarp.
    SO-14a Assistant Chief Viscount of Research (Hammocks)
    International Space, Clouds and Tree Canopy Research Mission (ISCTCRM) - Sunshine Coast Region - Australia
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  10. #10
    Senior Member cmoulder's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by j0hnj0hns View Post
    Wow! Thanks. And here I was feeling all chuffed that I remembered how to work out the hypotenuse for my tarp.
    Just imagine how Crocodile Dundee would do it... "Ahhh, that's about roight..."
    Five Basic Principles of Going Lighter (not me... the great Cam Honan of OZ)
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