Woopie Slings - Are they still used?

[nanok]

I use the woopies with a carabiner connected to daisy chain strap. The woopies smallest setup is about 10 ". So i guess that adds 20" of space i need between trees. So far have not run into a problem. It seems i usually pick trees further apart so my struggle is getting the straps high enough up the trees to get the right hang and end height off ground. I have the Amsteel ridgeline so sometimes that is as tight as a piano wire Probably should not be.

i prefer trees farther apart too, and i also happen to have a tiny hammock camper in apprenticeship, so i had to solve the same problem as you. i described in a thread here an "ellegant" solution i've been using to deal with this: in brief, you get an extra treestrap, with a short pedal attached to it (strap and pedal made of webbing, the connection can be made of dyneema), you put the strap on the tree at a confortable height, so you can step into the pedal, this way you can easily and very safely gain up to a meter or so of reach, and you're confortable so you can calmly attach the hammock treestrap and adjust things as you want, no need to jump or push with the walking poles or whatever. take down is equally safe and confortable. it adds a bit of weight, but i find this useful enough that i don't mind. one could also ditch the extra treestrap, to save some weight, and just carry the pedal, and use the other treestrap, this means you'll have to have an asymetric setup, where one strap is much higher than the other (this is not a problem, you'll just have the hammock closer to the tree where the strap is lower)

edit: it's here https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...=1#post2028235

if the structural ridgeline is very tight, it's a sign that the distance between trees is too large for the height of the straps, and it means excessive stress on the trees, treestraps and your suspension, i like to avoid that, hence the pedal idea

[Macca]

i prefer trees farther apart too, and i also happen to have a tiny hammock camper in apprenticeship, so i had to solve the same problem as you. i described in a thread here an "ellegant" solution i've been using to deal with this: in brief, you get an extra treestrap, with a short pedal attached to it (strap and pedal made of webbing, the connection can be made of dyneema), you put the strap on the tree at a confortable height, so you can step into the pedal, this way you can easily and very safely gain up to a meter or so of reach, and you're confortable so you can calmly attach the hammock treestrap and adjust things as you want, no need to jump or push with the walking poles or whatever. take down is equally safe and confortable. it adds a bit of weight, but i find this useful enough that i don't mind. one could also ditch the extra treestrap, to save some weight, and just carry the pedal, and use the other treestrap, this means you'll have to have an asymetric setup, where one strap is much higher than the other (this is not a problem, you'll just have the hammock closer to the tree where the strap is lower)

edit: it's here https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...=1#post2028235

if the structural ridgeline is very tight, it's a sign that the distance between trees is too large for the height of the straps, and it means excessive stress on the trees, treestraps and your suspension, i like to avoid that, hence the pedal idea

I'm not really a shortie at 5'10", but I have had to reach up higher than I could comfortably get a couple of times and your little foot harness looks like just the ticket.

A short run of paracord later and we have this:

IMG-20210214-175307-01-01.jpg

[IMG-20210214-175344-01-01.jpg



Basically a hastily crafted foot stirrup attached to another length of paracord via a Blake's hitch (for adjustability) and it works like a charm.
It also henks up nice and compact, weighing next to nothing.

It's now a permanent fixture in the hammock gear pack!

Thanks again for the inspiration.

Macca

[nanok]

@Macca interesting for sure (i love it when people take my ideas and do something with them, thanks for posting). and yes, that's the word, a stirrup, i keep forgetting it.

i chose to use some strap as i'm worried i might harm the tree with thiner cord, but perhaps for a very short time it might not be a concern? (an arborist friend here could chime in and tell us). i'd maybe have at least a short piece of webbing, even just half a meter, that would rest on the back side of the tree.

i would have avoided paracord as it stretches a bit too much, and it's a bit unsafe, but granted, in a pinch, and for operating one meter above the ground, it'll probably do just fine. i agree 3mm dyneema is overkill for this, i just have lots of it around, so why not.

i'd be afraid the pedal in your pic would be a bit too hard on the foot, but maybe with serious hiking boots it's fine (interesting wrap work there), how does it feel (i tested mine barefoot to be sure, so yeah, i'm definitely being a bit over-cautious).

i like the blake (and your use of it here), this is already fancy stuff.

i'm also average height, but it's my miniature apprentice who gave me the inspiration to work on a "real solution", otherwise i might not have bothered. but once i tested it, my first though was "okay, i'll make you one too i guess". and wait till you see the possibilities when hanging in a steep slope or such, even if average in height or even tall, this thing makes a big difference in geting a proper hang where the deer wouldn't venture (careful when getting out for a pee in the middle of the night).

thanks again, this is the kind of stuff that makes my day

[Pop_Eye]

Like a few others have said, I keep a set of whoopies and toggles in my kit along with straps and beetle buckles. Every once in a while, I practice a J-Bend or a Becket hitch.

It can never hurt to be able to use a few different methods of hanging.

[Macca]

@Macca interesting for sure (i love it when people take my ideas and do something with them, thanks for posting). and yes, that's the word, a stirrup, i keep forgetting it.

i chose to use some strap as i'm worried i might harm the tree with thiner cord, but perhaps for a very short time it might not be a concern? (an arborist friend here could chime in and tell us). i'd maybe have at least a short piece of webbing, even just half a meter, that would rest on the back side of the tree.

i would have avoided paracord as it stretches a bit too much, and it's a bit unsafe, but granted, in a pinch, and for operating one meter above the ground, it'll probably do just fine. i agree 3mm dyneema is overkill for this, i just have lots of it around, so why not.

i'd be afraid the pedal in your pic would be a bit too hard on the foot, but maybe with serious hiking boots it's fine (interesting wrap work there), how does it feel (i tested mine barefoot to be sure, so yeah, i'm definitely being a bit over-cautious).

i like the blake (and your use of it here), this is already fancy stuff.

i'm also average height, but it's my miniature apprentice who gave me the inspiration to work on a "real solution", otherwise i might not have bothered. but once i tested it, my first though was "okay, i'll make you one too i guess". and wait till you see the possibilities when hanging in a steep slope or such, even if average in height or even tall, this thing makes a big difference in geting a proper hang where the deer wouldn't venture (careful when getting out for a pee in the middle of the night).

thanks again, this is the kind of stuff that makes my day

I tested it with the rather flimsy flip flops/sandals I have sitting by the front door for short trips outside and it was fine, with trainers/walking boots it would be more than fine. You wouldn't want to do it barefoot through!

Paracord - It's just what I had lying around but I don't have any concerns with the strength (it's 550lb rated, granted this is reduced with knots) or stretch for this application. Regarding stretch, I've used it for ridgelines many a time with a truckers hitch and have never had to re-tension due to it getting wet and stretching...

The tree damage is a potential concern, I genuinely don't know if supporting 220lbs in this manor for 15 seconds would be a problem...

[nanok]

I tested it with the rather flimsy flip flops/sandals I have sitting by the front door for short trips outside and it was fine, with trainers/walking boots it would be more than fine. You wouldn't want to do it barefoot through!

Paracord - It's just what I had lying around but I don't have any concerns with the strength (it's 550lb rated, granted this is reduced with knots) or stretch for this application. Regarding stretch, I've used it for ridgelines many a time with a truckers hitch and have never had to re-tension due to it getting wet and stretching...

The tree damage is a potential concern, I genuinely don't know if supporting 220lbs in this manor for 15 seconds would be a problem...

well, it sounds great if it's fine with flip-flops already.

and yeah, that's the great thing about paracord: cheap, available, plentiful, i do all my non-splice prototypes and experiments with various kinds of paracord. it's quite nice how easy it is to get these days, i guess i can thank the paracord bracelet frenzy of late?

[Rouskof]

My problem is different, I don't even know if I still am able to hang my hammock. I probably still am, but in five years time, I will have to come back here on the hammock forums and to dig back in the archive to find how to use my gear. Would be great to have like a reference PDF with all the different methods that came up over time, their pros and cons, so this knowledge doesn't get burried.
I realise I need to do my own user manual asap.

That could be a collaborative entreprise: everyone writes his best method and someone gathers all this and organises it in a document. I know mine was not very popular if not unique.

[jeff-oh]

My problem is different, I don't even know if I still am able to hang my hammock. I probably still am, but in five years time, I will have to come back here on the hammock forums and to dig back in the archive to find how to use my gear. Would be great to have like a reference PDF with all the different methods that came up over time, their pros and cons, so this knowledge doesn't get burried.
I realise I need to do my own user manual asap.

That could be a collaborative entreprise: everyone writes his best method and someone gathers all this and organises it in a document. I know mine was not very popular if not unique.

I believe this is already done. between Ultimate Hang book, and Shug's video playlists on just about every topic.

[slugbait]

Hmm- an extra long 7/16s amsteel dogbone with one small loop and the other sized for one's foot might work for this (and would double as a hammock suspension extension when needed).

[Eclectic]

Short person chiming in here. The idea of a whoopi sling step is neat. It might be something to keep in the back of my mind. For the most part, I just use a trekking pole to scoot the tree straps and tarp lines a little higher when I have trouble reaching.