Material: the heavier rougher materials will hold knots better. I just use 1” poly webbing from the hardware store. 35c a foot. Works great, washes up nice, holds knots, easily replaced.
Length: that depends entirely on where you are. I would also recommend that you get 15’ for a while and cut back if you think it’s too much. I still carry my whoopies as backup extenders in case I camp in old growth areas or need a really long span.
Knots: there are several hammock knots you should know about. Each has an advantage. Becket, J-Bend, X-Bend, Lapp Hitch. I like the X-Bend but I’m definitely in the minority on that one. I think the Becket is hard to untie. Find one that you like.
This was a fun one! Motorcycle trip from Chicago to Mississippi headwaters in MN, down to the Gulf coast in LA, back to Chicago in 9 days. I had my Tensa4 with me but was determined to hang from trees if at all possible. This site was my biggest challenge.
I was experimenting with 1" and 2" straps, so I had with me 1 pair of 1" x 12' Kevlar 1.9 straps and 1 pair of 2" x 7' Kevlar 1.9 huggers. I also had a couple of 10' UCRs.
I found the 1.9 Kevlar too fragile - 1 of the 4 was damaged on this hang, my first use of these straps.
Your commentary on here is the reason I went with Kevlar - so glad I did, and I'm really looking forward to the 3.3. (You and MikekiM have had a big influence on me - thank you for sharing your wisdom.)
The left tree was the easy one. I tossed a strap around the tree and pulled myself up into the V - about 5-6' up. Shimmied up a bit from there wedged between the limbs to tie off my strap. 12-15' up, maybe. I was worried I wouldn't be able to reach my strap to get it down. I larksheaded a second strap to the loop of my hanging strap so I could pull the hanging strap out of its larkshead to get it down. That second strap is dangling straight down the tree.
The right side tree - no climbing possibilities. I had to toss the strap over a limb and work it around to the front of the tree. Had to stand on one of my motorcycle cases to reach it to get it attached. Tied a second strap again for takedown.
I was hesitant at first to go to straps with becket hitch because I was worried it would be too much of a hassle to tie and retie until I got a proper hang. I got used to it faster than I thought I would, and like you mentioned moving the straps a little up or down the tree works well for minor adjustments.
I love the simplicity of straps to hammock Evo loops. The UCRs are mostly for extra length, but I occasionally use them with my straps just for practice.
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That's amazing, really took some planning; glad it worked for you.
And that was one heckuva motorcycle trip!
I still have some 1.9 kevlar but save it only for the occasional silly-light local trip in warm weather, along with the Hexon 1.0 Half-wit.
Five Basic Principles of Going Lighter (not me... the great Cam Honan of OZ)
“If everybody is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.” ~ Gen. George S Patton
I’ve got one 8ft UHMWPE strap and one 13ft Spider strap. I was shooting for 10ft, but they sent me what was left on the roll, so I used it. I haven’t noticed any stretching with either. They do tend to roll up on themselves, but it just takes a second or two to smooth it out with my fingers near the tree end.
I played around with whoopies and a MSH for awhile, but I just prefer the simplicity of a single strap. If you’re worried that you’ll come across a place where you need more length, you can carry an Amsteel dogbone to larkshead to the continuous loop on your hammock, then tie off to the other end of the dog bone. Just like Bobonli said. That’s what I’d do, anyway, but I also agree that I’ve never needed to.
I also second Phantom Grappler’s suggestion of a pull loop. Makes untying as easy as untying your shoes!
Thanks for the dogbone idea. I was researching UCR construction but it seems quite similar to whoopies which I already have and if using MSH or beckett attachment to strap, I don't really need the adjustability. I'll order a 25' amsteel 7/64 length and make a couple of 12' dogbones for emergencies. I take it you can still MSH to amsteel directly using a titanium toggle if needed? Say if I didn't need to use the full dogbone?
Still undecided on straps but still leaning towards the kevlars if they ever make it back in stock... These 15' poly-spiders when rolled up are literally the largest component of my setup aside from hammock, TQ, UQ, tarp. Also, I still can't find any data on relative thickness to picture how much the kevlars or UHMWPE/Spiders will roll up to.
Comparison of 12' Venom (UHMWPE) and 9' Kevlar 3.3, both 1" width. This Kevlar is dyed brown.
Not exactly apples-to-apples... Evo loops on Kevlar are 7/64 Amsteel and Venom Evo loops are 1.8mm Dynaglide. Venom weight is 55.1g and Kevlar is 77.2g.
Kevlar 9' vs Venom 12'.jpg
After trying a bunch of straps (also using on the trail for real-world impression) I'll pick Kevlar every time for no-hardware use.
Also, recently I posted this pic in another thread that shows how UHMWPE webbing rolls up under load. It can be flattened but it's an annoying and time-consuming chore.
venom_comparison.jpg
Last edited by cmoulder; 05-11-2021 at 07:49.
Five Basic Principles of Going Lighter (not me... the great Cam Honan of OZ)
“If everybody is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.” ~ Gen. George S Patton
The becket hitch is my preferred method as well. I am a big fan of Jeff Myers' strap options from myerstechhammocklab on eBay. He sells the same types of straps as the other vendors, but his prices are much better. Free shipping too.
I really appreciate these images, thank you! I think it's clear to me that I would like to go with kevlar 3.3 in the end - I just can't find any of it anywhere! I also think the roping of the UHMWPE will aggravate my OCD.
Weight isn't the biggest issue but rather packability and both of those look to pack around the same size and I hope even smaller than the spider poly I got (also, not many places seem to quote thickness in mm either!)
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