I haven’t had any issues with slipping yet (knock on wood), but I don’t exactly have years of experience either. I tried the J bend, but just figured I’d keep using a Beckett until it gives me a reason not to
I haven’t had any issues with slipping yet (knock on wood), but I don’t exactly have years of experience either. I tried the J bend, but just figured I’d keep using a Beckett until it gives me a reason not to
Indeed, I've seen some reports from folks who didn't have slippage with Becket or Lapp, but I did. J-Bend is the only knot I know of that works with all materials, even Amsteel--->Amsteel. (No doubt there are other knots... referring here to simple suspension knots that are easy to release. I'm not sure about X-Bend... haven't tried it.)Originally Posted by AmberG
I haven’t had any issues with slipping yet (knock on wood), but I don’t exactly have years of experience either. I tried the J bend, but just figured I’d keep using a Beckett until it gives me a reason not to
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
this kind of doesn't answer your question at all, but you got a bunch of "really relevant" answers, so i guess i can throw in a less to the point one now
i ended up in the strange middle ground of ucr's connected to the tree huggers with a becket hitch (initially, now rather a softshackle, but that's a different story in itself, which i have yet to write). the main reason for this is because, to have trustworthy, lightweight and wide enough webbing to be good for protecting the tree and serving as main suspension makes the tree straps a very strict item (as you found yourself, it's a bit tricky to find "just the right material" that meets all requirements). on the other hand, dyneema rope is a very versatile material, that's readily available, and is excellent as suspension (very customizable, well documented in terms of how to work with it, strength, safety, etc), no stretch, can be used for a million other things. on the tree side, i can have a "reasonable length" of trustworthy wide enough webbing, which is readily available, and not worry so much about the weight and bulk of it, as i don't need to carry loads of it. i like the fact that i can even get some heavy duty cargo straps at the local home depot/hobby store (or even some petrol stations, with a bit of luck), and repurpose them in a pinch, if i really have to, or, my favourite hack lately: just go to a shop like decathlon here in europe (or i guess REI over there or such?) and get a climbing sling, pre-sewn, one inch wide, with proper technique can be used, and is very very reliable and tested to UIAA standards. by having the tree straps as a separate modular component, i also don't need to worry much about the strap bunching up, as it doesn't get knotted much (yeah, i do need to write the story about the tree straps).
the ucr is a really nice solution i think, it does away with the double line-ness of the whoopie sling, and the need for a "sliding connection" (like an MSH on a toggle) at one end; and in terms of bulk and weight, no webbing strap that's reasonable in terms of strength and width can ever come close, so, as much as i like knots, i ended up getting some dyneema, learning how to splice, and making my own ucr's. i still haven't moved on from this solution, in fact one of the very few things that was settled quite early on, and i still haven't found a better alternative to. i'd say worth considering, especially if you can't easily find the kind of straps you want. so i guess my answer is something like "get some dyneema rope and splice it instead", which is definitely not a valid answer to your question, but perhaps something worth considering, nevertheless. i mean, we're talking hammocks here, let's not fall into the trap of making things too simple, where's the fun in that? :P
Just to update the thread and not keep anyone in suspense: I did reach out to Jeff and he's sending over some of these elusive white w/ black rimmed ULW straps 15' that apparently don't rope up. I should get them next week before my trip and will let the thread know how they are. He's also including some of his EVO loops and hookups which I haven't had much time to research yet but I'll try to integrate them if I like them, but will prob continue with my simple beckett hookups to start as that is what I originally set out to do!
Looking forward to your impressions.
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'm intrigued by these mysterious straps. Looking forward to your report out!
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I was able to test out my new SLD Trail Lair and straps from Myerstech last weekend using a beckett hitch. The 15' straps came with some soft loops so I didn't need to use a toggle or biner. The weight of the strap with the soft shackle thing is 47g. My 15' spider poly's come in at 84g. What I like about Myers' straps are that they are about half the size which is what I was ultimately going for. I'm not a huge fan of the white/gray color and may look into dying them so they blend in a bit more.
The beckett hitch held well but I used two wraps around the CL (improved beckett hitch?) for extra safety. My first attempt with the BH I wrapped around the strap instead of the CL and went to the ground!
One thing about the beckett hitch is I found that I needed to untie/re-tie multiple times to adjust whereas with whoopie slings it's pretty trivial. My hang wasn't ideal though as there was a shrub between the trees so I was trying to make one end a bit longer than the other so my hammock wouldn't rub against the shrub - then I had to readjust so my foot-end was higher, etc.. I guess I'll eventually get better at eyeballing this.
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uninjured,
Thanks for the follow-up! I'm liking the looks and sounds of those straps. You say they are about half the size, which kinda makes sense, as they seem to be about half the weight too.
One of the things I like about the 1.4 gram straps myerstech sells is how small they pack.
How were the straps in regards to staying flat?
I've only ever had my 1.4 gram straps bunch up, or "rope" where they pass through the eye - but never around the tree, and at the MSH (which is my preferred way to hang from the 1.4 gram straps). Worth mentioning perhaps, I've been using them for well over a year, multiple times a week.
Like you, it only takes seconds to flatten those two spots back out. I store mine rolled up, so I flatten those two spots as I'm taking my hammock down, and rolling them up to pack.
Maybe I'm OCD then, lol? I store my straps rolled up, so I do flatten mine when putting them up. I don't care how they look per say, it just works better for me when packing back up, and then setting up my hammock again, at the end of that days hike. I do agree though, that there is no need. When I used to use much heavier straps, I rolled those up to. Just personal preference, and habit at this point.
OCD? Maybe, lol...
willin'
These straps in particular are actually "2.9gpf w/ 3000 tensile" according to him. I believe they were recommended to me since I asked specifically about ULW straps that don't bunch up. After using them with the becket hitch a few nights I noticed they did bunch a bit, probably as much as spiderpoly but flattened out a bit easier. Only way I can describe them as having less memory than the spider polys if that makes any sense. Mind you this is merely my brief anecdote with them during a couple of uses and I didn't do any exhaustive testing.
Can anyone comment on dogbone bury length for 7/64" amsteel? I made 2 6' dogbones following https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1Y-KzF2PzE but it only instructed on 4" bury which I followed but now I read people claiming 4.59", 5.09", 6", 8.04" to be safe. My 4" bury includes a 1" taper as well... I'm getting short on amsteel so really only have a chance to make 2 more and would prefer not to have 8" buries if it's only for whoopies or obviously too short of a bury where it might fail. Lots of conflicting advice on this subject but my understanding from Samson's doc https://www.samsonrope.com/docs/defa...rsn=ae4d2872_2 it's 2 fids so 4.59" including taper but they don't describe taper angle... Also, I don't weigh 1200lbs either so perhaps my existing ones might be OK? Any experience with these guys failing on people?
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