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  1. #1

    Hanging on mason line (two inches over my bed)

    Gonna put this out there in case other people ever find themselves in a similar situation:

    I've now slept two weeks in a hammock hung from continuous loops spliced from braided #18 nylon mason line.

    I would NOT do this over a hard surface or outside. My hammock is hung over my bed. My butt is maybe two inches up, my head no more than a foot.

    I spliced the continuous loops using Marshalltown 250-ft Fluorescent Orange Nylon Mason Line String
    Item #790525Model #ML607 from Lowe's. The brand is important: not all brands of braided mason line are spliceable. https://www.lowes.com/pd/Marshalltow...ing/5001845385

    I spliced it using the L-36 method, not the Tacblades method. The L-36 method has the buries going all the way around and overlapping on the opposite side of the loop: https://l-36.com/loop.php I used the calculator on that page for a 5" loop of 7/64" Amsteel.

    I larksheaded the loop to the end of my hammock and tied an X-bend to my 1" polyester tree straps.

    I weigh 180 lbs and I hang my hammock at the usual 30 degrees angle. Marshalltown doesn't publish a strength for their line but other sources seem to agree on 160-180lbs for #18 nylon twine. So I have a safety factor of...maybe 1.5? 2? Which is fine with a mattress two inches under my butt, and a really bad idea otherwise.

  2. #2
    SilvrSurfr's Avatar
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    I'll file this under: not gonna happen.
    "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." Ralph Waldo Emerson

  3. #3
    Senior Member cmoulder's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by correcthorsebatterystaple View Post
    Gonna put this out there in case other people ever find themselves in a similar situation:

    I've now slept two weeks in a hammock hung from continuous loops spliced from braided #18 nylon mason line.

    I would NOT do this over a hard surface or outside. My hammock is hung over my bed. My butt is maybe two inches up, my head no more than a foot.

    I spliced the continuous loops using Marshalltown 250-ft Fluorescent Orange Nylon Mason Line String
    Item #790525Model #ML607 from Lowe's. The brand is important: not all brands of braided mason line are spliceable. https://www.lowes.com/pd/Marshalltow...ing/5001845385

    I spliced it using the L-36 method, not the Tacblades method. The L-36 method has the buries going all the way around and overlapping on the opposite side of the loop: https://l-36.com/loop.php I used the calculator on that page for a 5" loop of 7/64" Amsteel.

    I larksheaded the loop to the end of my hammock and tied an X-bend to my 1" polyester tree straps.

    I weigh 180 lbs and I hang my hammock at the usual 30 degrees angle. Marshalltown doesn't publish a strength for their line but other sources seem to agree on 160-180lbs for #18 nylon twine. So I have a safety factor of...maybe 1.5? 2? Which is fine with a mattress two inches under my butt, and a really bad idea otherwise.
    OK, do what you gotta do, but it would be easy enough to make a 3x longer loop and loop it over itself 3 times and make it much stronger. Don't even need to splice, just join the ends with a double fisherman's bend or some such.

    I've done this using Zing-it to make a loop to hang from and it worked fine. So if you're in the woods and can't find a bed to hang above, this could be your backup plan.
    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

  4. #4
    Senior Member oldbiker's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SilvrSurfr View Post
    I'll file this under: not gonna happen.
    There's never anything to learn unless you try. That's depending if you don't know it all already. :-)

  5. #5
    Senior Member u.willie's Avatar
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    I'll file this under "Very Cool!", and say Thank You for making the post and sharing all that info!

    - willin'

  6. #6
    XJ35S's Avatar
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    I like it. The bend has to bite in good, does it release easily? I've done the same with 2.2mm zing it.

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by XJ35S View Post
    I like it. The bend has to bite in good, does it release easily? I've done the same with 2.2mm zing it.
    Yes, releases fine if I first pull the bight back away from the standing end to loosen up the knot. Then I pull the free end and the bight pops right out. (Thanks for showing us all the X-bend, by the way. It's now my go-to knot.)

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