I'm asking because I've been using the dutchware spliced split ridgeline. It's a little short if I run it around the trees in my backyard, but fine if i just run the tarp line through the hammock tree straps without going around the trees. Is this a bad idea?
Is there a reason not to run the tarp line just through the tree strap without going all the way around the tree?
If you want to just connect to the hammock tree straps there are several ways to do that from some of Dutch's hardware to things like prussics on the strap.
Some searching should get you several threads about this subject w/ methods as well as pros & cons.
The main thing I would avoid is connecting to the strap on the tree. I would make sure it's after the point where the strap connects to itself. From that point down to the hammock would be the area to use.
using the tree straps for the tarp ridgeline is a good idea in fact, it is better in almost every way than going around the tree (or so i keep saying). just make sure you leave some slack in the ridgeline so you can bring the tarp as low as you want above the hammock (so tighten the ridgeline after staking down the tarp, basically, when using a dyneema ridgeline)
If you use the hammock straps, be sure to NOT use a split tarp ridgeline. If you do, then any extra stress on that ridgeline will be absorbed by the tarp fabric. If you have a continuous ridgeline then the ridgeline that’s the pull forces and the tarp hangs under it - just like your hammock with it’s structural ridgeline.
In order to see what few have seen, you must go where few have gone. And DO what few have done.
It sounds like the trees are either pretty far apart or rather large in diameter, probably the former. You might need longer pieces of cordage for that setup if you would want to go around the trees. Typically the split ridgeline is going to attach below the suspension attachment to keep the rainfly low enough, hence the advice that any attachment to the straps would be well away from the trees. Yup, pros and cons for attaching to the straps. Read those threads and decide if that's for you.Originally Posted by mazotster
Cougarmeat makes a good point about avoiding potential serious stress on the fly if by any chance it is strung too tightly.
Related to this. I like the idea of attaching the tarp to the hammock straps, but don’t like the associated tarp movement when I am swinging in the hammock.
Is there a way to avoid this that I haven’t hit upon. I have tension adjusters on the tieouts and it works, but overall much prefer the stability of having the tarp separate. Am I doing something wrong on the way I attach to the hammock suspension?
I would figure that the closer it attaches to the tree the less it would move. Of course that makes it higher off the hammock.
the closer to the tree the less it will move: correct, but in fact one would attach it to the strap "on the tree", so that it doesn't move at all. there's no need to have it attached away from the tree, at all.
it makes it higher off the hammock: not so, this seems to be a common misunderstanding. how high you attach the ridgeline and where the tarp will be are two separate topics. in short: hang it high and pull it as low as you want from there, is what i recommend. the tarp will be where you decide to settle it, anywhere below the level of the ridgeline. see the thread where i discussed this in some detail the levitating tarp.
if any questions about the setup, i am glad to answer them/help. tree straps are a good idea (TM), use 'em
that's intriguing: why do you think there would be extra stress when attaching to the straps, but not when going directly around the tree? (according to my experiments and calculations so far, the opposite is true, so i might be missing something interesting that you came across)
Last edited by nanok; 09-12-2021 at 04:21.
I sort of understand this and sort of don’t. I guess you’re suggesting extra stress of my body weight in the hammock moving the tree straps? Does that actually happen? How much do they really move? Doesn’t seem like much when I tug. But I would hate to shred my tarp!
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