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  1. #1
    Senior Member ibgary's Avatar
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    Single tree set up

    VaraVild, gets credit for starting me down this path of single tree hanging. I saw his YouTube video a few yrs ago. From that I went to the back yard with my Kelty tarp pole. Fast forward a few yrs.
    After using that pole on most of my setups I went from Dynema to Zing-it. Why, to reduce bulk. With the single pole replacing the 2nd tree, the anchors are critical. If one comes out of the ground, that's where I land. Having 2 or 3 lines of Dynema (20'), the bulk is more than halved by switching to Zing-it.
    Traveling and camping from a motorcycle space is critical, and campsite selection had (past tense) to be based on tree availability. Being able to use the Kelty pole changed campsite selection `tree`mendously.
    This summer I saw the Yobo Freedom Stand at the Loveland Overland Expo. I was ready to buy it until I saw the price. When Santa failed to deliver I bought it using a discount code from Little House of Hammocks, thanks.
    The size is about the same as the Kelty, but Yobo seems a stronger and more stable platform. The first thing I changed was the tieout lines. It came with nylon line about 1/4" diameter, im sure it works fine, but to reduce bulk I switched the nylon for Zing-it. I also put a continuous loop threw the hub with Dutch flies to tie off with.
    Does the small Dutch hook support body weight? I'll go check.
    No. When I gently sat down it was fine. Got in and out 3 or 4 times. It snapped under the bounce test.



    Sent from my couch
    Last edited by ibgary; 01-12-2022 at 12:02.

  2. #2
    Senior Member tlfillingim's Avatar
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    I'm always interested in what people are doing or trying out for one-tree hangs. Thanks for sharing.

  3. #3
    Senior Member
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    Here's another option. Not mine. Two Kelty poles for one tree or no trees.

    Varavild's method works fine with one pole you find and cut in the woods, or a 2 x 4 you have handy in your vehicle.

    On my own property I use a single 6 1/2 foot EMT conduit pole drilled at 2 inch intervals on the upper half, for a 1/4" hitch pin to fit through at different heights. Two zing-it lines are tied to a descender ring that slides down the pole from the top and rests on the pin protruding equally on both sides of the pole. The zing-it lines at the ground each slip onto a 1 foot steel landscape rod, making a 60-60-60 degree triangle on the ground.

    kelty tarp poles beach hammock.jpg

  4. #4
    cougarmeat's Avatar
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    Seems to me, it’s not so much the poles as it is the anchor. How many buried bodies did you have to tie the anchor line to

    I’ve tried those suspensions (Handy Hammock style) and, unlike the Tensa4 or TurtleDog stands, there’s a tremendous pull on those ground anchors. Those solutions work great where the ground supports it. But, for example, when you are hiking on a mountain above tree line, there is often more rocky ground than soil.

    It’s good to know these one or two pole solutions are possible. But that “solid anchor” is real important.
    In order to see what few have seen, you must go where few have gone. And DO what few have done.

  5. #5
    Senior Member
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    Because that beach photo isn't mine, I don't know what that person did for anchors. Probably typical buried snow/sand pieces. And would need a shovel or scoop to dig deeply enough so they wouldn't pull out.

    Yes, a truly solid anchor(s) is key, and the big weak spot. Both inserting all the way in..and pulling out later. Easy to forget that later part.

    For rocky areas my single pole method is not user-friendly in the least. Said plainly, it's impossible. Unless you have fallen heavy trees, such as in Varavild's youtube video, or big unmovable rocks you can tie out to. Or an actual tree at a distance. They don't need to be close by if you have enough cordage that doesn't stretch. In my woods or almost anywhere here where I live and go in northern hardwood forests, there is soil, or as we country folks say, dirt. So 1 foot 3/8" stakes hold except for rare spots where peat-like duff goes down deeply, such as found in some older-forest places in the Dacks. But usually, even there, a 12-15 inch stake will not pull out if put in at an angle.

    So yes, in my experience, the stakes are *THE* weak spot for any pole setup with stakes. I use only 2 stakes per pole, one for each of the two guylines per pole. They no longer sell my smooth steel tree stakes on Amazon but if I had to I would try either of these two below. For Florida or the southwest, maybe the double ones would be better. I have no idea if that's necessary. But the doubles also double your likelihood of hitting a sizeable rock or root when pounding in. (I'm not endorsing these, since I haven't tried them.)

    https://www.amazon.com/Pinnacle-Merc.../dp/B07N13GV64

    https://www.amazon.com/Pinnacle-Merc.../dp/B082WLKLLG

    I also have many sizes of steel tree anchors up to 30 inches that aren't basic rods but rods with an augur "disc" or "big screw threads" as it were, on the side. These have to be screwed/rotated into the ground with a lever bar..even the smaller ones. They're wonderful..in theory. In so many ground spots you hit a big stone or large root that it becomes impossible to screw them in deeply unless they're small ones. Or maybe if you live in Florida. But in my experience, unless the rods are thick diameter, they'll still bend. Phooey. I gave up on them. I have a nice collection of different sizes I'll sell at firesale price.

    Whatever you use for a ground stake, a big weak spot is when you are ready to leave. They shouldn't grip so hard that you'd need a jack to pull them out. I've had that happen myself, with my 1/2 inch smooth galvanized conduit garden bean pyramids left in the ground for 3 years only a foot deep. In soil I shovel and till every two or three years. They rusted enough and gripped the soil such that I had to use a pump jack and icicle hitch to pull them out. And even then they resisted. I wouldn't have believed that possible. I now pull them out by hand in autumn.

    Not that extreme, but same thing, I've had smooth steel stakes pounded 12-15 inches into soil that were difficult to pull out by hand after two days. Usually because they rubbed a stone or big root. I use a 3 pound hand maul to pound them in. Most rocks or roots won't stop them going in, and even then, with no bending. But even after a day or two I cannot pull them out by hand. The easy way to make them slide out is to tap them side to side in different directions, with the hammer a few times, and then a child could yank them out. Same with smaller typical tent stakes.

    Hope this helps.

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