Tensa Solo Anchoring

[outdoor]

With some support and suggestions from Cheryl from Tensa, I've experimented with some anchorimg techniques to support my 250lbs using tensa solo in very wet soil.

I was setting up my hammock in my yard to refresh myself on the tensa solo setup.

I knew the soil was very wet and soft so i first tried using the 40cm boomstake with a piece of amsteel running back to and orange screw anchor. Thinking it would take more to pull the boomstake out. The boomstake just pulled right out. So then i reversed it and tried the orange screw with the boomstake anchored back a bit. Orange screw just popped out.

So after communicating back and forth w8th Cheryl fromTensa she suggested i try a self equalizing anchor technique. Now if you google you will find it referrd to a lot in climbing and that it is not trult self equalizing but it will distribute weight among anchors. So with that in mind i put thr orange screw in and then sougly 2 ft apart put the boomstake in. Ran a line of amsteel between them and then connected my tensa solo line the the line connecting the anchors. Thus it will distribute the weight somewhat equally between both anchors. Now on top of the anchor situation i was having my tensa lines were slipping in the bury. So again with Cheryl tup input a half hitch in to prevent the line slidding.

Using both of these methods i was able to lie in the hammock and nothing was pulled out. Now i only tried 15 min so dont know if it would hold a whole night but it was performing better t[AIMG]20220409_184024.jpg20220409_114121.jpg20220409_184030.jpg[/AIMG]han my previous attempts.

Ill include a couple of photo's

[cougarmeat]

outdoor, with a wet season still in front of us, that’s very useful information. Thank you. In the first photo, it appears that you split the pull between the screw and the boomstake. You mentioned the two were about 2 ft apart but you didn’t mention the length of the line to the apex; i.e. the length of the other two sides of the triangle. Or … what was your target angle between the screw and the boomstake?

I’ll have to pull out my “Freedom of the Hills” and review those equalizing configurations.

[outdoor]

outdoor, with a wet season still in front of us, that’s very useful information. Thank you. In the first photo, it appears that you split the pull between the screw and the boomstake. You mentioned the two were about 2 ft apart but you didn’t mention the length of the line to the apex; i.e. the length of the other two sides of the triangle. Or … what was your target angle between the screw and the boomstake?

I’ll have to pull out my “Freedom of the Hills” and review those equalizing configurations.

Sorry i did not get that scientific.

[Biker Bob]

Did you find the boomstake or orange screw to hold better alone? Using two of the better anchors might be better than using one of each. Orange screws usually pull out in the middle of the night with me.

[outdoor]

Did you find the boomstake or orange screw to hold better alone? Using two of the better anchors might be better than using one of each. Orange screws usually pull out in the middle of the night with me.

The boomstakes seem more solid. Unfortunately i dont jave enough or room for more

[BillyBob58]

Thank you, that might be an advantageous way to go. I will have to try it.

I have 2 questions:
Q1: in the picture, #4024, of the triangle of cordage going to each stake lt and rt, it appears to me as though your cordage to the boom stake is connected(only) at the stake where it enters the ground. Is that right? But I thought the whole idea of the boom is that the cordage will be also looped around the boom, somewhere near the end of the boom. So that when the cordage lifts up on the end of the boom nearest the stand and hammock, it will act like a lever and actually push DOWN on the other end of the boom and the stake where it enters the ground. Do I have that right?

I hope so, because that is how I have been doing it. And so far it has held me, although sometimes when the soil seems very questionable I have backed it up with an orange stake. But, I can't tell afterwards that any significant pull has been applied to the back up stake.

Q2: I have asked this question a couple of times with no answer, though maybe I missed it. It seems to me there are probably some engineer folks here who would know the answer, and/or the designers, but I have not seen an answer. So, maybe no one knows? Seems like a good spot to try again. Question: if using a homemade boom that is considerably longer than the one that came with my commercial Tensa stand, is a stronger anchor more likely by wrapping the cordage around the boom closer to the stake(say, about the same distance as the one that comes with the store bought Tensa stand)? Or will it work better with the cordage wrapped around a home made boom further from the stake(closer to the hammock), say at a distance of 1 or 2 feet? Is there an advantage to one way over another? Or not?

It seems to me like the leverage would be greater with a longer boom, and that might be an advantage. Or at least different, and if not an advantage, then maybe a disadvantage. If indeed leverage is even a part of this whole boom stake thing? Is it?

Before I got my store bought Tensa ( excellent product! ), which came with 1 orange screw and 1 boom stake, I had been using a home made Tensa and boom stake. My DIY boom stake consisting of a 9" long tent stake from WM, run thru holes in scrap storage stand legs which are a couple of feet long and a couple of inches wide. I would usually run the stake thru a hole in one end, connect the cordage to that stake, and then wrap it around a biner that goes thru the holes in the DIY boom leg a foot or more closer to the stand than the ground stake.

I must admit, despite my paranoia, it has never appeared to even come close to pulling out. But I have always wondered: should I have that biner closer to the ground stake, or maybe even as far away from the ground stake as the length of the 2 foot long boom allows? Thoughts, anyone? TIA!

[BillyBob58]

Re: Q1 in my previous post, go to page 7, where it looks to me like the cordage is connected to the stake where it goes into the ground AND the is wrapped around the boom stake closer to the hammock:
https://www.tensaoutdoor.com/wp-cont...v=7516fd43adaa

[outdoor]

Thank you, that might be an advantageous way to go. I will have to try it.

I have 2 questions:
Q1: in the picture, #4024, of the triangle of cordage going to each stake lt and rt, it appears to me as though your cordage to the boom stake is connected(only) at the stake where it enters the ground. Is that right? But I thought the whole idea of the boom is that the cordage will be also looped around the boom, somewhere near the end of the boom. So that when the cordage lifts up on the end of the boom nearest the stand and hammock, it will act like a lever and actually push DOWN on the other end of the boom and the stake where it enters the ground. Do I have that right?

I hope so, because that is how I have been doing it. And so far it has held me, although sometimes when the soil seems very questionable I have backed it up with an orange stake. But, I can't tell afterwards that any significant pull has been applied to the back up stake.

Q2: I have asked this question a couple of times with no answer, though maybe I missed it. It seems to me there are probably some engineer folks here who would know the answer, and/or the designers, but I have not seen an answer. So, maybe no one knows? Seems like a good spot to try again. Question: if using a homemade boom that is considerably longer than the one that came with my commercial Tensa stand, is a stronger anchor more likely by wrapping the cordage around the boom closer to the stake(say, about the same distance as the one that comes with the store bought Tensa stand)? Or will it work better with the cordage wrapped around a home made boom further from the stake(closer to the hammock), say at a distance of 1 or 2 feet? Is there an advantage to one way over another? Or not?

It seems to me like the leverage would be greater with a longer boom, and that might be an advantage. Or at least different, and if not an advantage, then maybe a disadvantage. If indeed leverage is even a part of this whole boom stake thing? Is it?

Before I got my store bought Tensa ( excellent product! ), which came with 1 orange screw and 1 boom stake, I had been using a home made Tensa and boom stake. My DIY boom stake consisting of a 9" long tent stake from WM, run thru holes in scrap storage stand legs which are a couple of feet long and a couple of inches wide. I would usually run the stake thru a hole in one end, connect the cordage to that stake, and then wrap it around a biner that goes thru the holes in the DIY boom leg a foot or more closer to the stand than the ground stake.

I must admit, despite my paranoia, it has never appeared to even come close to pulling out. But I have always wondered: should I have that biner closer to the ground stake, or maybe even as far away from the ground stake as the length of the 2 foot long boom allows? Thoughts, anyone? TIA!

No it is wrapped around the end.

[cougarmeat]

BillyBob58, for peace of mind, note that outdoor is dealing with a TensaSolo and your concern seems to be a Tensa4 which puts a LOT LESS pull on the stake/s.

In imagining your extended boomstake idea, it seems to me (sorry, not an engineer either) that there would be more leverage in the system. IF the boom were indestructible, that would be fine. But you are sort of balancing out forces. IF the boom is light aluminum, even with the structural integrity of a tube, I’d stay within commercial product dimensions. I’ve guessing - that (or maybe not) someone did their homework and deterimined a boom length that would do the job, with minimum weight and material. Like sure, longer might give a stronger hold. But it would also cost/weigh/size more. Until Dutch comes out with a portable titanium auger and quick setup cement, someone can always come up with a scenario where a proposed anchor solution won’t work.

[BillyBob58]

BillyBob58, for peace of mind, note that outdoor is dealing with a TensaSolo and your concern seems to be a Tensa4 which puts a LOT LESS pull on the stake/s.

In imagining your extended boomstake idea, it seems to me (sorry, not an engineer either) that there would be more leverage in the system. IF the boom were indestructible, that would be fine. But you are sort of balancing out forces. IF the boom is light aluminum, even with the structural integrity of a tube, I’d stay within commercial product dimensions. I’ve guessing - that (or maybe not) someone did their homework and deterimined a boom length that would do the job, with minimum weight and material. Like sure, longer might give a stronger hold. But it would also cost/weigh/size more. Until Dutch comes out with a portable titanium auger and quick setup cement, someone can always come up with a scenario where a proposed anchor solution won’t work.

Thanks for the answer, Cougarmeat! Even if you, like myself, are not an engineer. But you seem to be thinking along the same lines as me: a longer boom would provide more leverage, which should be driving the other end into the ground with greater force. Although, it has also occurred to me that may not be 100% relevant if the boom and the stake are not welded together. I have not been able to figure out what all is happening- from a leverage standpoint- when the stake and the boom are 2 separate pieces.

But it does seem to me that the general idea of the boom is that rather than 100% of the force being applied in pulling the stake towards the hammock some or all of the force pulls on/lifts 1 end of the boom which should lever the other end into the ground. Hopefully tending to force the stake into the ground rather than only pulling the stake either towards the hammock, up out of the ground, or both. And it certainly seems to work. And if it is working by leverage, then a longer boom would equal more leverage trying to force things into the ground. Stated here by a non engineer(my years of anesthesia education and clinical experience are of little use on questions such as this).

You are 100% on about size and weight considerations for the commercial version. But of course, I am only asking re: my DIY back yard model, where I am using almost indestructible, ~ 2 foot long non tubular, ( pre bent at 45º angles actually) 2" wide hunks of steel(?) storage stand leg scrap. And I can choose to connect either 4 to 6" from the stake or any where along the 2 foot length. I tend to choose longer. Sometimes it makes me nervous how far 1 end lifts up in the air. But I must admit: the stake apparently has never moved even a fraction of an inch, so far.

I have also had good luck with both the much shorter boom stake as well as the orange stake that I was sent with my stand. But, more might be required with the Tensa Solo.