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  1. #1
    New Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2015
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    DC
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    WBBB XLC 1.7SL
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    WB Edge/wasps
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    42

    Sagging hammock, is it the body or the suspension?

    I haven't been hanging much the last few years but when I do, it seems that I cannot get my hang right. My suspension is at the proper angle and typically the trees are 14-16 feet apart. The hammock will be at a reasonable height off the ground until I sit in it, and then I get VERY close to the ground. I am not a tall person only being 5'8" but I get the straps as high on the trees as I can, even standing on a log to get them higher and this doesn't help. The trees don't have any flex as they are thick enough that I can barely get my arms around them in some cases. My weight is a little under 200lbs. I don't recall having this problem when I used webbing, toggles, and whoopie slings but I was also ~30lbs lighter back then.

    Hammock
    Warbonnet XLC 1.7 single layer with amsteel

    Suspension
    Amsteel continuous loops
    Dutch cinch bugs
    Dutch dyneema/polypro tree straps
    Dutch titanium clips

    Could the hammock or suspension be stretching too much hence me sinking to the ground? It is the only thing I can figure. The last trip I was on, the trees were a bit further apart than usual, maybe 20 feet, and my under quilt was touching the ground. The sagging makes it particularly difficult to get my feet higher than my head so I usually end up sliding towards the foot end while sleeping, which is also annoying.

  2. #2
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2015
    Location
    Salt Lake City, UT
    Hammock
    12' Superior Hammock
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    Kammok Kuhli
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    Superior / UGQ
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    200
    I imagine with trees 20ft apart it could be pretty difficult to get your tree straps high enough to get your hammock as high off the ground as you want. I’m sure other more seasoned and expert hangers will chime in, but I can’t imagine any of those pieces of gear are stretching— seems to me like it was nylon tree straps that had an issue with stretching.

    Did you try trees that were closer together so that your suspension could be shortened? What length is your XLC? 10’? 11’?

  3. #3
    New Member
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    Nov 2015
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    Quote Originally Posted by sloanie View Post
    I imagine with trees 20ft apart it could be pretty difficult to get your tree straps high enough to get your hammock as high off the ground as you want. I’m sure other more seasoned and expert hangers will chime in, but I can’t imagine any of those pieces of gear are stretching— seems to me like it was nylon tree straps that had an issue with stretching.

    Did you try trees that were closer together so that your suspension could be shortened? What length is your XLC? 10’? 11’?
    Yeah the 20 footer was a bit ambitious, but the trees that are a shorter distance are more typical. Even with trees around 16 feet, the sag seems to be pretty extreme.

    My XLC is 11 feet

  4. #4

    Join Date
    Jul 2021
    Location
    Oregon, USA
    Hammock
    WBBB XLC UL DL
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    WB Thunderfly
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    I am assuming it goes back up when you get out. Lots of things can make you end up closer to the ground the first time you load the hammock. For me,most common is the position of the tree strap shifts. Though this should shift low and stay low. I’ve also had my knots slip, though this generally results on me on said ground.

    how tight is your ridgeline?

  5. #5
    all secure in sector 7 Shug's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Minnesota
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    I have many so....
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    Blackcrow DIY Tarp
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    My first thought is to ensure that your Cinch Bugs are threaded correctly. If not then they could be slipping.
    Shug
    Whooooo Buddy)))) All Secure in Sector Seven

  6. #6
    New Member
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    Nov 2015
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sean McC View Post
    I am assuming it goes back up when you get out. Lots of things can make you end up closer to the ground the first time you load the hammock. For me,most common is the position of the tree strap shifts. Though this should shift low and stay low. I’ve also had my knots slip, though this generally results on me on said ground.

    how tight is your ridgeline?
    It does come back up after the initial sag. When I had my 20ish foot hang, I left the ridgeline overly tight to try and mitigate some of the sagging. Typically, it is within spec per the Warbonnet vids.


    Quote Originally Posted by Shug View Post
    My first thought is to ensure that your Cinch Bugs are threaded correctly. If not then they could be slipping.
    Shug
    I thought this could be a problem as well. I double checked and the cinch bugs are both threaded correctly.

  7. #7
    Senior Member gargoyle's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Muskegon MI
    Hammock
    G-Bird II/Bridge
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    Ogee tarp
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    DIY TQ DIY Down UQ
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    whoopies
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    Tape measure.
    A guesstimate at tree distance and strap height can be deceiving. Download the hang calculator to your phone for appropriate albeit approximate distance vs. strap height. This calculator is usually spot on for most situations but not all personal “comfort”.

    Double check your ridgeline for any slippage or tangles. Again measure vendors given RL length to what you actually have. Sag and settling can happen when revisiting a piece of gear. I once had a tangled RL that wasn’t really obvious. It happens. Fabrics can loose their sweet spots during packing and storage, IMO. Especially after long term storage. possibly in an attic or otherwise temperature varying environment.
    As a youth what seems comfortable can be awkward as years pass. Adding a few pounds and less limber joints can add to illusion of what you remember.

    I’ve used a marker or painters tape as a reference to see if things are slipping. Try to figure if your whoopies or straps are not set/milked properly? Again, after a long time storage, the way you remember items may not be true to form. I’ll back up all buckles with a slippery half hitch.
    Last edited by gargoyle; 05-01-2023 at 09:13.
    Ambulo tua ambulo.

  8. #8
    cougarmeat's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Bend, OR
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    3,758
    District Outdoors, Though you show a WB XLC in your profile on the left, I won't assume that's the hammock you are using. But you did say your hammock has a ridgeline. If so, then the "sag" is set by that ridgeline. And if that is true, then there is no change in the hammock sag "itself" - it sounds like the suspension is slipping or stretching after you set it up. Your profile lists Whoopies. If that's so, then they won't stretch but if you don't bury them correctly they could slip.

    The deal is, as they say, you have lots of moving parts in your setup. If you have something like a daisy chain, or can just tie a loop to clip into - just for testing - then you can start eliminating the parts that move. In the process, you'll probably discover the part that slips.

    Again, if the hammock has a structural ridgeline, and the ridgeline is snug, your hammock sag is set. So you though say your sag is changing - but it sorta is and sorta isn't. It's more just a result of the suspension changing.
    In order to see what few have seen, you must go where few have gone. And DO what few have done.

  9. #9

    Join Date
    Jul 2021
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    Oregon, USA
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    So the sag comes back up. So it is something elastic in the system (hardware or knots slipping would not rebound),.

    ALL of the suspension is the webbing from Dutch? When I started off I occasionally patched in a section or two of paracord. And this definitely has an elastic effect.

    When you have a chance, you might take a pic of the setup with and without you in it. Though as Cougarmeat said, you might pick up a daisy chain and start separating pieces.

  10. #10
    Phantom Grappler's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
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    Denton NC
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    WildernessLogics 12x6
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    HG cuben 13ridge12
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    S and D
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    4,925
    My hammock will settle downwards after initial setup. That next first morning, I notice it is lower than before.
    I almost always wrap strap twice around tree in round turn. The strap has minimal or no stretch, but those two wraps around tree may not be absolutely tight at first, until I’ve got in hammock.
    The hammock might have some, but minimal stretch .
    Additionally, with smaller trees, my weight might make them lean inwards towards hammock a bit.

    I then adjust hammock suspension a bit tighter to raise bottom of hammock to desired height

    And if you just go by appearances, the under quilt might have had time to get full loft. Then bottom of under quilt would be closer to ground.

    I know my hammock is closer to ground that first morning, from feeling it is closer to ground, with my feet

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