Setting up problems

**SkyPainter** · 05-26-2010, 15:15

Originally Posted by Dutch

What part came undone? Was it a knot issue or did the hugger slip. I don't think you are really a man until you drop about a foot to the ground. I think you have to get up on that horse again as the HH suspension is very solid.

LOL! I drop about 13,500 ft to the ground!

**gargoyle** · 05-26-2010, 15:59

Picture's please. I am not following you. Everything is still connected?
Operator error in the knots possibly.?

**Dutch** · 05-26-2010, 16:17

Originally Posted by SkyPainter

LOL! I drop about 13,500 ft to the ground!

You win!!!

**Barefoot Child** · 05-26-2010, 16:28

Sooooo,
let me get this straight....all I have to do is drop 13,500' to the ground and I become a better man than Dutch? I'll have to get back to you.

Note to self....call local aerodrome and schedule a payload drop from at least 13,500', and make sure to set up some time off from the job.

Sorry to hear about the malfunction and resulting hurt bum dude, I hope you are ok.

**Knotty** · 05-26-2010, 16:40

Originally Posted by Graywolf

Waiting from CS.. I may take it back and just exchange for another. REI is pretty good at that.. If it is a defect, then Im sure the other could be OK.. I hear great things about the HH so I dont want to write it off just yet..

Odd. In the unlikely case that the failure occurred where the line attaches to the hammock, the two would have separated...it wouldn't be attached to the hammock anymore.

Maybe your lashing to the tree huggers slipped but didn't pull all the way out because once you hit the ground tension on the line went away? Even this is unlikely since the Hennessy lashing is very secure. It's a mystery.

**Ramblinrev** · 05-26-2010, 16:46

Originally Posted by Knotty

Maybe your lashing to the tree huggers slipped but didn't pull all the way out because once you hit the ground tension on the line went away? Even this is unlikely since the Hennessy lashing is very secure. It's a mystery.

If I lashed the lines wrong while setting it up (looping around the wrong side of the line) the lash slips quite easily. That's why I suggested above that the lash be checked carefully to make sure it is done explicitly correctly. In addition if the lashing is not done tightly enough the whole lash will tighten up under load but I would not think that alone would cause such a drastic drop.

**Graywolf** · 05-26-2010, 20:44

Originally Posted by Ramblinrev

As an HH user myself I may or may not have some insight here. How high were the tree straps from the ground and how far apart were the trees? If you strung the hammock too tightly there is a fairly sizable drop when you load the hammock. I have ended up on the ground more than once until I got the method of hanging down.

The HH lashing needs to be done correctly or the ropes can slip. You may want to make sure you followed the pattern precisely. It can be rather confusing. That's one reason a lot of folks change the suspension system on their HH models to some other type. I personally use the webbing/ring buckle style myself but there are others that some folks like better.

As far as hanging the hammock... chose a tree spacing 13-16 feet or so. Put the tree huggers up fairly high on the tree. Mine a usually close to head height. Do NOT pull the hammock too tightly. I don't care what the Hennessy instructions say. You want the ridgeline just barely taut. If there is a sag in the suspension so much the better. You are ideally looking for an angle of 30* or so from the horizontal. Make sure the tree huggers are well tensioned to the trees and the lashing is properly done. My entrance is often high enough tht I have to pull down fairly hard to get my butt in. Keep trying because there is a learning curve involved. It took me a while to get the method down. I am reasonable consistent now.

The trees were about 16 feet apart, maybe a little more. The lashing was good, it even held taught.. As far as I can see, it came from where the line connects to the hammock..

Mustardman, sorr y that you cant see this happening, but it did.. Not everything you buy is defect proof. It happened and thats that. I dont buy something to prove it dosnt work, I was hoping to sleep in it last night as it was nice out with a nice breeze..I missed out..

For the other poster, yes, when I took it back to REI they gladly refunded my money, but I wanted to know what happened, so we looked at it. The line at the foot end did slip from the casing.. As far as they could tell, the wrapping wasnt taught enough and was wrapped in a lose knot. REI is sending it back as a defected item..

I dont know how much detail anyone wants on describing my fall. I got in, I heard a slip form the foot end of the hammock then it fell, period!! How much more description can there be?? I must be missing something, unless you want a graphic explanation...Its done, I did it, I was hoping to save some money, but Oh well.. maybe next time..Not everything is infailable..Sorry..I wont post defects anymore..

**Mustardman** · 05-26-2010, 20:52

Originally Posted by Graywolf

I dont know how much detail anyone wants on describing my fall. I got in, I heard a slip form the foot end of the hammock then it fell, period!! How much more description can there be?? I must be missing something, unless you want a graphic explanation...Its done, I did it, I was hoping to save some money, but Oh well.. maybe next time..Not everything is infailable..Sorry..I wont post defects anymore..

No need to be defensive. You still haven't answered basic questions about what actually happened - the main one being whether the rope DISCONNECTED from the hammock body. That one piece of information is crucial. Saying "I heard a slip and I fell" is NOT a complete description, without describing what actually happened to cause that fall. If the rope actually unhooked from the end of the hammock, that tells us something.

A failure like that is exceedingly rare, and your description has been vague enough that people have been guessing at all the different potential ways one can set a hammock up incorrectly. They were attempts to help, not insult you, and your reaction was unnecessary.

**Graywolf** · 05-26-2010, 20:53

Originally Posted by Knotty

Odd. In the unlikely case that the failure occurred where the line attaches to the hammock, the two would have separated...it wouldn't be attached to the hammock anymore.

Maybe your lashing to the tree huggers slipped but didn't pull all the way out because once you hit the ground tension on the line went away? Even this is unlikely since the Hennessy lashing is very secure. It's a mystery.

I thought that too. That is the very same vid I was using.. It was taught. I cant really put it any other way. It happened, and I was trying to figure out why..Looks like I not only got shot down by a hammock, but by hammockers not wanting to help me about what went wrong.. Ill never post defects or problems here again as there is no help here..

**Mustardman** · 05-26-2010, 20:57

Originally Posted by Graywolf

Ill never post defects or problems here again as there is no help here..

That is a flat out absurd statement - multiple people offered multiple ideas, all with very few details from you, and rather than provide the details (very specific details being asked for in plain language), you lashed out at one of the most helpful and welcoming communities on the internet.