Abandon Tree Straps?

[Lepmeister]

I just use tree straps because everyone else did...

[DavyRay]

I do not plan to hang on 7/64" Amsteel that has been wrapped around trees. Mine only touches webbing, fabric, and smooth surfaces.

I ain't gonna talk about Tinny.

Way back in the day, Tom at HH started shipping straps because he said some of his customers complained that the ropes were damaging the bark on trees.

[myles to go]

Outside of the possible tree damage with not using straps I would think the life span of whoppies would be greatly reduced by being wrapped around a tree and the sap could mess with it's function over time. What about the loss of adjustability when you have the whole loop around the tree and hooked back on it's self? Seems to me you need both pieces to get the most from your whoppies. I just can't see not using straps

[Boothill]

here in south dakota you could say that the use of hammocks is somewhat limited, other than myself and the gf, i have never seen another one in my 43 years of camping

so when i started, i wanted to make sure it was alright, so i sent a email to the person in charge of recreation with the national forest service in south dakota inquiring about it

and his reply was as long as i use a suspension or straps that don't do any damage to the trees it was perfectly ok

so it seems to me.....just from a public relations standpoint.....ignorant not to use them and raise issues with the people in charge of such things

boot

[G.L.P.]

My issue isn't with his experimentation. It's really his disrespectful attitude. He can do what he wants and he will. But that lemming comment amongst other things... I dont know. Seems rude to me.

But, again, this is coming from a pompous monkey... because sleeping in a recreational vehicle isn't camping

I agree and it's the reason i stopped watching his videos over a year ago
i have 2 problems with the videos the first i posted 3 pages back it's just bad info for new hangers ... it takes one person to go into a state park and damage a tree and then hammocks get a bad rep. and no more hanging in parks
the other is what you just said ..Attitude...and what he calls Dogma
i'm all for someone finding there own way if thats your thing go for it ...
but don't call years of work,trial and error or whatever you want to call it Dogma ...
he said about cuben UQ's and it's a waste to get a UQ now cause you should wait for a Cuben model... not everyone is going to want or need a Cuben UQ
and he said about waiting till UQ's are made with 900 fill down... many UQ makers have been using 900 fill for a while now and some are using cuben as well... again he should do his homework
sometimes i think he does what he does to get a reaction from people
maybe thats the case i dunno....

[slowhike]

I often get called away when I'm reading on HF & sometimes I miss stuff.
As I continued to read what was being said in this thread, I came to realize that I must have missed part of tinny's comments, so I went back & watched videos 2 & 3.
I'm going to wait a while before I say anymore

[lilricky]

... it takes one person to go into a state park and damage a tree and then hammocks get a bad rep. and no more hanging in parks

Case in point, Florida. Technically, we cannot hang our hammocks in Florida State parks because of the damage people have caused with ropes. Not just with hammocks, but hanging and suspending all sorts of items like engine blocks, campers, wild game, you name it. But because of tree straps and organized hangs, we've been slowly educating the Florida Forestry Division that tree straps don't hurt trees. Perhaps one day we can get an exemption in state law for hammocks with straps, but until then we need to be on our best behavior when it comes to our trees. As for a certain stove maker, I understand his strive for making things better, heck I applaud it. But to call us lemmings, that we don't innovate, call our innovations dogma and assuming his way is the only way is not only wrong, its hurtful and rude. I think people like Dutch, Stormcrow, Shug, Macentyre, and the hundreds of others on the forum adding to our collective knowledge and experience is a great thing and a great resource for me personally.

[nothermark]

Now I'm starting to wonder about going to narrow webbing for tarp suspension. Something like this might be interesting:

http://www.strapworks.com/product_p/pewpat38.htm

and it comes in Camo! ;-)

Oh, forgot, going to need Dutch buckles in that size.

[G.L.P.]

I often get called away when I'm reading on HF & sometimes I miss stuff.
As I continued to read what was being said in this thread, I came to realize that I must have missed part of tinny's comments, so I went back & watched videos 2 & 3.
I'm going to wait a while before I say anymore

Let it out brother

[G.L.P.]

Case in point, Florida. Technically, we cannot hang our hammocks in Florida State parks because of the damage people have caused with ropes. Not just with hammocks, but hanging and suspending all sorts of items like engine blocks, campers, wild game, you name it. But because of tree straps and organized hangs, we've been slowly educating the Florida Forestry Division that tree straps don't hurt trees. Perhaps one day we can get an exemption in state law for hammocks with straps, but until then we need to be on our best behavior when it comes to our trees. As for a certain stove maker, I understand his strive for making things better, heck I applaud it. But to call us lemmings, that we don't innovate, call our innovations dogma and assuming his way is the only way is not only wrong, its hurtful and rude. I think people like Dutch, Stormcrow, Shug, Macentyre, and the hundreds of others on the forum adding to our collective knowledge and experience is a great thing and a great resource for me personally.

and to me it's a shame that you are paying for something that others have done and that is my big fear with some of what he is saying...
proper education is key .....
When i started hanging in spring 07 i didn't know about HF's.... i didn't find HF's till winter of 08 and all i did was lurk i wasn't big on Forums so it took me a bit to come out and start posting but i'm glad i did ... i learned so much in the first 4 months of posting here then i did the first 2 years i was hanging without HF's and it's a shame that we have all this great information and to see bad information being pasted on to people that might not know about HF's or other great sites that can educate them on the proper use of a hammock
don't get me wrong we are not the end all of hammocks but we have been "around the bush" a few times as they say