Hammock Mod's

[markie*mark0]

Im going to swap out the supplied rope with my DD hammock as i find it has to much stretch in it.

im was thinking of using webbing from here http://handystraps.co.uk/Webbing-and-buckles/

Anyone know which size will be suitable ?



thanks

[Ch@rlie]

I dont know if you have considered any other options? What I tried may be suitable for your conversion?
1st method I tried out when making my gathered end hammock was, purchase some ratchet straps (1or 2 tonne jobbies) from the local discount shop's that sell eveything.
then cut the bar retaining the ratchet to the strap, that released and kept the stiched loop intact, those straps worked a treat they are approx 1" or 25mm, didnt notice any stretch. but then
I've not done an over nighter yet.
Next method tried and I prefer, cut some of the the webbing from the above straps, (5 ft) for use as tree huggers and purchased 6 meters of Marlow D12 from http://sailboats.co.uk/Catalogue~Mar...057~c4586.html and made some whoopie slings. (plenty of tutorials on youtube to follow, I must say i have not needed longer than the whoopie slings I've made, but when at home they looked way too short when I first made em.
But if need be I could use longer tree huggers. (I use 15mm dowel as the marlin spike toggle).

[Teepee]

20 or 25mm will be good. Make sure you get polyester webbing-nylon will have your hammock on the ground as it stretches like bungee cord. Also, make sure the webbing is at least 500kg and much stronger if you hang your hammock tight.

If you want to completely eliminate stretch, you need vectran or dyneema rope attached to polyester webbing tree straps. The polyester webbing will still stretch a bit, but is much better than nylon and polypropylene webbing.

If you buy dyneema or vectran hollow braid, you can make whoopie slings. If you intend to knot it, get dyneema core with a polyester cover. Dyneema and vectran have less stretch than steel cable.

As charlie says, Marlow d12 is about the cheapest in the UK, but shipping amsteel blue from redden marine in the states is the cheapest option. Hammock forums memebers get 10% off redden marine orders

[DaveBromley]

I got mine from the same place and opted for 50mm as i'm a big lad and was worried about it snapping in the night, I'm now contemplating downgrading to 25mm as the 50mm is a little bulky but it works. You will find that it stretches a little but once stretched doesnt move an inch

Dave

[Shewie]

Go Outdoors sell 18mm tubular polyester webbing which works really well, I used to recommend Walk High but they've lost the plot lately.

Have you tried getting rid of the stretch in your DD stuff yet ? If you give it a good soak and then put lots of weight on it should draw most of it out. I've never owned a DD but I've heard that stuff settles down eventually, giving it a good soak speeds up that process.

[markie*mark0]

I dont know if you have considered any other options? What I tried may be suitable for your conversion?
1st method I tried out when making my gathered end hammock was, purchase some ratchet straps (1or 2 tonne jobbies) from the local discount shop's that sell eveything.
then cut the bar retaining the ratchet to the strap, that released and kept the stiched loop intact, those straps worked a treat they are approx 1" or 25mm, didnt notice any stretch. but then
I've not done an over nighter yet.
Next method tried and I prefer, cut some of the the webbing from the above straps, (5 ft) for use as tree huggers and purchased 6 meters of Marlow D12 from http://sailboats.co.uk/Catalogue~Mar...057~c4586.html and made some whoopie slings. (plenty of tutorials on youtube to follow, I must say i have not needed longer than the whoopie slings I've made, but when at home they looked way too short when I first made em.
But if need be I could use longer tree huggers. (I use 15mm dowel as the marlin spike toggle).

I hadn't thought about a whoopie sling, might try one in the future but at the moment i want to try and keep the setup simple as im encountering some setup / sleep problems. Also im not convinced about the "toggles" it just doesn't seem safe, almost like they will slip off... Can this be replaced by a carabiner?

20 or 25mm will be good. Make sure you get polyester webbing-nylon will have your hammock on the ground as it stretches like bungee cord. Also, make sure the webbing is at least 500kg and much stronger if you hang your hammock tight.

If you want to completely eliminate stretch, you need vectran or dyneema rope attached to polyester webbing tree straps. The polyester webbing will still stretch a bit, but is much better than nylon and polypropylene webbing.

If you buy dyneema or vectran hollow braid, you can make whoopie slings. If you intend to knot it, get dyneema core with a polyester cover. Dyneema and vectran have less stretch than steel cable.

As charlie says, Marlow d12 is about the cheapest in the UK, but shipping amsteel blue from redden marine in the states is the cheapest option. Hammock forums memebers get 10% off redden marine orders

Cheers, im going to contact the seller in my link and ask about loading weight.

I got mine from the same place and opted for 50mm as i'm a big lad and was worried about it snapping in the night, I'm now contemplating downgrading to 25mm as the 50mm is a little bulky but it works. You will find that it stretches a little but once stretched doesnt move an inch

Dave

Cheers Dave, as above i'll drop them a line to see what the breaking strengths are.

Go Outdoors sell 18mm tubular polyester webbing which works really well, I used to recommend Walk High but they've lost the plot lately.

Have you tried getting rid of the stretch in your DD stuff yet ? If you give it a good soak and then put lots of weight on it should draw most of it out. I've never owned a DD but I've heard that stuff settles down eventually, giving it a good soak speeds up that process.

Yeah i've had 4 nights using the DD straps etc and on the 4th morning i re-setup the hammock tight as i could and it still streched like no ones business.

[Teepee]

Until you get sorted properly, have you been using the stock webbing doubled? It stretches much less and is dead easy to tie the webbing to a pair of tree straps. I never trusted the webbing single thickness and always used it doubled, but this meant I didn't have enough webbing to get round fat trunks, so I carried tree straps too.

[markie*mark0]

Until you get sorted properly, have you been using the stock webbing doubled? It stretches much less and is dead easy to tie the webbing to a pair of tree straps. I never trusted the webbing single thickness and always used it doubled, but this meant I didn't have enough webbing to get round fat trunks, so I carried tree straps too.

No just single, i've got a small loop either end of the hammock and then carabiners, then i tie the webbing to said tree and make adjustment knots at the carabiner.

I was basically going to replace the webbing with the XXmm straps and use the same setup.

[Ch@rlie]

I hadn't thought about a whoopie sling, might try one in the future but at the moment i want to try and keep the setup simple as im encountering some setup / sleep problems. Also im not convinced about the "toggles" it just doesn't seem safe, almost like they will slip off... Can this be replaced by a carabiner?

I understand your concern regarding the toggle it is also the concern I had, tbh I am still looking both ends to check its not twisted, and ready to dump my butt on the floor. I tend to be taking my lad over the local park each night and setting up the hammocks for a few hours and messing about, I have noticed its the repeated getting in and out that causes a little twisting of the toggle,so it dont sit 90 degrees to the whoopie.
To be fair when they are under tention their is no chance of them slipping out of the whoopie, as I have previously stated I have not yet done a night but I would be confident of them not dumping me.
To answer your question "could you use a karabiner instead of a toggle" Yes, all you need to do is tie the same marlin spike and clip the karabiner in place.

just additional info,
I leardned through fishing, just how much a knot effect's line's rated breaking strength. the correct knot is essential if your weight is suspended from it.
I watched Shugs vid's on youtube, and copied how he did things regards the toggle, that marlin spike hitch is soooo simple and works great.
hope it helps

[Ch@rlie]

An alternative which I've just realised, would be to twist a hair band, ( I also use these instead of snake skins) a few times and slip it onto the whoopie sling, before you put it over the toggle once in place then slide it up ensuring the toggle cant turn out of the whoopie, as it is now closing that long loop which forms your adjustment.

[mountainm]

I will soon be using whoopies on my Dd travel. But I'm worried about friction wear from the dyneema where it runs through the hammock given the smaller surface area (the cheesewire effect). Am I worrying unnecessarily?

[markie*mark0]

I understand your concern regarding the toggle it is also the concern I had, tbh I am still looking both ends to check its not twisted, and ready to dump my butt on the floor. I tend to be taking my lad over the local park each night and setting up the hammocks for a few hours and messing about, I have noticed its the repeated getting in and out that causes a little twisting of the toggle,so it dont sit 90 degrees to the whoopie.
To be fair when they are under tention their is no chance of them slipping out of the whoopie, as I have previously stated I have not yet done a night but I would be confident of them not dumping me.
To answer your question "could you use a karabiner instead of a toggle" Yes, all you need to do is tie the same marlin spike and clip the karabiner in place.

just additional info,
I leardned through fishing, just how much a knot effect's line's rated breaking strength. the correct knot is essential if your weight is suspended from it.
I watched Shugs vid's on youtube, and copied how he did things regards the toggle, that marlin spike hitch is soooo simple and works great.
hope it helps

Yeah i know about knots weakening lines upto 60% iirc, thats why iniatial i wanted to go for the 50mm straps, I think i'll have a go at the straps and then maybe look into making a whoopie sling

I will soon be using whoopies on my Dd travel. But I'm worried about friction wear from the dyneema where it runs through the hammock given the smaller surface area (the cheesewire effect). Am I worrying unnecessarily?

If im on the same page, are you rigging the woppie sling all the way through your hammock?

I have tied a short piece of webbing and formed a loop at the end of the hammock and then carabinered to the length tied to the tree. You could do that to prevent the "cheese string" ?

[mountainm]

If im on the same page, are you rigging the woppie sling all the way through your hammock?

Yes, I've seen other people do it this way and not heard of any problems - I just think that overtime it may cause issues - I'd rather not use any webbing on the hammock if I can get away with it...

[markie*mark0]

Yes, I've seen other people do it this way and not heard of any problems - I just think that overtime it may cause issues - I'd rather not use any webbing on the hammock if I can get away with it...

I didn't even think of a setup like that.... Do you have any vid's pic's on how to mod/adapt for this setup?

[mountainm]

I didn't even think of a setup like that.... Do you have any vid's pic's on how to mod/adapt for this setup?

Resnikov does it this way - he removed his webbing then pulled through two fixed loops of dyneema - I think he then attaches his whoopies to that. So far no sign of wear. But I'd like to hear from someone who subjected it to a serious amount of usage. Will be experimentingmyself when the group buy comes through.

[Ch@rlie]

I dont know about the Amsteel, But the Marlow D12 4mm actually looks like 6-8mm It only goes 4mm when under tension it feels "soft & silky smooth" and does not feel abrasive in any way. I dont think you would get "wear" from it rubbing the fabric thin. But thats just my opinion.

[mountainm]

I dont know about the Amsteel, But the Marlow D12 4mm actually looks like 6-8mm It only goes 4mm when under tension it feels "soft & silky smooth" and does not feel abrasive in any way. I dont think you would get "wear" from it rubbing the fabric thin. But thats just my opinion.

It's the 2.5 mm we're getting I think.

[Ch@rlie]

It's the 2.5 mm we're getting I think.

Ohhhh... that explains ur concern's.
I'm not familiar with the construction of a DD, I was too tight to buy one... That and I enjoy home made projects. errr Think I'd be tempted to purchase 1m of D12 and thread that through. if yours is the stiched hem threaded with ribon/cord type from your description.

[markie*mark0]

Resnikov does it this way - he removed his webbing then pulled through two fixed loops of dyneema - I think he then attaches his whoopies to that. So far no sign of wear. But I'd like to hear from someone who subjected it to a serious amount of usage. Will be experimentingmyself when the group buy comes through.

I dont know about the Amsteel, But the Marlow D12 4mm actually looks like 6-8mm It only goes 4mm when under tension it feels "soft & silky smooth" and does not feel abrasive in any way. I dont think you would get "wear" from it rubbing the fabric thin. But thats just my opinion.

It's the 2.5 mm we're getting I think.

Might be something for me to try in the future, what weight is the 2.5 rated too? im not a lightweight hahaha

[Teepee]

The 2.5mm D12 s about 550 kg I think, maybe a bit more-its fine for whoopies if you aren't that heavy. As far as the damage to the channel goes, I can't see any wear at all on my DD and thats had over 50 nights on the present whoopies-no worries there.

There are a few ways to string the whoopie through the DD's;

1- The classic way- thread the standing end through the channel and put the adjustable end through the standing loop-works great and is quick to remove, but is a bit more of a pain to use on the ground. This is the way to go if you only hang or dont have a DD travel

2- make the whoopie part of the hammock by threading the adjustable end through the channel and then completing the adjustable splice and use the standing end to clip to the tree straps. This has the advantage of never bein able to lose the whoopie by backthreading it and its much easier to use as a bivi this way.

3- forget the standing end splice and make an adjustable loop through the channel. This wicks a bit more water but not too much and shortens the minimum hang distance by quite a few inches and saves weight, work and braid. It also allows the hammock to be used as a bivi easily.

An important point-pulling line through the channel quickly, especially with dyneema (its damaged at temps over 100c) will cause heat damage to the channel and the cord-do it slowly and all will be good.