Hammock and 550 cord


Rowjr

Rowjr

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Bushclass I
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Thought I air out my hammock and in the process try cutting some cord to keep with it at all times...I'm a little over 250 but it holds me, but of course my
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daughter wouldnt move over (-:
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I'm learning that cord stretches pretty far first time I was laying on the ground, but I tighten her up. I'm going to have to learn some new knots
 
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I use tree straps with a garder hitch. Climbing grade biner and 2 descending rings, garder hitch through the rings, my hammock is up in less than 1 minute and a very sturdy hang :)
 
That was a nice hammock set up you had. Whatcha gonna get yourself now that that one has a serious infestation that is not likely to go away?

Stretching is the nature of nylon. You've gotten a bunch of great suggestions there. My tree straps are 1" seat belt material with a cinch buckle on them. Easy as all get out to use.
 
Spiffy said:
Tree Traps and Whoopie Slings :dblthumb:. Quick, Easy, and strong.
No stretch or knots to try and untie.
Hope this helped.
Click to expand...

Have to agree, I've tried a few systems and this is by far the best and easiest to use. Over time paracord is not strong enough for a hammock.
cheers
Gareth
 
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You can see that I have a Carabiner,good straps to wrap around the tree so not to harm them and about 15 foot of paracord on each end
I'm trying to stay light and keep a workin system together, I believe I would like to explore with some diffrent knots to make it an easier setup and tear down
 
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Check out the bushcraft basic knot lesson, a double figure 8 knot might fix your problem if you get a tight enough hang to eliminate the stretch of the 550 cord
 
Paracord does NOT have a high enough breaking strain to be used as hammock suspension safely. 7/64 dyneema with a breaking strain of about 1400lb would be much better. Best, as stated above, as whoopie slings.
 
Yeah man I'd be careful when using 550 to hang. Every time you bounce and wiggle you are putting waaay more than double your own weight on that line. Also as the angle of the line becomes closer to 90* from the tree, the more "weight" your line has to hold. Don't hang over anything you're willing to wake up on :)
 
Rowjr said:
IMG00340-20120129-0842.jpg


You can see that I have a Carabiner,good straps to wrap around the tree so not to harm them and about 15 foot of paracord on each end
I'm trying to stay light and keep a workin system together, I believe I would like to explore with some diffrent knots to make it an easier setup and tear down
Click to expand...

I'm not seeing your straps. Are they the ENO slap straps? If they are then its a toss up whether or not they will stretch. Up until recently the slap straps were notorious for stretching a lot. End up sleeping on the ground stretching. But people have been saying that they haven't been experiencing this with recent purchases. So ENO may have quietly addressed this.

550 cord was designed to stretch as part of the suspension on the parachute. There is also a bajillion lines for redundancy but also because they can't support a parachutist weight with just a handful. The 550 refers to the amount of weight it can hold that is static, not moving around bouncing on the end.

If you have the slap strap, use them wrapped around the tree so that the suspension lines connect close to the tree. It will keep the stretching to a minimum. Amsteel is your best choice for a light weight line. Whoopie slings eliminate the need for hardware.

Like Dabigpig said, don't hang over anything you aren't willing to end up on and hang no higher then you are willing to fall.
 
I have the exact same hammock. Different daughter though.

What I did was fold the paracord in half, hen tied a knot in it about about every foot or so. Then wrap the cord around the tree(like a lasso) and attach the carabiner on whatever knot is best.

That's probably as clear as mud, but it worked for me for several years before I finially broke down and spent a lot of money on my hennessy.
 
Howdy all,

Paracord is not the stuff of suspensions. One, the line, even two parted, is not rated for suspension. Two, nylon stretches, a lot....when it gets wet, it stretches even more. ENO's slapstraps are no better, they are also nylon. As a side note: polypropylene straps are the same way...stretchy. Only polyester is static enough. I got a set of Arrowhead Equipment's polyester tree straps with cinch buckles. They are a dream to put on, a dream to set up, and you won't believe the difference when you get in. As a reference, I am 5'9" and 265 and things worked out well using these straps. Hope this helps.

Standing by...Bart
 
Spiffy said:
Tree Straps and Whoopie Slings :dblthumb:. Quick, Easy, and strong.
No stretch or knots to try and untie.
http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/showthread.php?t=16650&highlight=suspension
Whoopie slings (made with 1/8" Amsteel Blue) are a fairly easy DIY Project
http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/showthread.php?t=9349&highlight=whoopie+slings

Hope this helped.
Click to expand...

+1

I upgraded my Hennessy Hammock to use Whoopie Slings.
I wouldn't use Paracord for a suspension when Amsteel Blue is so cheap
You can even buy premade whoopie slings

Hennessy Hyperlight Hammock with Whoopie Slings - YouTube
 
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PDA said:
Paracord does NOT have a high enough breaking strain to be used as hammock suspension safely. 7/64 dyneema with a breaking strain of about 1400lb would be much better. Best, as stated above, as whoopie slings.
Click to expand...

I read some where on the hammock forums that a guy did a test using a bunch of overly technical measuring rigs to find out that the average guy puts over 1500 lbs of pressure on the straps that hang from hammock to tree and even more if not hung at the right angles. My numbers may be a bit off, but you get the picture. Paracord is not good for hammocks. I have had it snap on me in a hammock and I only weigh about 155 after I have been drinking. Plus it stretches way too much, youll end up in a uncomfortable position by morning, if not on the ground. As PDA said dyneema or some other super cord would be good, or just some tree straps made out of webbing like also mentioned. Falling in a hammock can be pretty dangerous. Funny as hell if your on nice soft ground, but if there are rocks below... energh.
 
ajnin said:
I read some where on the hammock forums that a guy did a test using a bunch of overly technical measuring rigs to find out that the average guy puts over 1500 lbs of pressure on the straps that hang from hammock to tree and even more if not hung at the right angles.
Click to expand...

to get those kind of numbers for someone weighing roughly 200lbs you would have to hang your hammock at 86 deg from the tree (IE almost completely straight). At recommended angles, 30-60 deg, a 200 lb person would exert 115lbs-200 lbs through a suspension line. granted if you start swinging and jumping around those numbers go up, but not to 1500 lbs.

I will agree that paracord is not the best line for hammock suspension (high stretch and not a lot of wiggle room for a decent safety factor), but in a pinch it could work especially if doubled up and proper precautions are taken. In fact there are a few people here that I have seen using it. I wouldnt recommend using it because of the reasons above but people do still use it.
 
Go with amsteel or dyneema cord. For the lengths you'll need they are not expensive and there is about zero stretch with a tensile strength up to 2100 lbs depending on cord diameter. Use polyester straps for your tie-offs. It's stronger, doesn't stretch and won't damage the tree trunks like a small diameter cord will do under stress.

Paracord is not a good idea when using it for hammock suspension.
 
Attached is a table showing the stress on each suspension line related to angle and weight of occupant. The important figure is that at 30 degrees, the stress ON EACH line is more or less equal to the weight of the occupant Now look at the breaking strain of paracord 550. Mil spec stuff may be 550, but my inderstanding is that much of the commercial stuff sold as 550 has a much lower BS (350-400???) . Even if you are lucky enough to have the genuine stuff, any knot will drastically reduce the BS. Perhaps by half. So possibly you really have a bs (knotted) of maybe 175-200.
The figures above for strain on suspension are for a static body. Any movement will increase this dramatically. So a wriggle to get into your sleeping bag could easily double, treble or even quadruple the dynamic stress on the suspension. Notice that even when using Dyneema cords for "whoopie slings" there are no knots, Constriction splices are used which only reduce BS by about 8%.
An earlier post promoted polyester webbing straps as an alternative. One inch webbing used with sufficiently robust buckles they are an excellent choice
 

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I have a set of cargo straps for when I transport my motorcycle in the back of my truck, I used those on my last camping trip to hang the hammock and they worked fine.. One strap to go around the tree, and another to go between that one and the hammock. 4 in all. What I loved was being able to adjust the straps super easy. Had zero problems in the thing.
 
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