rope and trees

[Steve M]

The hammock I just bought came with some rather heavy flat rope claiming it was a better grip and kinder to the trees. This is all well and good but it weights a ton.

It seems that most people hang their tarp and hammock with 550 paracord, does that really damage trees?

Can anyone advise me on a good tarp and hammock rope that's light, a good grip and not going to make a mess of the trees I'm using.

Cheers

 

[Shewie]

Which hammock have you bought ?

I wouldn`t recommend hanging your hammock with paracord, I use 5m of this stuff at either end..

 

[dwardo]

For your tarp i would say paracord is more than enough. For the hammock tapes are much better as they wont dig into the bark of the tree. Surely they cant be that heavy ?
I use the tapes that hold my canoe on the car roof. along with heavy metal grips..

 

[Steve M]

Which hammock have you bought ?

Tenth Wonder XL, cos I'm tall. Bit of a pain finding a tarp now, but that's another thread

I wouldn`t recommend hanging your hammock with paracord,

Is that the hammock end or the tree end that causes a problem?

I use 5m of this stuff at either end..

That's 350g of webbing you've got there you know.

They supplied four 4m stretches of something which weights much the same per metre. If I take all four, it's 600g for me. That's more than the hammock, which is only 500g.

How are you finding knotting that webbing?

I was considering a webbing end for the tree and bend it onto a bit of something lighter at the hammock end.

 

[Wayland]

Webbing is best for the tree but if you want to shed weight you can use a webbing loop to wrap around the tree and then use static cord from that to the hammock.

Paracord is definitely not up to the job and the thicker the cord the less stretch you will get.

 

[Steve M]

Webbing is best for the tree but if you want to shed weight you can use a webbing loop to wrap around the tree and then use static cord from that to the hammock.

Paracord is definitely not up to the job and the thicker the cord the less stretch you will get.

Not up for the whole job, or not up for the hammock end of a combination job?

 

[Wayland]

Paracord will handle a small tarp but I've seen a lot of people hit the ground hard because they thought it would be strong enough to support a hammock.

I've even seen a couple of people break 5 or 6mm static cord.

I use 20mm webbing for the whole job myself, but feel free to experiment. Just let us know so we can come and watch...

 

[Shewie]

This is my hammock setup

I think the webbing tapes are more like 390g with the metal O-rings I sewed in. But the 5m length at either end gives me loads of flexibility.

I snap the Krab onto the hammock cord and metal O-ring, tie the tree end off with an evenk slippery figure of eight knot.

Then I just pull the webbing back through the metal O-ring and put a couple of loops in to tie off. This method is on the Eco System DVD on RMs site.

I use 7mm climbing accessory cord for my tarp ridgeline, and 2mm for the guys.

Hope this helps

 

[gzornenplat]

Not up for the whole job, or not up for the hammock end of a
combination job?

A chain is as strong as its weakest link and the para cord will be the weakest link.

Most people find that a tight hammock line works best and that puts a greater strain on
the cord.

Take an example - at the upper end, but not overly extreme.

Say you weigh 90 kilos = 14 stone = 200lbs including clothes, sleeping bag and everything
else you have in the hammock.

At each end of the hammock you have 5m of cord leading to the tree and you tie it tight.

When you sit in the hammock it gets half a metre nearer the ground, then the tension on
the cord will be 2000lbs, so you'd need to quadruple the (genuine) 550 paracord, and not
bounce up and down too much

If you are really desperate to keep the weight down, then 4mm polyester-sheathed
dyneema has a breaking strain of about 1250kg and 2 x 5m will cost you about £15. I'm
not sure how much it weighs, but it can't be that much because it floats

Ian

 

[Steve M]

Thanks for all your advice chaps.

Just out of interest Rich, that's that bit that's gathering the hammock made of?

 

[Shewie]

Just out of interest Rich, that's that bit that's gathering the hammock made of?

It`s 5mm static cord, it was fitted when I bought it. It also had two heavy metal hooks which I took off.

It`s just a loop with one end passed through and then cinched up.

 

[Steve M]

I guess that makes the weakest link a krab on a loop of 5mm static cord. Now I'm confused

 

[Shewie]

The krabs are rated to 23KN so they`re not going anywhere and the cord is plenty strong enough. The only thing that could give on my setup is the stitching on the silk but I can`t see that happening as it`s really well made.

 

[Wayland]

Remember the static is in a loop so the strain is halved to each side.

 

[ForgeCorvus]

But, if you pass the krab through the loop you're then loading just one thickness of line....the bit that goes around the metal

I've broken ropes by doing that (heavier ropes and a pair of blocks pulling a stump out in my case), would it not be better to use the loop as a double rope and hitch it on to the krab?

 

[Shambling Shaman]

I have some HH tree hugger's if you want them.

 

[Steve M]

If it's 550lb on each end, then the breaking strain is 1100lb (78 stone). That's got to be plenty. I don't really understand the tension got up one order of magnitude gzornenplat. Sure, jumping on it will increase the tension, but not tenfold, surely.

 

[bikething]

If it's 550lb on each end, then the breaking strain is 1100lb (78 stone). That's got to be plenty. I don't really understand the tension got up one order of magnitude gzornenplat. Sure, jumping on it will increase the tension, but not tenfold, surely.

It's all about triangulation of forces

 

[Steve M]

It's all about triangulation of forces

Have you got the equations to back that up? I'm a maths tutor, I can handle it

 

[bikething]

Have you got the equations to back that up? I'm a maths tutor, I can handle it

have a look here