Tarp/hammock rope/cord advice pls!

[marcelxl]

Hi all,

Just aquired a first tarp/hammock combi and its new and has no cordage. So, could you advise me on what rope/cord to get for it.

I do have literally miles of 550 paracord but I was thinking of supporting my ample frame on the hammock and for the apex of the tarp.

Thank you and apologies if its daft question!

 

[Squidders]

I use these: http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_203657_langId_-1_categoryId_165760 to hang from the trees with.

break off the die-cast junk on the ends and they are perfect with no stretch, they tie and untie well and are wide enough not to damage trees. Also, wherever you are in the UK, there's a Halfords by you

550 paracord is perfect for hanging the tarp.

 

[Teepee]

Theres lots of options.

If you have loads of 550, then this is fine for the tarp and tie outs.

You want something stronger than 550 for the hammock though.

if you weigh 100 kgs, then you need at least a 500 kg suspension, more to be safe because of wear and weakening from knots. 800 kg is bang on for a 100kg weight.

You can get dyneema climbing tape, polypropylene webbing, Polyester webbing (doesn't stretch)
DD hammocks do some good black polyprop webbing, as do point north, pro-fabrics, Cygnus sails.

 

[Shewie]

I'm playing around with some of the clever American developments these days but some good kit that works can be had from here

The 18mm tubular webbing paired with a couple of climbing rated carabiners is perfect for the hammock and the 3 or 4mm accessory cord is good for getting a taught ridgeline for the tarp. Paracord is okay but the newer stuff around at the moment has too much stretch in it I've found.

 

[Neumo]

As said abovem paracord is fine for the trap although I personally like to go a bit heavier for my tarp; 15m of 7mm green rope for the ridgeline & 5 mm for the 4 main guy lines. It is nice to have a bit of heavier rope if you need lit, like if you are in country and your hammock tape/ropes snap.

The hammock will need more strength than you realise, as mentioened above. I used to use single tapes but now use a set of slap straps for ease of use. Tube tape seems to be the best as it gives you more strength while still layimng flat around a tree.

 

[wedgie]

im swaping mine for some 4mm deynema active it has a braking strain of 1700lb and it is easy to splice and £2:50 a meter

 

[seg1959]

im swaping mine for some 4mm deynema active it has a braking strain of 1700lb and it is easy to splice and £2:50 a meter

Very wise choice.

Cygnus sails do 3.5 mm dynamic line, 995kg BL, for £1.80 per meter and free postage.

seg

 

[Squidders]

dunno about this but I climb and dynamic usually means it will stretch (quite a bit) - can't see that being a good thing to hang a hammock off if it does stretch.

 

[Shewie]

I think he probably meant to say dyneema

 

[Teepee]

Very wise choice.

Cygnus sails do 3.5 mm dynamic line, 995kg BL, for £1.80 per meter and free postage.

seg

The dynamic line in that width is stronger. The 3mm is over a ton and the 4mm is over 2 tons.

I'm hanging on 2mm English braids dynamic line, with a 900kg B/S.

dunno about this but I climb and dynamic usually means it will stretch (quite a bit) - can't see that being a good thing to hang a hammock off if it does stretch.

Its designed for standing rigging on sailboats, and it has less stretch than even most dyneema lines as it is prestretched in the factory.

 

[EastSussexScout]

i use 3.5mm cheap as chips paracord for my tarp lines. just bought a 100m spool of it and cut off what i needed. now i've got some decent cordage to make stuff out of and it's useful for tying gear down (or up) for my hammock i use some polyprop rope at then hammock end then use a snap hook from screw-fix (£6 for 10 and they come in really handy) then i use the heavy duty tapes from DD hammocks to go around the tree. hope this all helps. if not, let me know and i'll take a few pics next time i'm out.

 

[The Lord Poncho]

I use webbing tape purchased from ebay. I seem to remember it was sold in a pair as 'canoe straps', complete with a metal cinch buckle. Came in well under a tenner with more than enough length to hang my hammock.

I cut a meter off each tape close to the buckle, put some further bar tacking on the buckle to strengthen, and attach to each end of the hammock. I then stitched a strong loop at the end of each length of the remainder of the webbing through which i passed a karabiner.

To erect it i pass the strap round the tree, clipping the Karabiner back onto the strap, then feed the loose end of the strap through the cinch buckle which is attached a short distance from the end of the hammock, and cinch- to both centre the hammock between the trees, and obtain the correct amount of tension.

What you get with this set up is something incredibly quick to fasten, non stretch, completely adjustable, no knots, and the buckles act as affective drip rings. All for less than a tenner!

Steer clear (if tempted) from the olive rope sold in outdoor shops (often called purlon)- it stretches far too much, meaning you have to highly tension your hammock if you want to avoid the ground. In turn, this results in the hammock squeezing you at the shoulders all night...

This is where i got the straps from (albeit a while ago). The buckles have a 900kg breaking strain, which is more than enough even with the additional multipliers you get in a hammock type situation.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/3-5-m-x-2-HD-...MasksSnorkels_Flippers_SM&hash=item2a02b64214

Nick

 

[myheadsashed]

3mm Dyneema

http://www.tridentuk.com/sailing/pr...ghy_Control_Line_3mm__Dyneema_-FSEDC_3MM.html

 

[Shambling Shaman]

dunno about this but I climb and dynamic usually means it will stretch (quite a bit) - can't see that being a good thing to hang a hammock off if it does stretch.

Agreed Dynamic is designed to "give" Static is not.

 

[tobes01]

4mm Dyneema on my Clark. Works lovely.

 

[Teepee]

Agreed Dynamic is designed to "give" Static is not.

This Dynamic line is made for sailing, not climbing. Thtas why the terminology is a bit confusing. Its made from Dyneema sk75 which is the same stuff that static climbing ropes are made from.

It doesn't stretch at all, I know-my hammock feels like a slab of concrete at spans of over 25 ft and I'm using 2.0mm Dynamic line.

 

[Shambling Shaman]

This Dynamic line is made for sailing, not climbing. Thtas why the terminology is a bit confusing. Its made from Dyneema sk75 which is the same stuff that static climbing ropes are made from.

It doesn't stretch at all, I know-my hammock feels like a slab of concrete at spans of over 25 ft and I'm using 2.0mm Dynamic line.

Thanks for the clear info on that, Iv learned something new. Might look in to getting some.

 

[Teepee]

To be extra sure, Im talking about English Braids Dynamic line.

I wouldn't want to cause anybody to plummet to a hammock induced broken back!

 

[Paul_B]

One thing I would point out about dyneema lines is that it is considerably more durable than say nylon and polyesters and polyprop. That night not seem a problem but depending on how your lines are attached it could wear through say nylon webbing loops. I used some 1.5mm or 2mm that I use for my ground dwelling guys as emergecny laces. Only on the toe end loops as I tied the old laces off further up, anyway they wore through in next tono time. I ended up unable to tie the fell shoes tight so threw them out.

Not sure if its relevant really but thought I would let you guys know that dyneema seems to be quite abrasive on other synthetic loops, straps and cords. I'd hate to find your hammock or tarp line still attached to the supports but not your hammock one night. Would turn you into a ground dweller pretty sharpish.

I still think dyneema is the best cord type to use but just check your kit regularly for signs of wear. I have bought dyneema from cleats.co.uk but that site is kind of orientated to guy line use but I do think they have some thiker stuff on there too.