Hiking and hammock camping

Werfetter

Werfetter

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So my friends and I have started hiking together. Great fun and the company has been good. We have been looking at doing some overnight hikes in the near future and hopefully we can find some sites that will be happy to allow us (and have the space) to camp in our hammocks.

I have been slowly building up my hammock gear, DIY'ing where I can and buying where I cannot. What I cannot seem to find is some decent webbing that wont stretch to use as tree huggers. The only pre-made pair I have been able to find cost as much as my entire hammock setup so far and I cannot seem to bring myself to forking out that much for a set of tree huggers. Does any one know what kind of webbing specifically I should be looking for or could point me in the right direction? I have had a look at rock climbing webbing but I cannot figure out if the webbing used there has some stretch or not...

On a side note, any overnight hiking spots that would have space for hammocks instead of tents?
 
I would just buy two seat belt tow straps from Midas or the like and then do this:

images (2).jpg
 
Werfetter said:
Those tow straps still have some stretch on them don't they?
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I doubt you'll find anything with much less stretch. Also if you use the above technique you can pretension it to take any stretch into account. But they don't stretch much.
 
Beachless said:
I doubt you'll find anything with much less stretch. Also if you use the above technique you can pretension it to take any stretch into account. But they don't stretch much.
Click to expand...

Thanks I will definitely give it a shot.
 
Ratchet Tie downs .... When they're tight, they ARE tight. Also depends on your weight ? Are you fat ? :whistle:
 
HunterNW said:
Ratchet Tie downs .... When they're tight, they ARE tight.
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Ratchet tie downs will damage the tree so not really an option.

HunterNW said:
Also depends on your weight ? Are you fat ? :whistle:
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I am not small haha. And weight makes very little difference here. I might be wrong here but as far as I know the only difference the weight will make is how long it will take for the same material to stretch as far as it does.
 
HunterNW said:
View attachment 429568
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Okay but now you are pulling the hammock tight which is not ideal. The ridgeline will preserve the hanging angle but I would now have to have a second pair of tree huggers for the rain tarp. The metal buckles are also quite heavy to be hauling around when hiking so I would prefer to not have to carry that extra weight. I could probably add 4 beers for the same weight as those buckles
 
Werfetter, jy is vol stront man. :crylaugh: Those buckles aren't heavy. Anycase - Once you have your idea in place, post us a pic of your hammock setup.
 
Hahaha ja ek is moeilik hieroor. As ek niks beter kry nie sal ek maar so iets moet doen.

Considering the weight of the hammock, whoopie slings and ridgeline is about 800grams this far. Adding 4 buckles that weigh around that each feels silly if you can do without them. If only I could find the right webbing.

If you are interested here is what I am planning to have done over the next month and a little bit.

This is the hammock I have added a ridgeline and whoopie slings to make it easily adjustable and to preserve the hang angle with the 3mm version of this rope.

The bug net I only have the idea in my head for now. I need to draw it and do some planning before I make that. But basically the bug net will be suspended from the ridgeline like this but with loops in the middle to pull it a little tighter with.

The rain tarp will look something like the tarp on this but not symmetrical so that one side can be used as a shade spot or dry area if it rains and a little higher as I would like to be able to sit in the hammock without needing to hunch. It doesnt get cold enough here to warrant it being so tight.
 
OK...... So ..... All that effort ? Why not get a 2 man tent or even those new pop-up tents ?
 
HunterNW said:
OK...... So ..... All that effort ? Why not get a 2 man tent or even those new pop-up tents ?
Click to expand...

Because sleeping in a hammock is so much more comfortable than in a tent is my biggest reason. To date I have never been able to get a decent night's rest in a tent. Blow-up mattress, stretcher, thin mattress and combinations of all those have been tried and I have never had a good night's rest. I have slept in a hammock twice now and slept very well on both occasions.

The effort is mostly just because I like making things. I could go out and buy everything I need as a finished product, or at least have it imported if not available locally but that takes some of the fun out of it for me. I spent my Saturday learning a bunch of new splicing techniques for braided chord as well as a couple of new knots and made my whoopie slings and there is something to say about making something yourself and afterwards admiring and enjoying your handiwork.
 
AHA. I get you. And fully agree. Much more fun in making things yourself. There i'm the same, would rather plan and build my own than buying it.
 
Update: I have actually found something that works perfectly. A dog leash. I had two of these at home and tried them out yesterday and they worked like a dream.

Here is what it looks like:
Leash.png

And this is the current setup. These trees are at the limit of how far I can go with my current setup so it is all running a little tight but good enough.
hammock.png
 
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