TITLE: Hammock setup
DATE: 2018-06-10
AUTHOR: John L. Godlee
====================================================================
When I went to Peru in the Madre de Dios as a field assistant in
2015 I decided on the recommendation of a friend who had been
before to camp using a hammock rather than a tent. It worked out
really well, I was off the ground which meant that everything
stayed much drier, and one I got used to sleeping in the hammock I
slept very soundly. I've recently started sleeping in the hammock
again, on little overnight trips at the weekends, so I wanted to
share what equipment I use and how I use it.
This is the equipment that I used when I was in Peru.
- Alpkit Rig 7 tarp
- Grand Trunk Single Hammock
- Ticket to the Moon 360' Mosquito net
- 2x ENO Atlas tree straps
- Adjustable whoopie ridgeline
- 2x whoopie slings
- 2x fixed loop tarp fasteners
- 2x 2" aluminium toggles
- Generic thin foam roll mat
- 6-8 tent pegs
- ~ 5 m elastic cord
- ~ 12 m glow in the dark guyline
[Alpkit Rig 7 tarp]:
https://www.alpkit.com/products/rig-7
[Grand Trunk Single Hammock]:
https://www.grandtrunk.com/products/single-parachute-nylon-hammock
[Ticket to the Moon 360' Mosquito net]:
https://www.ticketothemoon.com/detail/products/mosquito-net
[2x ENO Atlas tree straps]:
https://www.eaglesnestoutfittersinc.com/shop/hammock-suspension/atla
s-straps/
[Adjustable whoopie ridgeline]:
https://shop.whoopieslings.com/Adjustable-Structural-Ridge-Line-ASR.
htm
[2x whoopie slings]:
https://www.ddhammocks.com/product/whoopieslings?gclid=CjwKCAjw6djYB
RB8EiwAoAF6ocNzAkzYp_JcwOO62K6tGNUx82Wg6GeJBONTEpTj-5Rws0pWW4EQahoCX
WEQAvD_BwE
[2x fixed loop tarp fasteners]:
https://www.ddhammocks.com/product/fixedloopfasteners?from_cat=5
[2x 2" aluminium toggles]:
http://www.buttinasling.com/aluminum-toggles.html
Here are a few diagram and photos to show how I constructed the
hammock setup.
The hammock
The original design of the Grand Trunk hammock is pretty
simplistic, and can be improved fairly easily. I removed the
original hammock ends and threaded through the whoopie slings,
which are lighter, stronger and more versatile. As I threaded the
whoopie slings through I looped through the adjustable ridgeline,
so the ridgeline couldn't ever come off.
The ridgeline helps to get the right level of hang in the hammock
material by limiting how long the hammock can be. The ridgeline
also keeps the mosquito net off my face.
Tarp
To keep the tarp taut, I used fixed loops of cord attached to a
caribiner on the final eyelet of the tarp which slide along the
ridgeline that the tarp hangs off. The fixed loops are tied into
Prusik knots, which are a type of friction knot. The Prusik knot
means that the loop won't move unless it is pushed, and the knot
becomes tighter the more strain is put on the loop. Here is a good
video on how Prusik knots work.
[Here is a good video on how Prusik knots work]:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CP7iAF_YU7A
To create the elastic/guyline composite guyropes I used a knot
called a clove hitch. Basically you make two loops on the guyline,
back to back, then thread the elastic through both loops and pull
tigh. It's a slippy knot, so it's easy to get out if you release
the tension from the elastic. Here is a good example of how to
create the knot, and below a rough diagram:
[good example of how to create the knot]:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gs9WyrzNjJs
It's important to make the guyropes for the tarp elastic so that if
the wind picks up, the tarp remains tight but doesn't rip as the
tension is used up in the elastic section of the guyropes. They
also mean that as the tarp heats up and cools down it remains tight
and doesn't sag.
To adjust guylines for the tarp I used a taut-line hitch, which
locks until it is moved, below is a diagram that I drew to help me
remember how to tie the knot, and here is a site with an animated
example :
[here is a site with an animated example]:
https://www.netknots.com/rope_knots/tautline-hitch
In an attempt to save weight, I spent a lot of time learning how to
use various knots to take the place of more heavy hardware options
for securing things. The only thing that I compromised on was the
tree straps which, while heavy, are so easy to put up and stop any
damage to the tree by spreading the weight over a larger area.
The most useful knot was the Marlin Spike Hitch, which I used to
fit the aluminium toggles along the tree straps, through which I
could hang the end of the hammock. Here is a good webpage with an
animated example of how to tie one.
[Here is a good webpage with an animated example of how to tie
one]:
http://www.animatedknots.com/marlinspike/
In order to get the paracord ridgeline for the tarp as tight as
possible I used a knot that is often used for tying down loads on
the back of trucks, and is called the Truckers Hitch, or the Lorry
Driver's Flitch. Here is another link to an example of how to tie
one.
[Here is another link to an example of how to tie one]:
https://www.netknots.com/rope_knots/truckers-hitch
