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How Do I Hang My Hammock

Table of Contents

1 Introduction2 Cord-Based Systems

21 Connecting Cordage to HammockDetail How to Larkshead Cord to aHammock

22 Connecting Cordage to TreeDetail Combining Tree Huggers

23 Garda Hitch with Ring Buckles3 Webbing-Based Systems

31 Connecting Webbing to Hammock32 Connecting Webbing to Tree33 Ring Buckles on Webbing34 Cinch Buckles on Webbing35 Tri-Glides on Webbing

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4 Advanced Hanging Techniques41 Two Hammocks Under One Tarp42 Hanging in Trail Shelters43 Hanging with Rock Climbing Gear

Photo by FreeTheWeasel

1 Introduction

Now that you have your hammock you have to hang it But whats the best way Should you go with the stock method that came with yoursystem Should you just slap some webbing on there and wrap it around the tree Whats the lightest method Whats the most convenientTheres no right answer to these questions of courseit all depends on your priorit ies f or what you want f rom your system This page givesan overview of several available options It isnt all- inclusive but it does provide enough considerations pics and links to get you startedLets begin with a def init ion

The purpose of hammock suspension is to support the hammock safely without damaging the environment Everythingelse - low weight bulk complexity and expense - are secondary concerns

Now lets break this apart

Support the Hammock The suspension has to keep the hammock of f the ground This brings a f ew requirements and there areoptions f or each that will be discussed below

The suspension must connect to the hammockThe suspension must connect to the trees (or whatever youre hanging f rom)Since the trees wont always be the same distance apart the system should be f lexible enough to cover a wide range of hangingsites

Safely Hammocks can put hundreds of pounds of f orce on each support It isnt simply your weight divided by twoit s atrigonometry f unction where the cord or webbing is the hypoteneus of a triangle Using the angle of the support to true horizontal thef orce on the support is h = (5 x user weight) sin(support angle) This also brings a f ew requirements

The suspension must be strong enough Be very caref ul using cord or webbing that doesnt list a working load or breakingstrength The lowest acceptable range is generally 700 lbs and some people will not use less than 1000lbs breaking strength Donot use 550 cord (parachute cord) Ive broken 550 cord twice using it on a hammock and I cut it directly of f a parachute so Iknow it s the real thingThe correct knotslashings must be used Knots can signif icantly reduce the strength of cord and webbing Some knots reduce thestrength more than others and certain knots are designed specif ically f or webbing Additionally some knots will bind when theyreweighted and youll have to cut the support to get the hammock down So pick non-binding knots or lashings when you chooseyour systemThe tree must be strong enough Trees 6 in diameter are usually strong enough to support a hammocker Make sure the tree is

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alive and there are no widow-makers nearby Some trail shelters are capable of supporting a hammockerothers are not Peoplehave torn door f rames out of their homes pulled their walls out of square and ripped garage door supports f rom the ceiling byhanging their hammocks f rom them Learn f rom their mistakes

Without Damaging the Environment Given the f orce on a hammock support the wrong cord can easily damage a tree In extremecases this could even girdle the tree and cause it to die This is obviously bad f or the environment and it can encourage restrictiveregulations at government-owned that prohibit anything f rom being tied to trees Fortunately this has an easy solutionuse treehuggers or webbing on the tree Anything that spreads the f orce across a larger surf ace area lessens the impact on the tree Ifhammockers can limit the impact on the trees a hammocking site is generally more Leave No Trace compliant than a tent or tarp sitebecause we dont f latten the ground

Secondary Concerns Once the primary considerations f or the hammock suspension are covered it s t ime to consider the details of yoursystem This is where the trade-of f s start - more convenience usually means more weight bulk and complexity Carabiners are a goodexample of this - it s much quicker to wrap the webbing around a tree and click the biner on than to use the Hennessy Lashbut a load-bearing carabiners weighs over an ounce each On a thru-hike thats 2-4 extra ounces f or a couple thousand miles Only you can decide ifthats worth it

Materials are another consideration Suspension is usually made f rom low-memory stretch cord like Spectra or polyester or polypropylenewebbing Low-memory stretch means that once the material is stretched out f rom you laying in it it doesnt remember how to pull back to itsoriginal posit ionit stays stretched out so your hammock doesnt end up on the ground every morning High-memory stretch material likenylon pulls back to its original posit ionso youll end up hanging much lower every morning than you started the previous night Paracord (550cord) is made f rom nylon so it can stretch to absorb opening shockin addition to not being strong enough it stretches too much to be anef f ective hammock support Slap Straps by Eagles Nest Outf itters are currently made f rom nylonmany hammockers have tried and discardedthis approach because of this If you like the system make your own f rom polyester or polypro webbing

Two Key Decisions There are two key decisions to make f or your suspension

Will you use cord or webbing Webbing is generally heavier and bulkier but can be simpler to make and use Cord is lighter and has lessbulk but also means using tree huggers and knowing how to lash them correctlyWill you use hardware Ring buckles cinch buckles f igure nines etc - all can make setup and teardown very quick and easy but alsointroduce more complexity more parts to f ail more weight and more bulk

Each of these will be discussed in the f ollowing sections

2 Cord-Based Systems

Cord-based systems use rope or cord to connect the hammock to the tree As discussed above some method must be used to ensure thesystem does not damage the tree This is usually tree huggers like the ones included Hennessy Hammocks products Tree huggers are simply1-15 wide lengths of webbing with loops at each end The length needed depends on how big the trees are where you hike You can get

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longer tree huggers as an option on the Hennessy website f rom Strapworks or make your own

I needed longer huggers so I made the ones on the right I used 1 nylon webbing f or af inished length of 52 The stock Hennessy tree huggers (Backpacker model) are onthe lef t f or comparison Ignore the no-tail cat

Nylon is ok to use f or huggers because there isnt much room to stretch (compared tothe f ull length of the support)

Sometimes Ill take one long hugger and one short hugger so Im more prepared f orbigger trees Other t imes Ill just bring an extra hugger so I can combine it withwhichever end needs more length Instructions f or that here

21 Connecting Cordage to Hammock

This picture of a Hennessy Explorer Ultralight shows an example ofpermanently attached systems These arent designed to be changedbut many people do change them Under the cover the hammock iswhipped with a special way to attach the structural ridgeline

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A larkshead or girth hitch is one of the simplest methods of attachingwebbing or cord to a hammock See the detail below f or how to makethis system with cords The weighted hammock keeps the hitch tight

A double sheetbend is used to connect two lines together of ten whentheyre dif f erent sizes This works well f or connecting hammocks tosuspension lines whether it s cord or webbing This picture shows aslippery double sheetbend on a homemade two- layer hammock withSpectra as the support Double sheetbends are advantageousbecause the hammock doesnt have to be whipped f irst and if youmake it slippery it s easy to remove if you want to change somethingBut they also take more of the hammocks length than whipping and alarkshead If you plan to use a double sheetbend add an extra 8-12 toyour hammock body length to account f or the knot

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You can also run a cord thru a channel sewn into the hem of thehammock This puts all the f orce of the support onto a sewn seam soit seems like it introduces unnecessary risk of f ailure when there arestronger methods available Still some commercial hammocks likeEagles Nest Outf itters use this method and I havent heard of anyf ailures at the channel

Detail - How to Larkshead Cord to a Hammock

My Spectra supports are just 9 lengths of rope with a bight t ied in the end Iattach the support to the hammock as described below then use tree huggersand the Hennessy lashing (aka linemans lashing or f igure-8 lashing) to attachthe support to the tree huggers

First t ie an overhand knot into a bight of rope

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Second f orm a larkshead in the end to slide the hammock into

Third slide the hammock end through the loop ensuring the whipping is onthe outside of the Spectra

Fourth t ighten the rope and yoursquore done

Each time you set up the hammock make sure the Spectra hasnrsquot slipped overthe whipping Mine is stif f enough that this has never happened

Although it isnrsquot cotton I think the f ree end near the knot will act as a dripcord PDFmyURLcom

f or any rain running down the cord

22 Connecting Cordage to Tree

This is the standard Figure-8 Lashing detailed on the HennessyHammock stuf f sack and website It s also called a Linemans Knot orLash and hammockers of ten call it the Hennessy Lash It s pretty easyto tie once you learn itmuch simpler than it appears f rom this pictureYou can see a video of how to t ie this on on the Hennessy websiteand on Shane Steinkamps page

The major benef it to this method is weight and simplicity - it s probablythe lightest method and it doesnt require any hardware to break ormalf unction The downsides are that it s a bit of a hassle to learn tomake a small adjustment you have to redo the entire lashing and sincethe tree huggers are separate they can be f orgotten on the tree

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Some f olks use carabiners in their setup to make things quicker at thecost of a lit t le bit of weight This picture is f rom a Garda Hitch setupon a Hennessy Hammock detailed below

Using carabiners quickens setup but it can also keep the entire setupin one piece so you dont f orget the tree huggers when you breakcamp

Herersquos another simple way to use a biner Put a carabiner on the treehuggers then just a ldquodouble slip knotrdquo in the Spectra It s basically ahalf -hitch inside a half -hitch It holds and it rsquos quicker to t ie and adjustthan the Hennessy hitch

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Detail - Combining Tree Huggers

Sometimes you get to a campsite and the perf ect trees are a litt le bigger than the tree huggers will f it In this case if youve broughtan extra hugger you can combine the two into one long strap so it ll f it and you dont need an additional gear to do it (like acarabiner) I of ten combine straps like this when Im hanging my sons hammock next to mine f rom the same tree

First set the two huggers side by side Here the Hennessy is the black oneon the lef t and my homemade one is the dark green one on the right

Thread the green one through the loop on the end of the black one

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Thread the other end of the black one through the loop on the green one

Pull it t ighter

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And it should look like this when it s f inished

These pull pretty t ight when you put weight on them so it can be a bit of ahassle to get them apart but it s not too bad

23 Garda Hitch with Ring Buckles

One dif f iculty in hanging a hammock especially f or newbies is making sure it is hung with the the right tension and is centered between thetrees With lashing and webbing wraps a small adjustment requires completely redoing the suspension Ring buckles with webbing or cordallow adjustments with very litt le ef f ort When using cord with ring buckles the Gard Hitch aka Alpine Clutch connects the cord to the ringsSimply pull on the f ree end to t ighten the hammock and spread the rings apart or misalign them to loosen

There are several ways to add rings to a hammock to use the Garda Hitch I have pics of a f ew of the methods belowhave a look andhopef ully youll f ind it usef ul in creating your own system FYI - there are several Garda Hitch threads on Hammock Forumsheres one

Heres a very easy way that I use f or my DIY hammocks

1 Get the hammock one Air Core Plus adaptor f or each end two descending rings f or each end a length of spectra f or the mainsupport and the tree hugger I also use a carabiner on the tree hugger

2 Tie and overhand-on-a-bight on each end of the Air Core PlusOne loop should be 3-4 longthis one will be larksheaded around the ringsThe other end can have a smaller loopthis will be larksheaded to the hammock

Now you have the hammock then a larkshead to the Air Core Plus then a larkshead to the rings3 Secure the cord to the tree hugger I just t ie an overhand-on-a-bight to one end then clip the biner to one loop on the hugger and to

the cord4 Run the cord thru the rings f or the Garda Hitch and youre done with that end5 Repeat steps 2-4 on the other end and youre done making the system6 Now all the pieces should be connected as one unit To set up the hammock just wrap a hugger around the tree and clip it in Go clip

the other side Adjust the hitch to tension the hammock how you like it and

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7 Relax

Ring buckles attached to a Hennessy without making any permanentmods The rings are clove hitched to the stock Hennessy spectrasupport Instructions here

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Same as above expect it has a prussik adaptor instead of clove hitchStill no permanent mods to the HH Instructions on same page asabove

Heres an option to put ring buckles on the tree hugger This allowsyou to use the Garda Hitch on the HH without any mods and is a veryeasy way to add rings to a DIY hammock Just larkshead the spectra tothe hammock as shown above put the rings on the huggers(instructions here) and hang your hammock

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You can also use ring buckles with a Garda Hitch or with webbing on abridge hammock This is the JRB Bear Mountain Bridge Hammock(BMBH) I connected the spectra to the ring on the top of thehammocks suspension triangle with a larkshead then ran the webbingto the ring buckles attached to the tree hugger as shown here

You can also put the ring buckles at the tip of the suspension triangleif you want to modif y your BMBH or make your own DIY bridge See theGrizzly Adams pictures in the webbing section f or more details on this

3 Webbing-Based Systems

Webbing systems can be the simplest suspension to make if you connect directly to the hammock and use the 4-Wrap lashing Adding insome hardware - like ring buckles cinch buckles tri-glides - can make it much more convenient to use and it is still simple because there areno tree huggers to worry about Webbing does tend to weigh more and be bulkier than comparable cord-based systems

Some random notes

Webbing should have a minimum working load of 700 lbs Ed Speer Strapworks and several other online vendors carry suitablewebbing I strongly recommend against using webbing that doesnt clearly list a working load or breaking strengthGet polyester or polypropylene webbing since it s low-memory stretch Nylon webbing will stretch too muchYou dont need tubular climbing webbing It weighs too much and it s usually made of nylon anywayUse X-boxes or bar tacks to sew loops in the ends of webbing and always use 100 polyester thread Cotton even cotton blends willdecay with outdoor useIf you use knots be sure to pick one thats suitable f or webbing Webbing is designed to handle the load across its entire width andthe wrong knot can put too much stress on one edgeif that edge f ails it will rip across the entire width

31 Connecting Webbing to Hammock

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As I said above I think the larkshead or girth hitch is one of thesimplest methods of attaching webbing or cord to a hammock Forwebbing I have a sewn loop in one end and I just run the f ree end thruthe loop to create the girth hitch that cinches down on the hammockThe weighted hammock keeps the hitch tight

In his book Hammock Camping Ed Speer recommends this method f orattaching the webbing Af ter gathering the hammock ends t ie the endof the hammock in an overhand knot Then wrap the webbing aroundthe hammock and sew a loop into the webbing small enough that theoverhand knot cant slip thru This method is easy and reliable and theknot takes the place of whipping But it is dif f icult more dif f icult thanthe other methods to undo if you want to make changes

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As mentioned in the cord section the double sheetbend is a popularway to attach the supports You dont need whipping with this methodand it s pretty easy to undo if you want to make changes if you use aslippery double sheetbend as pictured

You can also connect webbing thru a channel sewn to the end of thehammock like the Crazy Creek pictured here Two downsides I f ind withthis methodf irst all the f orce of the support is transf ered to theseam on the sewn channel This seems like an unnecessary risk tointroduce when there are stronger and lighter methods availableSecond the Crazy Creek method means running two lengths ofwebbing to the tree which nearly doubles the weight of thesuspension system

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If you like this method I suggest running the webbing thru the channeland f orming a larkshead right at the channel Then the support onlyhas one piece of webbing running to the tree which saves weight andcomplication

32 Connecting Webbing to Tree

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Running Thru Sewn Loop Biner on Sewn Loop

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The Speer 4-Wrap method is usef ul f or webbing with a f ree end thatdoesnt use any hardware You basically wrap the webbing around thetree several t imes and each wrap add surf ace area to create thef riction that holds the hammock up You have to alternate directions bywrapping around the support endit s pretty easy and Risk hasexcellent directions here

The major advantage to this setup is that there are no moving parts tomalf unctionit s very simple The downsides to this method are that itisnt as easy to adjust as the others and a lot of webbing means moreweight than a simple cordhugger system (but still comparable tohardware-based systems)

The ideal f or a 4-Wrap is to get ~4 wraps but as long as you getenough f riction it doesnt really matter how many you get This one hasabout 2-12 wraps but since it s a big tree it had plenty of f riction tohold me up You can f inish a 4-Wrap with a half -hitch to the support orjust tuck it under one of the wraps like this

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33 Ring Buckles on Webbing

Ring buckles were one of the f irst DIY systems to make hammock suspension adjustable It had been talked about on the Yahoohammockcamping group f or a while but TeeDees thread on Sgt Rocks HikingHQ is what f inally convinced me to order the parts The ringbuckles are one of the most usef ul systems Ive f ound but I mainly use them with cord and the Garda Hitch now

The concept behind ring buckles is simple - connect to rings together using a larkshead and run the hammock support thru the rings just likean old f ashioned belt or a motorcycle helmet With strong enough webbing the rings should create enough f riction to hold a hammockersecurely I use 1 polypro webbing f rom Speer Hammocks and 4 x SMC Descending Rings with 15 internal diameter SMC rings are availablef rom many climbing shops including REI I connect the rings to the hammock with Air Core Plus f rom backpackinglightcom See my step-by-step instructions if you want to make your own

Discuss this project on the Ring Buckle Supports thread at HammockForumsnet

Heres a picture of SMC descending rings as buckles using Air CorePlus with larksheads at both ends to attach the rings to the hammockand Ed Speers 1 polypro webbing supporting the hammock f rom thetree

Some people say the webbing slips thru the ring buckles and usually

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Photo by slowhike

lowers them slowly to the ground Putting a simple half -hitch in thewebbing right behind the rings stops the webbing f rom slipping Thistakes about 2 seconds and the system is still very easy to adjustjustpull the f ree end and the half -hitch slips right out f or you to make theadjustment

Ive only had the webbing slip when it wasnt lined up correctly If I takecare to keep the webbing lined up thru the rings it s always held mesteady

Photo by Miu

Some people want to try the ring buckles bef ore they permanentlymodif y their hammock by cutting of f the spectra This picture showshow Miu attached ring buckles to her Hennessy to test out the buckles

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Here is a ring buckle set on a JRB Bear Mountain Bridge Hammock(BMBH) I just put the rings on a tree hugger as shown here then ranthe stock BMBH webbing thru the rings I didnt make any permanentmodif ications to the BMBH but I did need a tree huggerthese dontcome with the BMBH so you can make your own or get them f rom aHennessy

Photo by Grizzly Adams

If you like this system you can permanently modif y your bridgehammock by putting the descending rings at the tip of the bridgessuspension triangle This picture shows Grizzly Adams DIY bridge withring buckles Hes using webbing but the Garda Hitch will work just aswell in this mode if you want to use cord

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Photo by Grizzy Adams

Heres a close-up of the ring buckles on Grizzs bridge The outer twopieces of cord are f rom the suspension triangle and the middle one isf or the ridgeline

34 Cinch Buckles on Webbing

Cinch buckles are another way to quickly adjust webbing suspension Crazy Creek uses these buckles on their webbing but I didnt like howtheir webbing system worked so I got some more buckles and made my own using a webbing adaptor Blackbishop made some without awebbing adaptor and I like these better if the cord is stif f enough to keep the buckle aligned

Lots of hammockers pref er cinch buckles over ring buckles even though they weigh a litt le more because they never slip the webbingdoesnt misalign and you dont need a half -hitch to back it up Although Ive never slipped with the ring buckles when the webbing was alignedthe cinch buckles seem a litt le more f oolproof

Discuss this project on the Cinch Buckles thread at HammockForumsnet

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This picture shows how I like the cinch buckle setup I t ie someSpyderline into a loop then use a double-wrapped larkshead aroundthe buckle Then I add another larkshead to secure it to the hammockWhen used with a biner on the tree I never have to separate any ofthe pieces so I dont have to worry about leaving a strap behind andsetupteardown is as quick as clicking two biners around the webbing

Heres a closeup of the cinch buckle showing how the extra wrapskeep the buckle aligned by not giving any room f or the buckle to slipsideways

These buckles can be bought f rom onerope1com - Cinch 1

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Photo by angrysparrow

This is the f irst version I made using a webbing adaptor to keep thebuckle aligned Step-by-step instructions here

35 Tri-Glides on Webbing

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Photo by cgul

Tri-Glides are a JacksRBetter product that allows use of 1 webbingwithout having to remove any pieces or adding the weight of rings orbuckles The webbing still has to be threaded thru the tri-glides f oreach setup so it isnt quite as quick as rings or cinch buckles but atonly 22 grams a set this is an excellent combination of simplicityadjustability and weight

4 Advanced Hanging Techniques

41 Two Hammocks Under One Tarp

One of the most of ten heard complaints about hammocking is the

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Photo by Seuss

dif f iculty in group camping It s certainly easier to hang a singlehammock under a single tarp but with some creativity two campers cansleep under a single tarp Here Seuss shows how two hammocks canshare a single tree f or one support and dif f erent trees f or theotherusually the head end to keep the shoulders separated moreThis of ten requires a bigger tarp to get adequate storm coverage

While the pic above has the hammock tied to two dif f erent trees Iusually wrap my hammock of f of one side of the tree and my sonshammock of f the other side of the same tree It s enough separationf or us to be comf ortable and Im close enough to check on him duringthe nightmake sure hes on his insulation not sweating etc Thispicture is Joker and me at the 2007 Mt Rogers Hangout under aMacCat Standard tarp

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Heres a picture of Ed Speers double hammock stand f rom the Sept2006 SEHHA hangout in Hot Springs NC

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Photo by FreeTheWeasel

FreeTheWeasel demonstrates how to hang two hammocks verticallyon the same tree If the tarp is big enough to provide coverage and youcan get in do what works

42 Hanging in Trail Shelters

Hanging in shelters can be just as convenient f or a hammocker as f or a ground dweller but it s important to remember the f orces thesupports can exert on the shelters walls If the shelter looks rickety dont hang And if it looks like it can support you pick your supportscaref ully and listen f or creaks

You should also be aware of what other hikers think about itit s a pretty controversial topic on WhiteBlazenet The big thing is that yourenot only putting your own saf ety at riskif the shelter f ails you hurt them as well and the maintenance crew has to come build a new one etc

One advantage to others when you hang in a shelter though is that youre not taking up the f loor space No one may want to hang belowyou but at least they can put a pack under you and youre not breathing in each others f aces

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Clark Hammock in an AT ShelterPhoto by Hikerhead

HHs in Tri-Corner Knob Shelter GSMNPPhoto by Repeat

43 Hanging with Rock Climbing Gear

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Photo by nigelp

Some locations dont have many trees to hang f rom so rock climbingnuts and cams can open up a whole new set of possible hanging sitesIn this picture NigelP hangs with rock climbing gear Check this HFthread f or more discussion

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Photo f rom nigelp

Another view of nigleps setup

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