"One Scout Troop in Pennsylvania has competitions to see who can set up their hammock the fastest. Their troop holds the hammock setup record at 38 seconds."

Set Up Instructions

Above: Tom's recommended lashing technique. Easy, quick, it never jams, and it protects the rope.

Watch more set up videos.

Remember...

• Center
  
• Level
  
• Chair Height

Important

There are many ways to tie up a hammock. The way that I recommend does not require any expertise with fancy knots, In fact, it's not a knot at all, it's a lashing. A lashing is a wrapping of rope in a simple repeat pattern. The beauty of the lashing is that it will never jam as a knot often will. Even after a night of tightening from your weight, you can untie it easily in the dark, in the rain, with one hand with your eyes closed. Once you take a few minutes to learn this lashing, you will never have a problem setting up or taking down your shelter.

Distance between trees.

The recommended distance between trees is 12' to 25' feet / 3.658 to 7.62 meter for the Expedition Asym and Ulralight Backpacker Asym models and 13'-26' / 3.962-7.925 meters for the Explorer and Safari models.

Height for tying up the hammock.

Your hammock should be tied at a height that allows the hammock entrance to be at chair height when you sit down. The farther apart the trees, the higher up on the tree you'll have to attach your webbing straps.

Recommended Lashing to Secure Webbing Straps.

Watch us tie the lashing by viewing the video at the top of the page! If you learn this lashing you'll never have a jammed knot, your ropes will last a long time, and you'll save time. Wrap webbing straps one or more times around tree and bring loops together in line with the opposite tree. Pass rope ends through webbing loops. Adjust hammock until centered and ridge line is level and under light tension. Wrap the loose rope end completely around the tensioned support rope and then drop rope end down into the space between the webbing loops and the tree.

Tighten any slack in the lashing. Repeat lashing at least 3 more times in this "figure 8" pattern and tie off with two half hitches leaving at least 6"/15 cm of rope. Entrance should be at chair height under tension of your weight.

For foul weather, adjust hammock width by changing angle of side elastics.

Other Methods of Tying Up the Hammock May Cause Damage to Suspending Ropes

 I have been following with interest all the cool new ideas on the forums like the rap rings.

I have sailed a big sailboat for 40 years and know what makes ropes wear out and break.  When i designed the Hennessy suspension system, I had to consider many factors such as long term life of the ropes and the safety of our customers.  My system avoids any metal parts to reduce weight, cost and eliminate corrosion.  Any system which point loads the rope creates a point of failure.  I prefer to spread the load with multiple wraps in a figure eight pattern.  Attachments of the ropes directly to the soft webbing straps also eliminate  abrasion to the ropes.  One HH customer has done the AT twice with his little dog pumpkin and has slept in his hammock at home every night for the last 8 years.  The ropes were still OK!!  I traded him for a new one to put his in the HH museum.

As a designer, I am always looking for the simplest, cheapest, lightest, fastest and safest way to do anything.  I expect to improve the HH whenever possible but the present lashing system allows for some error and still works.  The last thing anyone wants is one of their customers to fall.   Some of the new systems are great for the DIY guys and I want to encourage them to keep on innovating, especially ways to make their systems a little more foolproof.

Tom asked me to tell you that he sailed for many years so he was fascinated with the idea of clam cleats which he had used  on his boat.  He rejected them because of their tendency to point load and weaken the rope.  Some people are looking for an adjustable attachment so that they don't have
to untie the lashing and retie it.  I have played around with  double or triple taut line hitches - two seems to be enough.

 If you look on our website set-up videos you will see a video showing the lashing that we recommend to attach the rope to the webbing straps.  The beauty of this system is that the rope is tied to the soft webbing which prevents wear  because it allow multiple wraps against the
 smooth surface of the webbing straps.  (http://www.hennessyhammock.com/video_setup.html)

He also likes the idea of caribiniers and wanted to sell them as accessories but when he inquired about purchasing them for the site, he was told by the manufacturers  that they would only guarantee them for climbing purposes and they wouldn't sell them for any other purpose because their insurance wouldn't cover them.  Inexperienced people using caribiniers can use them in the wrong way which would be unsafe. If the caribinier is set up sideways instead of pulling in the correct direction, you can rip out the gate and the hamock could fall.

 

Canopy Set Up

Align asymmetrical fly to match hammock shape. Clip the plastic "0" rings at each end of the canopy to the stronger plastic hooks of the sliding knot tensioner tied to the main support ropes, being sure to leave this adjustment untensioned until last. Next, clip the lighter plastic hook attached to each end of the canopy onto the main support rope. Center canopy widthwise by attaching side adjustment cords equally tight to nearby tree branches or ground anchors at whatever angle seems right for the conditions. Lastly, push each sliding knot tensioner along the main support ropes until the canopy is centered lengthwise and fairly tight. In wet, windy conditions, attach a weight or elastic to side corners of fly to maintain tension.

Tips for getting the fly tension right 

One is to tie the fly separately to each tree first so you can set up the hammock in rainy conditions without getting the hammock wet. This means that when the weight goes on the hammock it does not lower the rainfly and consequently slack the fly tension. Another new tip is to tie the cord at one end of the fly, take it around the tree back through the same ring all the way across the underside of the fly through the ring at that end of the fly all the way around the tree and back to the ring at that end. This cord does two things - it keeps the fly taut, removes wrinkles in the top of the fly and helps to prevent any water collection in the wrinkles of the fly.

Another really good tip is to tie the side tie outs for the rainfly as far as out as possible, either to the ground or to bushes or branches and hang a weight right at each side corner of the rainfly.

When the fly gets wet and stretches, instead of getting loose and saggy, the weight will automatically lower the fly for storm conditions and maintain the same rainfly tension as when it was dry.

Mosquito Protection

Keep bare skin away from netting or bottom fabric. Use multiple layers of clothing or bedding, a spray on the outside or both. For the latest information about mosquito protection, consult your Tropical Medicine Physician.

Care and Maintenance

Dry and repack damp gear to avoid mildew, mold or color bleeding. To clean, hand wash using mild detergent, warm water rinse and air dry. Inspect for damage after each use. Children under 12 years must be supervised. Do not smoke, cook or light fires inside the hammock. Hammock is guaranteed for one occupant and weight limit of 250 lbs / 113.4kg.

Knot detail

Left: Detail of lashing to webbing straps using four figure-8 wraps around main supporting rope and behind webbing strap loops plus 2 half hitches. This is very similar to the figure-8 used when tying a rope to a cleat.