If you want to pick up slack why not use a separate length of cord attached to the 'tree hugger' strap then use a prusik knot?

I'm not great with knots, but I think I understand your idea.
just to be sure :
- I need to use a smaller rope than the HH rope
- attach one end to the tree or tree hugger strap
- use a prussik knot on the other, on the HH rope

Right ?
have to try that next time I take my hammock out ..

Right. Use smaller diameter cord and make it into a loop using a fisherman knot. Make a prusik around the main line you want to bring the slack in on and hook the other end of the small cord to the tree strap (I don't know what these look like but I imagine worst case you'd need to buy a 'biner for it). With no load on the line pull the main line through the prusik until it's where you want. When you load the line the small cord with the prusik will take the load instead of the main line...fully adjustable!

I kind of see where you're going with that. Interesting idea. I guess a Prussik would spread out the constriction, particularly if one were to use extra wraps in the Prussik. I'd have to try it. Under field conditions, with the kind of strain that a human body would put on the knot as one wriggles into the hammock, I'd be afraind that the Prussik would constict primarily at a single point, possibly leading to a failure of the type I described earlier.

Alternatively, one could replace the ridgeline with something less sensitive to constriction.

An interesting article about how knots effect break strength of ropes:

http://www.caves.org/section/vertical/nh/50/knotrope.html

Interesting knot article! I had always heard that the butterfly knot reduced line strength the least. Nice to know it is actually true. Interesting to note that the figure eight knots they tested did almost as well. They did not however test the in-line figure eight knot.

I wonder if these data can be applied to the Hennesy Hammock lines though. They have that very specialized core. Hmm.

SLIGHTLY OFF TOPIC:
It appears that the sheet bends (single and double) really reduce the strength of a line.

The real surprise is that a bowline reduces the strength of a line so much. The bowline is such a widely used knot. A figure eight appears to be preferable.

The (single) fishermans knot is also a big loser, but the double fishermans turns out to be a pretty good knot. Interesting that there is such a great difference between the single fishermans knot and the double fishermans knot.

It would be interesting to see them test a figure eight bend and a carrick bend.

I once tightened my HH by using a trucker's hitch. But instead of putting twists or a knot in the line, I ran three or four turns around a heavy-duty oval carabiner and used that as the loop. Worked well.

Bear

Well, shoot, that would be ideal. The carabiner didn't work it's way up the line over the course of the night?

I had actually thought of that but didn't even try it because I assumed that the carabiner wouldn't stay in one place. Did you just do plain old wraps around the 'biner or overlapping wraps or ?

Not a figure eight.... a trucker's hitch ... that's what I use ...

I'm no good with knots... told you so !!

Any chance of a drawing or a picture of your set-up ??

TIA

Jim and Frenchy: I only did it once, just to see if it would work. I slept on it just fine. And no, the carabiner didn't slip. I just passed the line three or four times through the gate so the line was spiralled around the back rod of the carabiner. The tension worked to lock the carabiner in place.

This was using an Explorer model, which has the thicker line. But I'm betting it would work with the thin line models as well.

I don't use the HH much any more, as I really prefer top loaders. I think the Claytor Mosquito Hammock is the best commercially available hammock of that type.

Lately I've been using a hammock I designed myself. It's just like the Claytor hammocks -- three layers of material. Two nylon body layers and one mosquito netting layer. These are folded and sewn together to create a casing along the head and foot. But unlike the Claytor, mine isn't sewn or zippered along any of the long sides.

The netting is closed by clipping on a single loop of shock cord that runs underneath the hammock at the middle (i.e. under my butt). The rest of the netting presses itself against the sides of the body.

Also, I use a double-ring attached to my hammock body to lock onto a nylon strap that I wrap around the tree. It's just like a belt works, only a bit bigger.

If you want to read about every possible way of hanging an HH (or any other hammock for that matter) take a look at:

http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/index.php

Bear