Just Jeff's Outdoors Page

"Going to the woods is going home, for I suppose we came from the woods originally." ~John Muir

Support System with Crazy Creek Buckles

I really like the buckles on the Crazy Creek system, but I didn't like how the webbing has to be doubled to use it. So I got two buckles and made my own system using Ed Speer's 1" polypro webbing. With this system, I only have to wrap the webbing once around the tree, and I can adjust or center the hammock very easily from underneath the tarp. And although I've never had a problem with water running down the straps onto the hammock, this system also has cord connecting it to the hammock, so if any water makes it past the buckle a drip string will catch the remaining drips.

Final Weight: 1-1/8 oz (32 g) each, plus webbing (weight varies depending on length)

Here are the buckles as they arrived from Crazy Creek. I think they're stamped or cast b/c I don't see a weld in there, so they should be strong enough even though Crazy Creek's customer service didn't have a tested weight when I asked.

The slider can't slip out even when turned diagonally inside the buckle.

The buckles weigh 7/8 oz (26 g) each.

Arkwater tracked down another source for the buckles here. They're called "metal cinch buckles" and the pic looks exactly like the Crazy Creek ones, but with a different finish. They also have a 1-3/4" buckle for use with wider webbing.

This shows the "V" shape of the slider.
I used Air Core Plus from BPL for the cord, tying an overhand on a bight at each end. I made a big one for the end that will go on the webbing so that two strands of cord will make contact with the webbing, dispersing the weight.
Here's the final product. Steps to get here:

  1. Form a larkshead in the long bight and slip it over a ~10" piece of webbing.
  2. Put the buckle on the webbing. The webbing should go through the side of the buckle with the point of the "V". When it's hung, the "V" will point towards the hammock.
  3. Form the webbing into a circle, with the cord and buckle connected, then sew a box stitch to keep it together.
  4. Pull the buckle to one end of the webbing loop and sew a line across the webbing to keep the buckle from turning sideways.
  5. Tighten the larkshead. At the point where it cinches the webbing, fold the webbing in half to reduce the stress put on the webbing by the cord.
And here's what it looks like with a hammock and webbing.

I should be able to use a shorter piece of webbing for the support with this buckle because the webbing only has to go around the tree once. When I decide how much I need (probably 5-6'), I'll post a final weight...I expect it to be 2.5 oz per side, for a total of 5 oz.

My current webbing system is a 130" strap per side, 2 oz each, 4 oz total.

My lightest support system is Air Core Plus and HH tree huggers, totaling 2.5 oz, so the buckle system is a net gain of 2.5 oz. Not sure if that's worth it...
DownHammock v2 with ridgeline.

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