The most critical parts of a hammock are the hammock straps. The straps hold the hammock to two points and must be strong enough to support the person and the hammock while being tied at varying angles and to various objects.
The hammock straps do more work than any other parts of the hammock. They are constantly being tied and untied to trees, poles and other like objects. Trees can begin to fray the straps and cause the hammock to fail. The hammock straps must be thick enough to hold a lot of weight but supple enough to be tied over and over again.
The other part of the hammock straps to be considered is the length of each strap. If they are too short they won't be very useful, and if they are too long they are costing extra money and material. All of these things must be considered when thinking about the importance of hammock straps.
Reasons For Hammock Straps To Fail
Anything that is made by man will sometimes fail. The best engineering along with the best plans can't stop failure. That's why hammock manufacturers took extra care to make sure the straps wouldn't fail unless they came under extreme conditions. This allows the product to be used by a wide variety of people and it will not break under normal conditions.
Hammock straps do fail sometimes, however, and for various reasons. Most of the time, hammock straps fail because of the customer not following directions or not using common sense while using the hammock.
For example, leaving the straps tied to a tree all year long while being exposed to the harsh elements of the outdoors can weaken the straps and cause them to fail. The straps can become dry rotted and can potentially snap.
Another thing that can make hammock straps fail is abusing the straps. If the customer ties the straps to whatever is available, then some things will begin to tear apart and eventually break. Also, leaving knots in the straps will over-stress the nylon or cotton and cause the straps to break down internally and weaken to the point of failure while the customer is laying in the hammock. The customer can have a long lasting high quality hammock if they take care of it and use basic common sense.
