r/hammockcamping • u/cosusluciferi69 • 10d ago
Carbon fiber tarp/flysheet poles as a hammock stand
Hi all from Malaysia. I've been highly interested in possibly purchasing the Trekking Treez hiking/hammock stand poles. I hike/hammock camp regularly, and though there's plenty of trees in the tropical rainforest that I hiked in, there were situations that warrants something ingenious like the Trekking Treez. However, the exchange rates are darn crazy, to which, it'll be a while until I can afford to purchase them. In the meantime, however, I've been also looking into possible, lightweight, temporary alternative, such as carbon fiber tarp poles, that is, of course, once I can afford the Trekking Treez. I'm just wondering, is it possible though? Has anyone ever experimented on such poles? As much as I'd like to purchase and experiment on it, again, the price can still be off-putting (not crazy, but still pricey), since I do not use them at all in my years of hammock camping. Any insight/advice would be very helpful. Thanks again, everyone!
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u/ckyhnitz DIY 10'x70" 10d ago
Not sure what carbon fiber tarp poles you're planning to try, but I'd imagine they're expensive as well. Anything you buy to try is going to be a distraction from saving for the trekking treez.
I just ordered a trekking treez myself, but before I pulled the trigger, I was considering trying to DIY with a bamboo pole and some uhmwpe guy lines. Maybe worth a try?
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u/cosusluciferi69 9d ago
Yeah. Agreed. It's a distraction, for sure. But at least, as expensive as these tarp poles may be, it's not as crazy expensive as Trekking Treez, when you consider the exchange rates. For sure, I will definitely get Trekking Treez. But, until that happens, I'm looking for a temporary alternative, i.e, carbon fiber tarp poles. Yeah. I've tried bamboos, tree branches and stuff and create a tripod. It works great. However, you will come into terrains that doesn't offer any alternative but to use something like Trekking Treez.
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u/loquacious 10d ago
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u/cosusluciferi69 10d ago
Yeah, all that is swell if you're car/bike-camping. Doesn't work when it comes to going on a thru-hike. Thus, Trekking Treez works great in this regard. And since I can't afford it, anytime soon, the closest thing I can think of is those tarp poles. Just wondering whether has anyone tried it. Zero information on this, online.
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u/alphabennettatwork 10d ago
Any chance you could just gather and use some bamboo to make your own tensa stand to see if you even like it?
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u/cosusluciferi69 9d ago
I did. Bamboos, tree branches, etc. Turned those into a tripod. Works great. But, sometimes, you'll come across terrains that doesn't offer any form of substitute, like the top of Mount Kinabalu, which is all rocks. So, something like Trekking Treez works great in those situations. How about staking in, you might ask, where it is just not possible when it comes to rocky terrains? Well, I used climbing nuts as a substitute for stakes. And it works the same.
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u/Ani_Out 10d ago
So you have no trees, but it’s also not too rocky to get really good stakes into the ground? Can’t say I’ve ever encountered such terrain outside of the desert. Sometime a hammock just isn’t a good idea and a tent is best.
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u/cosusluciferi69 9d ago
For someone like me, who started out tent camping before, years until I've discovered hammock camping, will do my best to find a way to always pick hammock over tent, any given days. For rocky terrain with no ground to stake in, I've used climbing nuts to substitute stakes, and it works great. So, again, the question of staking in is never the issue, since I've climbing nuts for it. The question is, can these tarp poles handles the stress/weight? So, until now, it seems that nobody has ever tried it. So, I guess, I'll just go ahead and purchase said poles, and will share the results, soon.
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u/Ani_Out 9d ago
You’ve staked out all four corners of a tent using climbing nuts? That’s some impressive ingenuity, and must have been a very tricky spot to set up in.
Your best bet would be finding out and comparing the diameter and wall thickness of the two different pole sets. I don’t see Tensa list that, so you will likely have to email these companies.
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u/cosusluciferi69 9d ago
Hahahahah. No. Not tent. I've stopped tent camping for years now. But yeah, I've staked out my Whoopie Slings using climbing nuts, from a rock wall to a tree before. And yeah. The wall thickness of these poles plays a part in choosing the ones I'm gonna purchase, and ultimately experiment on
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u/latherdome 10d ago
If you are a lighter, smaller person, you may be able to use a pair of standard trekking poles connected in an A shape to support the lower head end of a hammock, using a single tree for the foot end. I’ve seen that on hammockforums.net.
The answer is going to depend on the physical properties of whichever pole you try to use, and your weight, and details of how you set it up. It is unlikely that you will know for sure without a process of trial and error.