Hanging with SlapStraps
Find two trees 10-12 feet apart. Look for two trees that are about 10-12 feet apart to hang your hammock when you’re outdoors. The trees should be alive and healthy with solid bark and no overhead hazards. Choose trees that are at least a foot (12 inches) in diameter to ensure stability. Do not use trees for mounting your hammock if they are closer together than 10 feet, as your hammock may be too low to the ground when weight is applied. Check with the administrators of the park or natural area you’re in before hanging up your hammock. Some have rules and regulations regarding hanging hammocks, as it can affect the health of trees.
Wrap SlapStraps on each tree. Take out your set of two ENO SlapStraps and attach one to each of your mounting trees. The straps should wrap around a wide part of the trunk, about 5 feet from the ground. To attach a SlapStrap, wrap it around the trunk of a tree and hold an end in each hand. Thread one end through the loop on the other end, then pull until the strap is tight around the tree trunk. Do this with both straps/trees. You can use your own rope or strap system instead of ENO’s SlapStraps, but note that they may be more difficult to put up or less safe.
Take extra precautions to protect trees. Ensure you are using SlapStraps properly as discussed here to avoid any negative impact on the trees you use to hang the hammock. Try placing sticks in between the strap and the tree to lessen friction. Gather a handful of sticks from the ground in your surrounding area. They should be roughly the length of your forearm and of the same diameter as one another. Note that you need their diameter to be thick enough to stick out from the bark of the tree slightly. Hang your SlapStraps, then place the sticks between the strap and the tree, all the way around, about a hand’s width apart between each one.
Attach your hammock to the straps. Attach your ENO hammock between the trees by using the provided carabiners on each end of the hammock. Slip the carabiner into one of the five loops provided. Your ENO hammock comes with an aluminum wiregate carabiner at either end for attachment to straps. Push to open the gate to put it on one of the loops, then make sure the carabiner is fully closed around it. The five adjustment loops available make it easy to adjust the height of the hammock. Just choose a higher or lower loop depending on how far you want your hammock to be from the ground (recommended 18 inches or lower when occupied).
Test and adjust the hammock. Slowly put weight on your hammock once it has been attached to the straps on the trees. Sit and then lay down fully in the hammock to determine if it is at the right height. If you touch the ground at all while in the hammock, it should be higher. Secure the carabiners to a higher loop on each SlapStrap. If you have no more available loops, you need to select trees that are farther apart. If it’s difficult to get into your hammock to begin with, it should be lower. Attach the carabiners to a lower loop on the SlapStraps. If you have no more lower loops, choose trees that are closer together, or purchase Atlas or Atlas XL straps. The ends of your hammock should be placed into loops so that they are level, or with a slight difference that’s comfortable to you while you’re lying down in it (for example, you may like to have your head slightly higher).
Hanging with Atlas or Helios Straps
Find two solid trees for mounting. Hang your hammock between two trees approximately 10-12 feet apart. The trees should be alive with sturdy trunks of at least 12 inches diameter and no overhead hazards. The Atlas and Atlas XL can be used to hang hammocks between trees that are farther apart due to the extra adjustment loops. However, a distance of 10-12 feet between the trees is generally ideal. Don’t use trees closer than 10 feet apart. Check with the administrators of the park or natural area you wish you hang your hammock in first. They may have rules or regulations about hammocks to protect the safety of trees.
Wrap Atlas straps around the trees. Use the two straps that come with ENO’s Atlas system to secure the hammock to the trees. Wrap a strap around each tree about 5 feet from the ground. To secure an Atlas strap, pull the multi-adjustment end (with small loops at intervals along the strap) through the end that has the label and a single larger loop. Pull it until the strap is tight around the tree trunk. You are welcome to use other straps or ropes to hang an ENO hammock in this way, but it may not be as easy, safe, or adjustable.
Use sticks for extra tree protection. Ensure you are installing the Atlas straps properly as discussed here to avoid any damage to the trees you’re using to hang your hammock. Place sticks in between the strap and the tree to lessen friction as an extra precaution. Gather a handful of sticks from the ground in your surrounding area. They should each be about the same diameter, and about the length of your forearm. Note that you need the diameter to be thick enough that the sticks will protrude out from the bark of the tree slightly. Hang your Atlas straps normally, then place the sticks between the strap and the tree, all the way around the trunk, about a hand’s width apart between each one.
Secure the hammock to the straps and adjust. Attach your hammock to the available loops on each Atlas strap with the carabiners at either end. Adjust the hammock to your desired height by changing which loops the carabiners fit into. Atlas straps have a combined total of 30 adjustment loops, while the Atlas XL has an additional 10 loops and 54 inches of length for maximum adjustment options. Your ENO hammock comes with two aluminum wiregate carabiners at the ends. Visually check that they are closed, and listen for a “click” before you put weight on your hammock. Slowly sit and lay on your hammock to test the height and evenness. Move each carabiner to a higher loop if your hammock is too low to the ground, a lower loop if your hammock is too high, or one or the other carabiner to a different loop if the two sides are uneven.
Use Helios straps for more lightweight flexibility. Try out the ENO Helios straps if you need an extra lightweight design for backpacking, or you have a tricky space for hanging. Helios uses a bury splice design for extra adjustability. Secure the straps to each tree like you would with SlapStraps or Atlas, except with Helios you will pull the thin end made with strong Dyneema cord through the end with a thicker polyester strap. Slip each hammock carabiner through the small loop end of the cord that’s labeled “Place hammock here.” Then pull the long end of the cord to adjust the hammock higher, or pull on the cord between your hammock and the tree to adjust it lower. Note that the Helios straps are designed to hold 300 pounds, rather than the 400 pound maximum that other ENO straps are designed for.
Hanging with a Hanging Kit or Stand
Find two sturdy indoor or outdoor structures for the hanging kit. Hang a hammock more permanently indoors or outdoors in an area with a lack of suitable trees. Use a hanging kit to mount the hammock between any two structures that contain wooden studs or other sturdy wood material. Find a space with a distance of about 112 inches between your two structures, where you can attach the anchors for the hammock about 50 inches off the ground. Lay your hammock down on the floor between the structures for reference, or hold it up in the space to make sure. Note that the hanging kit from ENO is designed for use with strong wooden structures, like the wooden studs in a home wall. If you wish to hang your hammock from other structures, you should choose different screws and fittings designed for that material. Never install the hanging kit into trees, as it can severely damage them.
Find studs for the hanging kit anchors. If you’re hanging your hammock from two walls, you need to locate wooden studs for the hardware. Use a hammer and nail to help you find studs, or an electronic stud finder if you have one. With a hammer, tap gently along the wall and place your hand just above where you’re tapping to feel the vibration of the impact. When you tap where there is a stud, the vibration will be much less and the sound will be a dull thud. You can also use features in a room to determine where studs are. Either edge of a window or door frame will always be on studs, and you can measure 16” (typically) away from the center of any known stud to find the next one. To test any location you believe to have a stud, hammer a thin nail into the wall. If it meets resistance about ½ inch into it, there is a stud there. If it meets no resistance, there is just hollow sheetrock, which will NOT be suitable for holding up your hammock.
Mark and drill into the wall. Use a pencil to mark where you want your hammock to hang from each wall (about 50 inches from the floor is recommended). Then drill a hole in the center of each stud with a 5/16” drill bit. Make sure you will be drilling into the center of a stud by making several more test holes close together on the wall. When you find the edge of the stud, measure ¾ inch in to mark the center, as a standard stud is 1 ½” wide. Using a drill with 5/16” drill bit, drill straight into the stud for 3 inches.
Attach the lag screws, anchors, and steel carabiners. Use a 9/16” wrench or a socket driver to tighten the included hardware into the wall. You will tighten down an anchor with a lag screw into each of your drilled holes. Tighten the lag screw until the anchor is snug against the wall, slightly compressing the sheetrock without damaging it. Replace the aluminum carabiners that come with your ENO hammock with the heavy-duty steel carabiners provided with the hanging kit. Then attach the carabiners directly to the anchors to hang your hammock.
Opt for a hammock stand. Use a hammock stand for your hammock if you want a very simple process for hanging. Opt for a stand if you don’t have options for installing the hanging kit or using straps on trees, such as in an open indoor or outdoor area. Purchase a hammock stand from ENO for easiest setup. Choose from a standard solo hammock stand, one that can hold three different hammocks, or a Roadie stand that can be held up by the wheels of a car for road trips. You can use other hammock stands for ENO hammocks if you wish, as long as the frame is about 10 feet long.
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