Recommended Straps
Rallt – Ultralight Hammock Straps
Other than the hammock, for obvious reasons, the straps are the next most important piece of gear you will need for hammock camping. There are some less expensive and entry-level hammocks that already come with straps as a part of the kit. This is not to say that hammocks that include straps as a part of a kit are bad, necessarily. You will notice as the quality of the hammock increases, you will be investing in the hammock alone and you will need a separate set of straps – or two. Just something to be aware of.
I’m rather budget cautious when looking into new gear. I usually will go the wallet-friendly route first before I make any real investments. My first set of straps were DIY and they worked okay, but there was a lot of set-up time involved and each hang situation was different. Yes, it was fairly inexpensive to just do the DIY approach, but then I really just got tired of spending a ton of my time doing it. I decided that the time I would save was worth it and I started researching good, quality straps. My research eventually led me to the Rallt Ultralight Hammock Straps.
To me, purchasing the Rallt Ultralight Hammock Straps was the right choice. I love these straps and have no regrets. I did a ton of research to find the best straps. I needed quality, durability,reliability, and affordability out of my straps since they would get a lot of use, but I still wanted to be price conscious. Rallt hit the mark on everything I was looking for so let me break down the biggest selling points and reasons why I went with these hammock straps.
Product Specifications:
Includes: 2 Ultralight Straps
Length: 10 feet (20 feet total)
Connection Points: 18 Loops Per Strap (36 combine)
Capacity: 500lbs (Tested past 1,200 lbs.)
Material: 3/4-inch Non-Stretch Polyester Tubular Webbing
Packed Dimensions: 4” x 4” x 1.5”
Weight: 11.4 oz
Why I Chose the Rallt Ultralight Straps?
As I mentioned earlier, I did a lot of research on finding the right straps. To me, it was important that I have proper straps rather than having to use rope or paracord that would harm the trees. Maintaining tree health is an important part of being a responsible hammock camper. I can go on all day about this, but I did write a rather lengthy post on the subject, if you’re interested in learning more.
What was I looking for in a set of hammock straps?
There were a few things that I knew that I wanted before I started the research. The width of the straps was the first. I knew that for hammock camping anything less than ¾ of an inch would surely damage the tree. It was important that I find straps ¾ of an inch or wider. Th width of the straps were a make or break kind of selling point for me.
I also wanted hammock straps that had multiple loops or attachment points. More loops allows you some flexibility and adjustment for your hang. You never know before you get there how far apart your trees are going to be or how high you would like, or need, to be. Having multiple attachment points can sometimes be your saving grace.
The length of the straps was also important to me. I wanted to be sure that no matter where I had to set up camp, I would to be able to hang my hammock. Trust me, you sweat a little when your only option is trees that are 25ft apart. As me how I know…
Features & Benefits
So know that I’ve walked you through what I was looking for in a set of hammock straps, I will tell you the reasons why I ultimately landed on the Rallt.
Material
Let’s face it, the straps take a beating when it comes to the weather and outdoor elements. They endure wind, heat, freezing cold temperatures, and getting drenched. The natural wear and tear on some fabric will make them stretch out. However, the Rallt Ultralight Hammock Straps are made of a non-stretch polyester material that won’t stretch – even when they are put through extremes. This was a big selling point for me.
Weight
The amazing thing about the Rallt Ultralight Hammock Straps is that they are rated for 500 pounds and have tested for over 1200 pounds as well. The breaking point of these straps is 2000 pounds. That’s impressive. I’m not a big guy, but I wanted to make sure my straps could hold me and anything or anyone else. I sometimes loan out my hammock and most of my friends are much bigger guys than me. My wife also likes to spend time with me in my hammock…for cuddling…get your head out of the gutter, guys. In cases like this I always want to be prepared and have the right gear.
Length
My hammock is nine feet long so I typically need about 15 feet between trees to get the ideal hang. If you’ve been hammock camping for awhile, you know that sometimes the ideal hang just isn’t possible – trees are spaced too far apart or the diameter of the tree trunk is large and eats up a ton of your strap length. Either scenario can suck. Just for reference, a tree that is one foot in diameter will take about three feet of your straps. Imagine a big tree… yeah good-bye straps. My goal was to find hammock straps long enough that would give me flexibility with tree diameter. The Rallt Ultralight Hammock Straps fit the bill. 10 feet of each strap allows for 20 feet of strap total. I know easy math, but you get the picture. Added on to my 9 feet of hammock, I can get a good hang even when the trees are over 20 feet apart. That was a huge selling point for me.
I’ll admit that I don’t use the full length of my straps on the regular, but when I have had to use them, I couldn’t have gotten any kind of hang at all without them. One instance was on a scouting camping event when we were assigned to a tree-barren area. Our hammocks weren’t close together and we had to spread out, but at least we got to hang our hammocks. If I wouldn’t have had the Rallt hammock straps, we wouldn’t have been able to make it work. Keep in mind that around 20 feet is fairly far. If the trees are much farther apart than that, you will not be able to get a good hang because of how high up on the trees you will have to put the straps – it would likely be higher than you can physically reach.
Loops:
Having multiple loops and attachment points is never going to be a bad thing. There are 18 loops on each Rallt strap. Yes, 18. You don’t even need to think about it because there will be an attachment loop where you need it and it makes set up much faster. Just loop the straps around the trees, clip on, and you’re done. I can have my hammock hanging in less than a minute with these straps.
Reflector Stitching:
The reflector stitching is my favorite benefit of the Rallt hammock straps. I can’t tell you how nice it is to just be able to shine a flashlight in the dark and be able to easily locate my hammock from a distance. You can spot that reflective stitching in the middle of a dark forest with no problem.
This feature has been great for my kids as well. They know where we are at all times in relation to our campsite while they are exploring the woods at night. They just shine their flashlights around in the general direction and can find their way back. We often camp in a dense patch of woods for our scouting events several times in the summer. Usually, dinner is after dark and everyone has to find their way from the pavilion back to their campsites in the dark. We never have a problem getting back to our hammocks because of the reflective stitching. We had one scout that hung his hammock one night and lost it. Yeah. Lost it. He thought he had hung it in a certain place and we had to roam around looking for it for quite a while. We ultimately found it, but if he had the Rallt straps he would have realized he was about 200 feet off from where he thought his campsite was. Seriously, I can’t stress how amazing this feature is. You don’t know you need it until you have it.
Conclusion:
Before I bought the Rallt Ultralight Hammock Straps, I knew they were quality and they had great features. However, now that I have them they are even better than I could have hoped for and highly recommend them to anyone. Again, just like the ENO JungleNest, I liked this product so well that I bought 3 more sets for my wife and kids. When I find a good, practical product I tend to buy it for the whole family. If you’re a backpacker, a camper, or just like to hang in the backyard, I would recommend the Rallt Ultralight Hammock Straps. I have had mine for a few years now and they are without a doubt the best decision I could have made when it comes to hammock straps.
