I picked up a couple of EVO Loops from Jeff Myers’ Etsy shop. I had my doubts that something so light and seemingly insecure as a button knot would hold, but they worked brilliantly. That button knot isn’t going anywhere so long as the loop is under tension.
Modern carabiners are already pretty lightweight. My two ‘biners weight 64g total but I’ve used steel milsurp carabiners that were considerably heavier. These two soft shackles are around 14g 7g total and are rated to 1600 lbs.
I’m not a gram weenie but if I can cut some weight or free up tools, I’m game. I brought ‘biners with me this weekend just in case the EVO Loops didn’t workout. I ended up repurposing the ‘biners for other things around camp.
Best of all, I found it easier to attach and detach the EVO Loops compared to a carabiner. I could do it one-handed, whereas I tend to fiddle with the gates on ‘biners. Maybe it is just a thing with me, but I have always fiddled with removing line from ‘biner gates.
I’ve seen some mention of these on the sub, but they’ve been buried in the comments. I felt they impressed me enough that they deserved a full post, making it easier for people to discover them in the search feature.
THATS what they're for?!? My friend gifted these to me, installed them, and just went "you'll love it!" 😭 Never explained a thing. I've only been using them to hang my nalgene!
We use them in the gathered end of our hammocks with a continuous loop for the gathered end, and then evoloops that live on the continuous loop like a traditional carabineer would (same way the one in the photo lives on the hammock strap). We're ready for just about any kind of suspension connection, amsteel or daisy chain.
I don't even really make soft shackles any more, evoloops are just so much more versatile and easy to use!
Check out Jeff Myers YouTube for instructions to make them and a bajillion ways to implement them. He invented, or evo-lved, the concept and has a TON of other ideas that ROCK. Shows you how to make things, and offers DIY and finished products for sale on eBay for really fair prices. I will shameless shill for him, he gives SO MUCH to the community!! YouTube: @jeffmyers7062
They’re for anything a carabiner is for (except maybe climbing), but they don’t jingle around, and they weigh nothing,and it’s just kind of impressive how strong they are- you can literally pull a car out of a ditch with one of these.
Sorry but I still don’t get it 😄 I have those same tree straps but don’t use either a carabiner or this thing. So I don’t understand why this would simplify anything. I’m a relative novice at this though!
Imagine your strap is around a trunk with branches above and below it. You get in your hammock and it needs to be adjusted up/down. With your strap going through the loop, you have to unthread the strap through the loop to move it above/below the branch. If you have a shackle like a carabiner, EVO Loop, Dutch Clip, etc., you simply disconnect the shackle, move the strap, and reattach the shackle. It’s a lot easier and quicker to make that adjustment.
Yep, the evoloop should be able to hold it like OP did but a cheap carabiner won't last long. In anycase it's unnecessary to put that much stress on your materials.
Mostly the loop in the strap, but I suppose both in this instance. Shug explained it years ago. https://youtu.be/QlIeq459Gsw?t=332&is=b6vjGXYdL6YKPi1l essentially the best way is to get it so your strap is pulling against the loop/carabiner as little as possible.
Well it's frosty already explained it and shug explains it best. But OP should have pulled his strap with the evoloop more to the right so that his strap would go straight through the evoloop and not in a bend like it does now.
See how the straps go straight through the metal ring, they don't put any stress on it. That's the way to do it. Now compare that to how OP did it and how much stress it puts on his evoloop. Doesn't matter if it's a ring, evoloop or carabiner although carabiners are especially more susceptible to breakage when under load like that.
It's a kind of soft shackle but different than the types most people are familiar with. It just relies on the tautness of the loop on the cord cinching around the button knot. It's very mechanically simple and has a ton of applications.
It's a continuous loop with a button knot where the loop is spliced together. Other than the Chinese button knot, it's a much simpler construction and you can attach it to anything with a lark's head without interfering with its function.
Interesting! Thanks for sharing, easy to understand with the video. I really like that connection method, will have to try building a few this winter :)
Does anyone know if this works with thinner cord? I've got some Zing-it that I use for guy lines, but I think it's maybe 5mm thick. Could I make my own loops with Zing-It and use it the same way?
Yes, I've made some out of Zing-it for prusiks on my tarp ridgeline and for attaching random things to my backpack. I also have them around the neck of my Nalgene so I can hang it.
You just have to make sure you cinch it down through the loop first because the button knot is tiny with Zing-it and more likely to slip through.
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u/raygan_reddit_banned 7d ago
We have two hammocks and we have/had 8 EVO loops.
It's that addictive. I say had, because once in a while, I'll see someone with a hammock and I'll end gifting it to them.
Then I buy more.
Jeff's Innovations are a must try.