As a member of hammockforums.com I hear all about the latest gadgets in the hammocking world.  One vendor that comes up in almost every thread is Dutch and his DutchWare line of lightweight hammock hardware. Like any gear junkie, I let out a bigfoot howl over every new piece of titanium bling that comes out of his shop.  I am going to share a little review on one of them.
 

The DutchWare Titanium Ridge Line Biner

Trying to shave away every gram I can becomes challenging when you hit the 8 lb mark. After upgrading my structural ridge line to a WhoopieSlings.com Dyneema, I wanted something equally lightweight and exotic to attach it to the hammock that is strong enough to give me some confidence while sleeping. I also wanted the flexibility of removing the ridge line when I want to lounge around in the hammock like a chair and not have the ridge line try and take my head off.
 

DutchWare Rige Line Biner Attached to Hammock

Well, after a little investigation, I found out from Hammock Gear a suggested minimum test strength for the bits of a structural ridge line should be at least 300 lbs.  That immediately ruled out the Nite Ize S-Biner and the generic Micro-D Carabiner as they are rated around 10 lbs.  They are still great choices for hanging gear and tarp ridge lines.

I am left with the Metolius and the DutchWare. Weighing in at 25 grams, the Metolius is a super light-weight carabiner for climbing that I would trust my life with.  For this task however, way too heavy and clunky. Out of the three, the DutchWare is the lightest and smallest, and tested to hold up to 200 pounds. Enough to hold the ridge line safely.

I went out and bought two. After having it up and using it I realized only one is needed, unless you plan on totally removing the ridge line from the hammock. I opted to leave it attached to the foot side of the hammock and I can detach the head from the biner and tuck the line away neatly.
 

About the author

Ron Gallant has been an outdoor enthusiastt for over 30 years. He has spent most of his life in the rugged climate of the North Eastern Island of Newfoundland, Canada. Ron has five years of training with the Canadian Armed forces as an infantryman, with courses in winter survival and reconnaissance (RECCE). He enjoys the hardships of nature and has spent many nights under minimal shelter during snow storms, tropical winds and temperatures ranging from -40º to 100º fahrenheit.
Ron is the author of the outdoor blog Skunkape Blog.

• skunkapeblog.com
• twitter.com/SkunkApeBlog
• fb.com/SkunkapeBlog