First year bringing a lightweight hammock along. Do I need the straps or will rope work? Thanks....

If you value the trees and want to have the privilege of hanging again you should use straps. Many parks are banning hammocks because of the damage caused by rope to the trees.

I'm not a fan of full straps. You can go with a tree hugger type strap, then use rope to the hammack.

Please use straps (or at least straps on the portion contacting the tree). They don't weigh much (if any) more, are easier to adjust, protect the trees better, and protect all of our ability to continue to hammock in the wilderness.

Wallidave: "First year bringing a lightweight hammock along. Do I need the straps or will rope work? Thanks...."

Rope will work but, you should avoid using it next to tree bark to support your weight.

If you have no other option, consider bringing your canoe tie-down straps to loop around trees. You could also use PFDs between rope and tree bark to protect the tree. Of course the most reasonable option, simply get yourself some tree straps.

Wallidave, are you talking about a hammock to lounge in during the day or a hammock setup for actually sleeping in instead of a tent?

I would stay away from nylon straps, they tend to stretch. I have pair of Slap Straps and found my butt almost hitting the ground in the morning.
Go with Dyneema, whoopie slings are a plus.
ENO Helios are one example.

The trees nutrients travel at the outside of the tree or the bark. Using rope will kill the outer layer of a tree at the rope area, and possibly killing the tree.

Don’t use nylon straps, they are like a bungee cord and stretch letting you down in the morning.

Buy one or two inch wide Polyester straps for hammock suspension. No stretch and no tree damage. Wrap the strap a few times around the tree to spread out the load.

it's just a hammock for lounging in during the day for a few hours here and there. My son likes to read so I thought we'd try it for him. Thanks for the replies.

Rope will work, but you need rope with hardly any stretch. That said however, as others have mentioned, please use straps....even minor use with a smallish rope will damage trees. That is how hammocks have been banned from a few areas.

We've used several on our hammocks. My kids use the ENO Atlas suspension, which is quick, simple and easy to use. I use the ENO Helios system which is lightweight, although not as straightforward...it's still easy to use and combines dyneema line attached to straps for the tree.

Wallidave: "it's just a hammock for lounging in during the day for a few hours here and there. My son likes to read so I thought we'd try it for him. Thanks for the replies."

Ok for lounging I would recommend the Kammock Python straps.
Stay away from rope.

Rope bad. Straps good.

Get these straps and you'll be fine...

http://www.simplylightdesigns.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/22_38/products_id/30

straps always to avoid tree damage. polyester not nylon as stated for stretching reasons.