Ok, I've been into hanging weights for about 3 years total time now off and on, more off than on, but I still have made what I feel to be decent gains when I have been hanging. It's been a year since I've really been back into hanging with any consistency, but last year during a 3 month window where I was hanging between 3 and 4 hours total time per day, I gained 3/4" of length.
This is what we are trying to duplicate with this "hard core hanging". Although with less time involved. The whole idea being to hang your max weight that you physically can at that time, for as many sets in a day as you are practically able to. That's something you have to figure out on your own through sort of a trial and error. Try a certain weight, say 5lbs, see what type of stretch if any you get after a few minutes with that, and if you feel you can handle more, go up a couple pounds. Repeat until you find your max weight. You should be able to get a very good stretched feeling in your base area and in the penis during a set. If not, you need more weight. Never make huge jumps in weight though. Only move up a pound or two at a time.
Hanging in all practicallity, can in fact rival if not beat manual stretching. The big thing that hangers have to overcome though is working up to comparable levels of resistance. Most manual stretchers can use 30lbs+ of resisitance. Most manual stretchers however, are not very dedicated to their routines, otherwise they would see better length gains. See DLD's personal example for what dedicated manual stretching can do. A hanger, has to put in more effort on the side of learning what hanger setup, settings, wrap, etc. will allow him to approach those higher levels of resistance. This can, actually it SHOULD take several months to get down, and then adapt one's penis to. That however, should in no way be a deterrent to sticking with hanging. A hanger has to keep in mind that it will be worth the effort. Many guys make gains with hanging as soon as they begin hanging, because of the fact they have never used a set level of resistance on their penis for more than a couple minutes at a time. So, more than likely once a guy is using 5lbs+ in resistance, he should see at the very least a minimal gain up front. "Newbie gains" if you will.
If a guy is willing to become a student of hanging, learn all the ins and outs, learn his hanger, and his penis like the back of his hand (literally), and what will and wont allow him to move up in weight over time, the payoff is well worth the effort. A hanger has the advantage over a manual stretcher once he begins hanging with 20lbs+ of resistance, for the simple fact that he can maintain that high level of resistance for much longer with no worries of his "grip" hitting fatigue before his penis and ligs do.