gabby
Trail Wise!
Posts: 4,537
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Post by gabby on Jun 22, 2021 20:39:09 GMT -8
There’s a very useful knot called a taut-line hitch that gives an adjustable loop, with no additional hardware needed. It’s been one of the ones I teach to my Girl Scouts. Been there, done that – – – still can if I have to. But let a tautline hitch meet cold and wet, and you might change your mind about its usefulness, even if just a little. :-)
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ErnieW
Trail Wise!
I want to backpack
Posts: 9,855
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Post by ErnieW on Jun 23, 2021 5:34:04 GMT -8
Up until recently I was a car camping only tarp user but I recently bought a Warbonnet Blackbird XLC hammock and Mamajamba. There is a sewn ridge line with eyes at both ends of the Mamajamba. No need for a full ridge line. Also it only has pull outs at the corners. So far that is all that has been needed. I have picked days of high wind and/or hard rain to set it up as a test and it has done very well. On the overnights I have used it, it has been great. I do love that in the rain you can start with putting the tarp up and then work dry on the rest. Early this spring before the leaves were on the trees I did an overnight and the sun was brutal. I popped the tarp up for my lunch break and it was a very welcome bit of shade.
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Post by bobcat on Jun 23, 2021 10:37:30 GMT -8
But let a tautline hitch meet cold and wet, and you might change your mind about its usefulness, even if just a little. :-) [/quote]
Gabby , I haven’t ever had trouble using the knot, maybe I’m just lucky. Lived in cold climate and all, for close to 30 years. I’ll remember the washer trick if I ever think I need it.
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gabby
Trail Wise!
Posts: 4,537
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Post by gabby on Jun 25, 2021 13:05:23 GMT -8
Gabby , I haven’t ever had trouble using the knot, maybe I’m just lucky. Lived in cold climate and all, for close to 30 years. I’ll remember the washer trick if I ever think I need it. Sorry I sounded so antagonistic to you: my comment wasn't intended that way. ( FYI: if you use the "@"gabby reference, I'll get notified when I'm "tagged" and will reply much sooner.) My comment was stimulated by a mental visual from years ago: I was simply remembering a cold night when it was raining hard and the temps were in the mid 30s. My hands were cold (you can't really wear gloves when tying knots or fiddling with them, so no gloves), the rain was just barely above freezing, and knots were hard to tie, mud was everywhere and I was frustrated to the max. Your experience might be different and you also might be a much more "well-tempered" sort of guy in situations like that. Sadly, I am not.AFA the "washer trick" goes, I was intrigued myself and did an experiment with a smaller, lighter ring. The story behind the "lighter rings": Some time ago, I "rewired" the guylines on my TT Scarp 1 so I could use fewer stakes, in a configuration much like the Hilleberg Akto, which ties the middle stakeout point on the end of the tent to the stakes for the side guylines on the end. I initially used keyrings I found lying around the house to make the sliding adjustment thingamajig for the middle, but found some 1/2" steel rings online to replace them last year. Amazon, bag of 50 1/2 Inch Welded O-Rings, $8.95
The standard Scarp end guyline layout - 3 stakes
The Akto end guyline layout, which uses 2 stakes instead of 3.I replaced the larger and heavier (and uglier) keyrings with the smaller and lighter 1/2" ID steel rings last year (fnally!). Back to the "washer trick": Using the 1/2" rings, which I didn't really expect to hold all that well because they're more rounded and lack the sharp edge of the washers in the video, I found that the "washer trick" still works pretty well as long as the subtended angle of the tieoff point is sufficiently small. (to the left in the picture below) In fact, simply spreading the 2 lines on the left releases the tension on the setup so that it then easily slides. I'd have done more pictures, but I'm running a bit late. :^D
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