Originally Posted by
nanok
i used several kinds of chord, typically the same cord works for the ridge line/guylines and the knots, when using good friction knots, like the blake and the VT. i've been using 2mm paracord (the one designated 100, or type 1 i think), because it's "enough" and it's quite light. i'm now testing to switch to good quality ppm rope of larger diameter (polypropylene multifilament), it's very cheap, it's lighter than dyneema, and doesn't absorb water, so it looks promising. being so light i could get away with using 3 or even 4mm ppm, so it is much nicer on the hands and with knots and such (but we will see how that goes, still in early testing stage). some people use dyneema, i think it's a bit overkill, and the lack of stretch is counterproductive. the nice thing with using knots is that you can use almost anything you like, you're not locked into some narrow range of line diameter that the hardware was designed for. with dyneema on dyneema, because it's so slippery, using smaller diameter for the knots than for the ridgeline seems to be a good idea (but i would avoid dyneema on dyneema, and at least make the knots/soft shackles out of normal cord, if the ridgeline must be dyneema)
i have the same tensioning system on both trees, and same softshackles with friction hitches on the tarp tieouts too (even though i use a continuous ridgeline), this means i have several options to center the tarp, and because i can tension from both trees, it means i don't have to slide the tarp half a mile to center it, and at the same time have a healthy amount of ridgeline in case i need it. i find having quick adjust on all tieouts makes setup more versatile and less fidly, and because i make my own, why not? (it just takes a few minutes more for a few extra ones, when i pre-rig the tarp, and then it's good for the lifetime of the rope)
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