Superfly in high wind

[Shewie]

I'm having an issue with my Superfly in strong gusty winds and looking for some ideas on how to improve it.

My camo Superfly came with split rings at the ends and for a good number of years I used a dyneema CRL with prusik knots and mini karabiners, I switched over to Stingerz last year and love the simplicity but this setup is wrecking my gear. In strong gusty winds the split rings are opening up and I've now lost two of them, the first time it was repairable but the second time I had to bail out. It's testament to the build quality of the Superfly itself as it's the steel that's giving up before the tarp.

I'm using 2mm dyneema cord spliced onto Dutch Stingerz, which then clip straight onto the split rings attached to the tarp, do I need to introduce some kind of shock absorption somewhere? I'm afraid one day it will be the nylon loop on the tarp that gives rather than any hardware.

I thought about putting a small loop of shockcord in but not sure I trust SC in strong wind? I find the SF pitches best under good tension, I don't want to lose that ability if I can help it.

Whilst I'm here, for door tie-outs, is a static cord preferred over shockcord in windy conditions? I have 3ft lengths of 3mm SC on mine but considering swapping it to something else, it can get a bit flappy sometimes with SC.

[TrailSlug]

If the split rings are separating then my opinion is you are reaching the limits of hanging with a tarp. You can always add another split ring but you may be putting your expensive gear in harms way. The bottom line, there are conditions that warrant different gear or waiting for better weather or better site locations.

[clusterone]

Might consider an internal pole mod option for those highwind situation.

[TominMN]

I'd consider myself lucky that the split rings gave out! Cheap "fuse."

[Shewie]

If the split rings are separating then my opinion is you are reaching the limits of hanging with a tarp. You can always add another split ring but you may be putting your expensive gear in harms way. The bottom line, there are conditions that warrant different gear or waiting for better weather or better site locations.

I think Brandon once told me they were No.10 250lb rated rings so it's some serious force being applied, it's a shame as winter is the only time I really use the hammock gear and suits the lower terrain I visit over the colder months. The Cairngorms do get some extreme weather and we're usually hunkered down out of the way if we know it's coming, on Wednesday night when I had to bail out and pack up the weather was calm when we went to bed. I'd guess the worst of the gusts would've been around 45-60mph.

The other two guys in the group both had CRLs and they had no issues, I guess the load is being shared differently? Maybe I just carry a separate CRL rig and switch to that if the weather takes a dive.

Might consider an internal pole mod option for those highwind situation.

I'll take a look at that cheers, I'm a bit out of the loop these days.

[HarveyM]

I'm using 2mm dyneema cord spliced onto Dutch Stingerz, which then clip straight onto the split rings attached to the tarp, do I need to introduce some kind of shock absorption somewhere? I'm afraid one day it will be the nylon loop on the tarp that gives rather than any hardware.

I thought about putting a small loop of shockcord in but not sure I trust SC in strong wind? I find the SF pitches best under good tension, I don't want to lose that ability if I can help it.

Not sure if the shockcord will help but Derek Hansen shows a shockcord setup where the line is continuous (in this case a guy line): https://theultimatehang.com/2014/01/...-hammock-tarp/

[sturgeon]

I recall Brandon saying that the ridge line need not be super tight. It’s the other guy lines that you should really pull hard when making your pitch. Maybe ease off on the ridge line tension a bit.

Also, at those wind speeds, I’m assuming you are using the panel pulls, right?

Doors closed? Maybe, counterintuitively, you need to open the doors at those windspeeds as they might present too much surface area to the wind, loading the ridge line excessively.

Just speculating...

Edit: looked at your older post about high winds. I always use static cord on my panel pulls on my cloudburst and thunderfly. I use Static cord attached to shock cord loops for my corner guylines on nylon tarps (my cloudburst); no shockcord loops on my poly tarp (thunderfly).
Definitely go as low as you can, give up headroom, when the wind gets crazy.
I ditched the line locs a few years ago. They kept slipping.
My $.02

Good luck! Hope to see more of those awesome pics from the Cairngorms!

[cougarmeat]

I second the comment that you WANT those split rings and shock cord to break. Much better than a torn tarp. If you are taking wind loads that fierce, I'd say it's time to consider a different location or orientation.

[Watertooner]

About a year in a thread titled "Superfly in a storm", Warbonnetguy said,

"The sf is designed to handle pretty heavy wind just like it is. And weve had been plenty of reports of it doing so, particularly the 30d silnylon fabric that weve been using for years now. Ive had great results in heavy wind using the exact setup in our basic tarp setup video. If the wind force on the tarp is great enough the split ring on the ridge seam will fail, no need to add weaker components to the ground corners. If i had to guess id say those split rings will hold 150 lbs before bending open. The panel pull tabs are the same design as the main ground corners and are basically full strength, if anything using them spreads the forces out more and helps deflect the wind more than if they arent used."

He also said that he doesn't use tensioners. Just keeps it simple and taut.

[OneClick]

Just last week - I was hanging in 45mph wind gusts...and not just during a storm. It was a constant beating for about 4 hours through the night. Not the best sleeping weather as I was asleep/awake off and on the entire time. The sound through the pines was pretty amazing but I was bracing for a disaster most of the time. I never camped in anything like it!

The Superfly was set up in a standard tent mode with doors closed. Two separate ends of 1.75mm lash-it were used with Tarp Flyz for the ridgeline. The corners were 2mm reflective cord on plastic Figure 9's. The 7" Y stakes held just fine, but a couple wiggled a bit in the soft soil by morning.