Have fun practicing and developing ways to get the job done! I like the S-hook idea.
Have fun practicing and developing ways to get the job done! I like the S-hook idea.
I've found it easier for me to follow a printed illustration to tie button knots.
This video was a great help for me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNlgAqo0cc8
I learned the diamond knot during my Whoopie Sling phase but was never a fan of the two tails. I like the Button Knot because the two tails disappear.
In order to see what few have seen, you must go where few have gone. And DO what few have done.
If you take your tarp down in the morning and the ridge line is looser than it was when you set it up, you likely set it up too tight. A little slack isn't a horrible thing.
Here's an alternative way to handle the two tails on the diamond knot. Leave long tails coming out of the top of the knot. Hang on the knot once or twice to get it to set. Then take the two tails where they exit the top of the diamond knot and splice a locked brummel in them. And then, splice one leg through the core of the second. You'll have a nice neat single tail sticking out and the locked brummel will guarantee the tails can't be sucked through the knot.
Yes, my pack weighs 70lbs, but it's all light weight gear....
Bob's brother-in-law
You don't necessarily need to be able to tie a button knot to make a small Evo Loop. Just use a bead instead. Or a T-stopper.
Hadn't thought of that.
Hadn't thought of that either.
Every time I come to this site, I read something else that gets my brain working and then my fingers and gear want to follow. I've had to order more line recently because of all the splicing tips and tricks I've been tinkering with. I guess that's the idea, isn't it? Try a lot ... keep what works for you.
~ All I want is affordable, simple, ultralight luxury. That’s not asking too much is it?
That’s part of the fun.. keep trying different options. That’s how new ideas are born and how old ideas are reborn!!
After trying all kinds of hardware at both ends of the tarp ridge line I’ve settled on the diamond knot / figure eight splice at both ends. I went back to a CRL for a few hang’s (that’s where I started years ago) and prefer split RLs with the diamond knots and a ucr for adjusting. Nothing to bend or break.
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Yes, my pack weighs 70lbs, but it's all light weight gear....
Bob's brother-in-law
I see that you're spot on, MikekiM. I just read this recent HF thread discussing biner failure on a tarp CRL during strong winds. Great example of the stresses on the hardware that wind can cause. I now appreciate why one would want strong (Ti) hardware even for a tarp that doesn't weigh much.
That energized me to take michigandave and jeff-oh's advice to try my hand at splicing a soft shackle. Here are my first attempts using 7/64th Amsteel and a diamond knot. They're larger than I anticipated (about 5" diameter), but I think they're pretty decent for a first attempt.
sof-shackles.JPG
I'm planning to use these to replace the D-rings on my tree straps. I've been using 12kN D-rings which are plenty strong enough, but like most back country backpackers, I'm always looking for ways to shave weight. My soft shackles are 4g each compared to 21g each for the D-rings.
Now that I think I've got the hang of it, I'm going to try to make a smaller one out of zing-it for my tarp CRL and will scrap my homemade "dog tag" dutch hook for that purpose. I did, however, make four to attach to the shock cords I've added to my tarp doors. They're perfect for quickly hooking the doors open and closed. I figure that there shouldn't be too much stress at those points.
~ All I want is affordable, simple, ultralight luxury. That’s not asking too much is it?
The "classic" soft shackles will definitely work and the cool factor is out the wazoo.
However (you knew that was coming ) what I found is that they could be quite difficult to release, particularly in the winter after hanging on them all night. The constrictor part would cinch up very tightly around the base of the diamond knot and it was hard to open it up, even bare-handed and especially while wearing gloves, even thin liner type gloves.
HYOH and all that, but I came to vastly prefer the Evo loop. (Or just a slipped buntline tied in the webbing for shorter hangs/smaller trees.)
Five Basic Principles of Going Lighter (not me... the great Cam Honan of OZ)
“If everybody is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.” ~ Gen. George S Patton
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