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  1. #1
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    Holy wind batman! Q on shock cord on DCF tarp

    Hey folks, I'm still new to hammock camping, I have about 8 nights in (and LOVING it).

    The other night I slept in the windiest conditions I've ever slept in. Lots of blowing sideways rain along with an overhead lightening storm. I was using my HG dyneema tarp with doors. On the tarp I used shock cord / guylines with tarp worms that I ordered from Dutchware.

    The shock cord gave the tarp a lot of room to move as the wind blew directly into the side of the tarp, so much so that the tarp was constantly pushing into the hammock throughout the night. Or at least that is what I think was happening. The other side of the tarp also had a lot of room to move around as some of the wind made it's way underneath the hammock and over to that side of the tarp. When I had originally set up I tensioned (stretched) the shock cord quite a bit as I anticipated a windy night.

    Did I do this wrong? Is using shock cord necessary for a dyneema tarp? With my old silpoly tents I was used to cranking down on the guyline tension quite a bit and always had good results. I guess during the night I was annoyed by all that movement from the tarp and wished that I could have been able to just crank down on a shockcord-less guyline system to keep the tarp steady. Is it okay to do that or would there be a risk of stretching the dyneema? Or should I just keep going with the shock cord and chalk it up to a 1 in a 100 kind of windy night.

    FWIW, the tarp did keep me bone dry throughout the night (with doors closed) even though two of the tarp worms failed (probably my fault?).

    Thank you in advance.

  2. #2
    SilvrSurfr's Avatar
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    I tried shock cord with my silnylon fly and immediately dumped it. If the tarp is gonna sag from wet weather, I'll just tighten it up.

    A DCF tarp, however, doesn't sag, so the shock cord does nothing and I've never even considered using it. Still, some people (like Shug) use shock cord with their DCF tarps.
    "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." Ralph Waldo Emerson

  3. #3
    all secure in sector 7 Shug's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SilvrSurfr View Post
    I tried shock cord with my silnylon fly and immediately dumped it. If the tarp is gonna sag from wet weather, I'll just tighten it up.

    A DCF tarp, however, doesn't sag, so the shock cord does nothing and I've never even considered using it. Still, some people (like Shug) use shock cord with their DCF tarps.
    Yep... smaller trees sag a bit sometimes and I just prefer them. Not on my ridgeline tie-outs though.
    High winds I'd use a couple of panel pulls.
    Depending on wind direction the side of the tarp is a big surface for it to hit. So there are variables out there.
    Shug of Shock
    Whooooo Buddy)))) All Secure in Sector Seven

  4. #4
    New Member
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    I use a form of the Self Tensioning Guylines with my DCF tarp. It gives me play if I want it, or I can basically pull out all the slack if I'm expecting wind.

    I haven't heard of any risk with stretching the Dyneema and most people seem to recommend pitching the Dyneema tight. If I expect it to be windy, I usually try to get a nice tight and low pitch without the shock cord playing a role and haven't had any issues thus far.

    I try to give some play in my ridgeline however, as the trees will move and I am worried about a failure at the ridgeline in high winds.

  5. #5
    Senior Member
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    One thing you may want to consider - assuming your DCF tarp has panel pulls - is creating situation that allows you to use trekking poles to pull the sides out from you in the wind. I've found that makes such a big difference in my setup. For example, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4CLrxSxTSw
    Iceman857

    "An optimist is a man who plants two acorns and buys a hammock" - Jean de Lattre de Tassigny (French Army General in WWII)

  6. #6
    cougarmeat's Avatar
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    The point of the shock cord on non-DCF tarps was to keep them taut when they would stretch a bit. DCF doesn’t stretch so that reason is out. But there’s another reason. When the unstoppable wind meets the unmovable tarp, as that great American philosopher, Gary Larson, would say, “… trouble brew’n.” So the bungee lets the tarp move a bit to spill some wind, then spring back into shape.

    Also, pushing into the hammock is what tarps do when broadside to the wind. If you crank them down so tight that they don’t, again, they are absorbing a lot of force. When I saw that happening, I was in a situation where I could reorient my tarp so it was parallel with the wind. The door end presented the wind with the smallest surface area, the tree support also blocked the oncoming wind, and the aerodynamics of the flow over the tarp now pulled the sides out (lift, like an airplane wind) instead of pushing them in.
    In order to see what few have seen, you must go where few have gone. And DO what few have done.

  7. #7
    Senior Member cmoulder's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by iceman857 View Post
    One thing you may want to consider - assuming your DCF tarp has panel pulls - is creating situation that allows you to use trekking poles to pull the sides out from you in the wind. I've found that makes such a big difference in my setup. For example, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4CLrxSxTSw
    This is what I do when fairly high wind is expected. Better to find an area that is better sheltered from the wind by natural obstacles but this isn't always possible.

    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

  8. #8
    Senior Member
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    Good points. It’s the old, trees that bend survive the storm concept.

    Another reason that I like shock-cord on the tie outs is that myself and my fellow campers are very likely to step into them at some point. The bit of give on the line allows for more reaction time and keeps the stakes in-place.

  9. #9
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    Maybe you need stronger shock cord? Just like a car, if the suspension is too soft it will bottom out too easily.

  10. #10
    cougarmeat's Avatar
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    the shock cord's job is to give. If it holds the tarp’s shape when the wind isn’t blowing, that’s probably good enough. You can always use cord with less give, but there will always be a stronger wind. If I had the tools to measure the wind force, the bungee give, and the strength of the tarp fabric and stitching, I could better calculate how strong the shock cord should be. But lacking that, I prefer it “deform” to spill the wind, then spring back into place. Sure - if someone was using really tiny stuff I’d suggest a heavier line. But that’s more because I wouldn’t want the light cord to snap apart and not because it allowed too much give.
    Last edited by cougarmeat; 10-16-2020 at 17:53.
    In order to see what few have seen, you must go where few have gone. And DO what few have done.

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