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  1. #1
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    Favorite reflective tarp tie-out cordage?

    Seems as though reflect-it in the color I want is out of stock and I'm needing a bunch of new cordage for tie-outs. I used to use lash-it but it's expensive and I can't count how many times I've tripped over it at night.

    My current tie-out setup is: tarp tie-out to 1/8" shock cord loop to hook worm to tie-out cord to MSH on MSR groundhogs. I have a Superfly and use 4' cordage as primary each with loops spliced so I can attach extensions for porch mode or going out to a tree. I suppose if the cord is small enough then I don't need to splice it and can get away with bowlines.

    I found https://atwoodrope.com/products/1-18...eflective-blue to be quite inexpensive and in stock but doing some research here, some people found that it might fray easily. I heard it may also be hard to splice. I suppose given the price I can keep replacing it. Any experience with this?

    I think mason line is out of the question as I read that it doesn't hold up.

    Lawson glowire in the color I want is also out of stock and is the same price as reflect-it. It's also not spliceable.

  2. #2
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    hey uninjured,

    seems you've been doing a lot of testing, looking forward to more feedback/problem solving threads

    i happen to have gotten some of the atwood rope you mention above recently just out of curiosity (i got it in boring orange though, not reflective, but i expect otherwise it should be the same). so a few things to note: this thing is really really thin, it is much thinner than the lash-it you are using now (i understand it can be 1.75mm or 2.2mm, this thing is 1.18mm, it might sound like not such big difference, but it is huge). it is definitely strong enough for the purpose, but i would not use it for guylines for a few reasons: 1. if you trip on it, it will bloody hurt (and some bits might detach and stay behind, if you trip hard enough) 2. handling this thing with bare hands as guyline will suck, and with gloves it will be hard to grab at all

    one interesting thing i found about it is that it is somehow very grabby, friction knots work almost too well with it (i intended to use it to make my line tensioners with it in an "ultralight" version, but after trying it i think i won't do that, as it's a bit too grabby for my taste, but some might like it in that role).

    i am more and more inclined to go more towards 3mm for guylines, even 2mm feels unnecesarily thin and invisible to me. i am experimenting now with ppm (polypropylene) chord as i found a good source for it here in EU, where it can be had in good quality and various sizes colors etc, including "hollow braided" which is very very easy to splice. the nice thing about PP is that it's even a bit lighter than dyneema, and the strength is somewhere below polyester, but not that far below, and for guylines what i would like would be to have the thickest possible line while still staying "light enough". this 4mm hollowbraided is about 4g/m, which is definitely not ultralight in absolute terms, but i think it might be the right compromise for me. if you don't care about it being spliceable, there's options in 2, 2.5, 3mm as well, though the 3mm seems to be only a tiny bit lighter than the 4mm hollow. if you can find some good quality PP cord locally, maybe give it a go: it is dirt cheap, it's light and doesn't absorb water, it's basically dyneema without the crazy strength and price. it might not hold up as long as other options, but it's so cheap it won't matter if i have to replace it every year or two due to UV exposure.

    for reflectivness, i've been thinking about some solutions to "add" reflectiveness to whatever guylines i chose, i'm kind of not keen on being limited in my choice of cordage based on reflectivity, and i also like the idea of attachable reflectors, so that i can remove them when i don't want them (going stealth?). i'll report back if i come up with something amazing, but i'm guessing hitching onto your guyline a piece of reflective decored paracord of your choice (which is easy to find everywhere these days, thanks to the paracord craze) should do nicely. maybe even slipping a few pieces on the guyline, assuming the chosen guyline is thick enough so they don't just slide freely?

    edit: ah, regarding splicing: the atwood above (the orange one i have) looks theorethically spliceable, in practice i pity the one who would have to do it (it's not just the diameter, i have 1mm dyneema i spliced, and while i'd like a microscope for that job, there's no problem otherwise to splice it, this atwood microcord is braided in such a way that it feels tight and unwelcoming , untill you cut it and then it springs open at the cut (and looks like it might unravel if you don't heat seal it).

    splicing is a must for lash-it and dyneema in general, but for anything else it's a matter of preference, as almost everything else will happily take knots, i personally grew to like splicing, but i don't insist on guyline rope to be spliceable ('though it's always a nice feature if available)
    Last edited by nanok; 07-24-2021 at 17:00.

  3. #3
    ObdewlaX's Avatar
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    Lawson Equipment Glowire, hands down.

  4. #4
    cougarmeat's Avatar
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    One I DON'T recommend is Nite-eze; the green cord. It’s fine by itself but it doesn’t play well with others. What I mean is, the component that makes the cord reflective also gets in the way of any sliding action - like moving a prusik knote. Or sliding though a LineLoc. It just “catches” a bit. I bought a whole bunch before I discovered HF and found out about alternatives. So it’s not so much that it doesn’t work at all; it’s more that there are cords that work better.
    Last edited by cougarmeat; 07-25-2021 at 11:46.
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  5. #5
    Senior Member sidneyhornblower's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ObdewlaX View Post
    Lawson Equipment Glowire, hands down.
    +1 on Lawson Equipment's stuff.
    "...the height of hammock snobbery!"

  6. #6
    Senior Member cmoulder's Avatar
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    Also lotsa love here for Glowire. Has just the right amount of stiffness to resist tangling and is perfect for tying and holding knots.

    Not as good, but viable, are Kelty Triptease and Atwood Tactical Cord, but definitely not the micro cord which tangles if you so much as look at it.
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  7. #7
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    Sounds like Lawson glowire is a favourite. How is the visibility of black during the day? I'm only asking because I think I would prefer black but daytime visibility is also a concern for me. Orange appears to be out of stock so I'd have to settle for red.

    Nanok: you're more adventurous than me! As I've been using 1.75mm for my guylines, I'll see how this 2mm glowire feels before considering going with a larger diameter but I see your point in potentially going up to 3mm+. Also I appreciate your point about the potential danger of the thinness of the Atwood. I'm usually in shorts and catching something so thin at the wrong angle could be nasty.

  8. #8
    cougarmeat's Avatar
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    It may be a “low tech” solution but if I have guy lines I’m concerned about (day or night), I tear off a length (8 inches or so) of day-glow survey tape and tie it on the line for more visibility during the day.
    In order to see what few have seen, you must go where few have gone. And DO what few have done.

  9. #9
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    Uninjured- about using 1mm line- you might have to change your screen name!

  10. #10
    Senior Member OneClick's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by cougarmeat View Post
    One I DON'T recommend is Nite-eze; the green cord. It’s fine by itself but it doesn’t play well with others. What I mean is, the component that makes the cord reflective also gets in the way of any sliding action - like moving a prusik knote. Or sliding though a LineLoc. It just “catches” a bit. I bought a whole bunch before I discovered HF and found out about alternatives. So it’s not so much that it doesn’t work at all; it’s more that there are cords that work better.
    That stuff stretches pretty good too. I gave up on reflective rope once I noticed all the glitter everywhere. EVERYWHERE. Throughout the house, on the tarp, backpack, etc. But this green stuff doesn't shed. Oh, I can't win.

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