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  1. #11
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
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    Raeford, NC
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    Warbonnet, Eldorado, Ridgerunner
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    WB thunderfly, etc
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    Thanks for all the replies and advice. I should have made it more clear that I plan to bring long tie outs, as well as medium ones, so I can use one, two or three together. But I wanted to find what the minimum length needed for hunkering down in poor weather. I had four six foot dyneema lines, and could double two up but with a larkshead on one end and an adjustable loop on the other end I found that with using knots only and six inches of shock cord at the tarp on my WB cloudburst, I never really got the edge of the tarp down low enough for really windy conditions.

    Then getting soaked a few weeks ago motivated me to get a wider tarp, the Mountainfly. To get the sides down low to the ground and the tarp tighter around the hammock I found today that all I need is a foot of cord, maybe 18". So I've gone to hardware instead of knots only and put some tarp ticks on 3 foot long 2mm Glowire and the problem (as I saw it) went away. I'll use those in bad weather, and my old ways with 6 foot cord the rest of the time.

    That extra width, the beaks and quick adjustability with tarp ticks should work out well with winter coming and with my dog sleeping right under my hammock on his travel mat. I tend to fuss and fuss at home with just about everything so that when on the "road" I don't have to fuss or think about things. It's a joy to have the perfect system, but I'm not at all there - not even close.

  2. #12
    SilvrSurfr's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Jersey Shore, NJ
    Hammock
    Dutch PolyD
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    HG Winter Palace
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    HG 0, 20, 40
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    Dutch Whoopie Hook
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    14,716
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    It really doesn't matter if you're using 8 ft. guylines (which I use) because you can just shorten them up if you want to and leave the excess cord laying on the ground (or tie it up in a neat bundle, if you're that type). Sure, shorter guylines would reduce your weight, but you say you're carrying multiple lengths anyway. The weight savings from shorter guylines would be negligible, anyway, if you're using Zing-It or Lawson (probably less than an ounce).

    I personally don't care for hardware on my guylines - my guylines are permanently larksheaded onto the tarp tie-outs and I just use a marlin spike hitch at the stake. When it's time to pack up, I just roll the guylines up in the tarp and the tarp goes in the snakeskins.
    "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." Ralph Waldo Emerson

  3. #13
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Raeford, NC
    Hammock
    Warbonnet, Eldorado, Ridgerunner
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    WB thunderfly, etc
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    159
    Quote Originally Posted by Pop_Eye View Post
    Everyone does it a little bit different and none of them are wrong.

    My guy lines have been evolving as I hang more. Right now I’m at 7’ for the corners but that may change. As I’ve tried out different cordage, I’ve used different lengths and experimented as I go.

    It can also be tarp dependent. One tarp I used 4’ on one side and 6’ foot on the other. But the last outing I changed them out to 7’ and the length came in handy to tie out to a tree. I also used a few zing it dog bone extensions I made by larks heading them on the Lawson guy lines.

    I use some hardware, but I always practice knots for if it ever fails. The Lawson line really takes to knots better than the zing it or lash it.

    Try different stuff and check back in with what works for you!

    Yeah, the three tarp widths that I have right now all work out completely differently. How high to hang it and still have easy access to the hammock, how low the edges can get for bad weather and so many other variables. Hikers have it so much nicer that people like me who camp mostly in state parks. I'm going to start to bring two tarps actually, so I can cook and sit around under a different tarp than the one over my sleep quarters. I don't really have to worry about weight, is one of the few advantages of my present lot. I just wish I could make the RV's move to their own end of the park. That is a different camping culture completely.

  4. #14
    Senior Member Pop_Eye's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2020
    Location
    Detroit, MI
    Hammock
    Wide Chameleon
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    Straps & Buckles
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    125
    Quote Originally Posted by Pavel View Post
    Yeah, the three tarp widths that I have right now all work out completely differently. How high to hang it and still have easy access to the hammock, how low the edges can get for bad weather and so many other variables. Hikers have it so much nicer that people like me who camp mostly in state parks. I'm going to start to bring two tarps actually, so I can cook and sit around under a different tarp than the one over my sleep quarters. I don't really have to worry about weight, is one of the few advantages of my present lot. I just wish I could make the RV's move to their own end of the park. That is a different camping culture completely.
    I sometimes hang two tarps when I car camp, when I backpack I only hang one though.

    Depending on your state, you may have a solution for ditching of the RV crowd. I think there are some national Forests in NC. have you ever dispersed camped in them? It changed my camping life and it makes hammock camping funner.

  5. #15
    Senior Member Shrewd's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2016
    Location
    Northern Virginia
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    382
    I didn’t measure mine but I’d say two are 6 footers and two are 4

    In the end I mostly use them without rhyme or reason

  6. #16
    New Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    Near Boston Mass.
    Hammock
    1.6oz HyperD XL whipped ends
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    Cowboy Cat Tangle
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    Gemini UQ, CDT TQ
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    Marlinspike Hitch
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    4
    Does anyone use really short guyouts like one foot, or eighteen inches? I wonder what length would be just off the ground, but as wide as possible for interior space.
    As you mentioned, the minimum adjustable length of your current guylines (using a slide and grip hitch to make a loop) is about one half the line length. If you switch to a method that runs the guyline through a prusik or a Lineloc, then the minimum length is close to zero. This is a key benefit to these methods. My current DIY tarp has permanent prusiks larks headed onto the tieout points. I’m going to try Linelocs on my next tarp currently in process.

    Edit: Sorry, I meant to reply to the OP, not the immediate prior post.

  7. #17
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2018
    Location
    old dirt
    Posts
    444
    Quote Originally Posted by Pavel View Post
    Thanks for all the replies and advice. I should have made it more clear that I plan to bring long tie outs, as well as medium ones, so I can use one, two or three together. But I wanted to find what the minimum length needed for hunkering down in poor weather. I had four six foot dyneema lines, and could double two up but with a larkshead on one end and an adjustable loop on the other end I found that with using knots only and six inches of shock cord at the tarp on my WB cloudburst, I never really got the edge of the tarp down low enough for really windy conditions.
    i think i understood you well. again, the problem is not that you are using knots, but how you are using them. if you want to still consider knots as an alternative, consider what i and few others suggested (a knot based tensioning system which does not double up the line, but can swallow all of it). this is the key to solve your problem, and it is what the tarptics basically provide. you should never have to size your guylines for the minimum length you would need, but for the maximum, as with a proper tensioning system (be it knots or hw), the minimum will be near 0, irrespective of the length of the full guyline.

    (...)
    That extra width, the beaks and quick adjustability with tarp ticks should work out well with winter coming and with my dog sleeping right under my hammock on his travel mat. I tend to fuss and fuss at home with just about everything so that when on the "road" I don't have to fuss or think about things. It's a joy to have the perfect system, but I'm not at all there - not even close.
    i don't know. i think if i found the perfect setup i would be bored. i would probably accuse myself of being lazy if i thought anything was perfect. i like to play

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