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  1. #11
    Senior Member
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    It's my understanding that the coating on Amsteel products (including Lash-It and Zing-It) is actually intended to provide MORE grip that bare UHMWPE rather than make it slippery! UHMWPE is actually a very slippery substance. It's used as artificial ice. I think most people here find that grip improves after the cordage wears a bit. I think that has more to do with the very tiny bit of fraying that occurs rather than the wearing away of the coating. (Dynaglide, on the other hand, is designed to be slippery.)

    All that said, splicing is far preferable over knots with this stuff for many of the uses that we put it to.

  2. #12
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    hmm. welcome to the forums, allow me to introduce myself: the black sheep (with red spots). joke aside, that's a disclaimer of sorts: my point of view tends to be a bit controversial. you have been warned

    stretch: you are correct, stretch is a feature, not a problem, particularly for a tarp ridgeline. the stretch of nylon fibers, like paracord is made of, is just about right in my experience. people have a problem with it for ridgelines because there is this tradition(tm) to set up ridgelines to be straight, in defiance of the laws of physics. to not write (another) three part novel on the topic, your ridgeline would ideally look like your hammock suspension, once the tarp installed (30 degree angles and all), for much the same reasons you want such configuration for your hammock suspension. this also gives you the opportunity to use the same treestraps for the tarp as you already have on the tree, for the hammock, which is nice. i explained this at some length and showed some examples (though a diagram is still badly needed) in an older thread i titled "the levitating tarp". try that, i am curious if you will ever have any trouble with stretch or loosening after.

    paracord(550): despite the above, i wouldn't use it for a hiking tarp. it's just too bulky and heavy, there's no point (could make sense for heavier tarps though). i did try, and i do like the material, and how available it is these days (what can i say, i like rope, i have issues). one of the wonderful outcomes of the "paracord craze" is there's now very useful variants of it too: namely, at least a 3mm version and a 2mm that i know of (2.5 too iirc), i suggest to chose which based on your own comfort handling it, not strength or such (which is irrelevant for a ridgeline, any modern decent rope you are likely to use will be plenty strong), for instance 2mm might be just too thin and unconfortable to work with for some, or in certain conditions (cold), as phantom hints when talking about the 1.75mm zingit. there are other options too, as already noted in this thread, and yes dyneema is also an option if you like it, just please give the way i suggest a try even if you pick dyneema, in fact, especially if you pick dyneema, for the sake of the trees (if you look at the thread i mentioned, and the basic physics explained there, you will see what i mean, in short: straight ridgeline + (thin, no-stretch) dyneema + no treestraps is a bad combination for the tree); another interesting alternative, becoming more and more available lately, is good quality pp rope (polypropylene), it is silly cheap, and the good stuff is quite strong as well (not quite as strong as nylon, but close), and it is even lighter than dyneema, which means you can easily get away with 3 or even 4mm for a ridgeline, without too much weight, as long as you don't mind the bulk.

    knots: i don't know if the term prusic is used generically here (as in short for "friction hitch"), if you mean the actual prusik knot, keep in mind it is suboptimal for most purposes, and horrible for some (notably, horrible for same diameter cord, so your solution to use thinner chord for the prusik is indeed the reasonable thing to do). but you don't have to use it. try playing at least with the blake hitch, if nothing else, if's easy to tie, and vastly superior for the applications involving tarps and such

    as you can see, i kept my promise, and disagreed with nearly everything . on a more serious note, the above are some different options and ways to look at things, i'd love for people to try them out and challenge them, i might think they are "right" or at least worthwhile, but without some peer review that's just "thinking", so if you find it intriguing, use it, see what you think, what needs improving etc, but if not, well, there's many alternatives around, indeed

    cheers
    Last edited by nanok; 11-27-2022 at 03:42.

  3. #13
    LowTech's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2020
    Location
    Nomadic, US SW at moment
    Hammock
    one wind 11' wide
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    one wind 12'
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    SLD, UGQ, LL, JRB
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    UCR
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    866
    Nanok, was wondering where you were, hadn't heard from you in ages and was close to checking in to see if you were ok.
    Nice to hear your opinions again.

    "Sent w/o me knowing"

  4. #14
    Phantom Grappler's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
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    Denton NC
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    WildernessLogics 12x6
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    HG cuben 13ridge12
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    Nanok, was trying to remember your trail name a few days ago on another thread. I remembered your interesting posts on hammock and tarp suspensions, but your trail name escaped my memory.
    Thanks nanok!

  5. #15
    Senior Member
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    Quote Originally Posted by LowTech View Post
    Nanok, was wondering where you were, hadn't heard from you in ages and was close to checking in to see if you were ok.
    Nice to hear your opinions again.

    "Sent w/o me knowing"
    Quote Originally Posted by Phantom Grappler View Post
    Nanok, was trying to remember your trail name a few days ago on another thread. I remembered your interesting posts on hammock and tarp suspensions, but your trail name escaped my memory.
    Thanks nanok!
    heh, you're being too kind, are you sure? :P

    i can't claim i diserve a trailname these days, not for any trails i'd recommend to anyone, in any case . i guess when we upgrade the forums to have AI assisted search, you'll just be able to type in stuff like "against the grain" or just "weird stuff", and my nickname will surely pop up in the first 10 results or so. in the meantime, well.

    sorry for the silence, i trust you were not too bored though.

    in any case, if you're ever worried or in need of questionable entertainment, you know now what to do: you just start a thread explaining how to reduce stretch in the tarp ridgeline to basically zero, by using prusiks made in 3mm dyneema on 1.7mm zingit with 17 wraps to make them hold. if i'm still alive, i will not be able to resist. actually, scratch that, i think being alive is not a requirement, you might start a(nother) zombie apocalypse though, so beware, make sure you're ready for the responsibility that entails
    Last edited by nanok; 11-27-2022 at 03:57.

  6. #16
    Senior Member jeff-oh's Avatar
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    Oct 2017
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    US- Ohio
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    Dutch 12' Netless
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    I use a 2.5mm reflective line like "Shine Line" from nite-Ize. I have a Zing-It Brummel Loop on one end and a #9 toggle on the loose end. I hang my tarp from Zing-It prusiks. The prusiks hold extremely well.

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