Tarp Guylines and Shock Cord

[Drift Woody]

I really appreciate all the useful info, and will reassess my tarp deployment.

Thanks!

[SilvrSurfr]

I have no use for shock cord anywhere. I find it useless in cold weather, and it doesn't have a long lifespan.

[Drift Woody]

The cmoulder fold looks ingenious in that video, but I would not use a method for stowing my tarp that involves removing the stakes while the guylines are attached to the tarp. Once in a strong wind I made the mistake of removing the stakes first, resulting in horrible tangles as the tarp & lines flapped nearly straight out while suspended between the trees. Temps were in the low 30's, and I lost my fingers very quickly in that wind chill. Fortunately I was car camping, so I was able to bring the whole mess inside where I could work on it after a good 15 minutes of armpit warmth.

I'm going to stick with my snakeskins and removing guylines from the tarp, packing them separately. I might try the masons twine to see if I can just stuff them in a small sack or ziplock bag. If they don't tangle, then I can avoid the careful coiling that is time consuming and finger freezing in cold weather.

I'm kind of dubious on the shock cord as well, unless someone can make a good case for its benefits.

[cougarmeat]

Drift Woody, SilvrSurfr is correct about shock-cord in cold weather. But "cold weather" is only one of four seasons. I find it bungee useful in windy conditions because it allows some give with wind gusts instead of transferring all that force to stakes, guys, and tarp. The same with potential water pooling (if your setup doesn't allow it to completely drain). The tarp shape can deform, spill the water, and bounce back.

I DON"T use just shock-cord. My guyline is tied to the bungee so it limits the bungee stretch to about 80% of its maximum. If the bungee breaks, the guy line is still attached.

But that's for hardcore wind. To experiment this spring/summer, I'm thinking of attaching a short (about 8 inches) length of LashIt to 5 inches of bungee - keeping the stretch to 8 inches - and putting that combo on the tarp. The longer guy lines will be kept separate. they'll have a loop on one end for the stake and be fed through a line-loc that will clip on the end of the bungee-LashIt line. However, that means the whole integrity of my guyline setup depends on the plastic hook on the line-loc. I'm not too fond of relying on small pieces of plastic.

[Drift Woody]

Cougarmeat, I'm completely unfamiliar with the use of "bungee" on a tarp or in any guyline setup. Can you elaborate on that, and possibly cite a specific product -- is it just another term for the kind of shock cord sold by the foot at REI?
https://www.rei.com/product/603003/shock-cord-18-inch

[LowTech]

It is shock cord but not everyone calls it that.

"Sent w/o me knowing"

[cougarmeat]

Yes - shock cord, shock-cord, bungee - all the same; a stretchy core (solid to stranded) inside a polyester sheath. It's been a while since I've played with it, but let's say the shock cord generally stretches about double its neutral length. So 6 inches of shock cord will stretch to 12 inches. If I tied a non-stretch cord to one end of the shock-cord, and tie the other end of the shock cord at a little over nine inches down on the non-stretch cord, the non-stretch cord will limit the shock cord stretch to 9 inches so it won't overstretch.

Now those figures are just made up - an example, a proof of concept. I want some stretch but I don't want to stretch the cord to its maximum. And if it does break, I want so guyline still attached.

There are other threads giving examples of various stretch+non-stretch hookups. The takeaway is that you don't need to consider just non-stretch guylines or fully stretched shock-cord. You can combine them.

[brohawk]

I run the same as SilvrSrfr. I have owned every tarp fabric from silnylon to silpoly to cuben fiber from multiple vendors and I have never utilized shock cord on any of my lines. I use very bright and reflective cordage and even when friends or pets have knocked them I have never had an issue. I like to keep good tension at all times. The only thing I use shock cord on is my doors so I can easily enter and exit.

[fallkniven]

I have no use for shock cord anywhere. I find it useless in cold weather, and it doesn't have a long lifespan.

Pretty sure shock cord feels the same way about you, except the life span. Aren't you like 96?

[Vryce]

I do things a little differently. I have a loop of shock cord permanently tied to my stakes and then the guide lines are tied to that. My UGQ Winter Dream has double split rings one the tie outs that I feed the guide lines though when flying the tarp. It's different and sure to drive some people here crazy, but it's my way and it works for me.