I used these for the first time last weekend. They're neat.

I had planned to leave them attached to my stakes rather than my tarp, but when I tried that in my test run at home, the hookworms lived up their name and "hooked" into my figure-8'ed guy-out cord, and everything got tangled. So I removed the stakes and left them hooked to the loops of shockcord I have at my tarp guy-out points.

For those who keep their hookworms unhooked - how do you deal with the hook tangling issue?

For reference, I use 1.3 mm reflective Dutchwire for my tie outs. Prior to the hookworms I was using Slide Locks (like a linelok, but they have a moving piece, like a cinch buckle, and work for thinner cord than lineloks do). They worked OK, but if I mistreated them I could create a groove in the plastic that made them slip.

The hookworms are pretty much as easy to use as a Slide Lock or linelok, but are 100% reliable and indestructable. And are somehow pleasurable to use. The way a simple loop of cord bites down on itself and holds firm, yet undoes with a yank, seems like magic.