Shock cord on tarp tie outs?

[MiteyF]

I have a loop of fairly thick shock cord permanently attached to my stakes, which I larkshead onto my guy lines. My tarp and lines stretch tiny bit when wet (time for an upgrade) and this takes care of that.

[<-Pointer]

I just have 8" loops of shock cord tied to the tarp and stake those directly to the ground. Easy as it gets. I have some short lengths of zing it in case I need to add length for some reason but the shock cord loops are usually just fine as long as the ground is close to level.

[QFT]

I do not. Maybe I'll change my mind in the future. The main reason most people like them is to keep a stretchy tarp taut (nylon). I use silpoly which doesn't stretch, and SilvrSurfer's point about them possibly flinging stakes is worth thinking about too. Having a little "give" if you kick a cord is nice though.

[TxAggie]

I’m still on the fence about shock cord. Currently I have a loop of zing-it on my D-rings and use a line-lock hook attached to ties outs on my stakes.

I just ordered some Dutch Hook Worms that I’m going to try instead of the line locks (I’ve found they slip a little too much for my liking on zing-it) and I’m adding a loop of shock cord to the D-rings. I’ll can go back and forth between the shock cord or zing-it as needed until I figure out which way I like the best.

[<-Pointer]

The main reason most people like them is to keep a stretchy tarp taut (nylon). I use silpoly which doesn't stretch, and SilvrSurfer's point about them possibly flinging stakes is worth thinking about too. Having a little "give" if you kick a cord is nice though.

Yep, I like shockcord for the other reasons you mentioned. I have a cuben fiber tarp, so I'm not worried about stretch. I like that a tarp with shock cord has some give to it: if I stand up and push against the top or kick it I'm not going to pull out stakes or mess anything up with the set. Also, it helps with wind noise (which is more of a problem with cuben fiber than silpoly I think.) Thirdly, it lets me pitch with a fixed length loop at the end of my tarp: if the ground isn't quite even there is enough stretch in the loop to handle some variability in height.

[curtiseddie]

Currently I'm using Dutch's Hookworms with the provided shock cord.

I am planning on constructing some theraband tensioners, but I can't decide which resistance rating I should use. I need to find something equivalent to the shock cord, but shock cord is rated by stretch not resistance.

Any experience input?

[Othello]

I have both silnylon and silpoly tarps, and my method has been sans shock cord: Linelocs with grosgrain loops larksheaded to the tarp loops, Lawson Glowire in the Linelocs, with a bowline loop around the stake. However, I am currently in the process of incorporating shock cord to each of the setups in the form of a loop of shock cord between the tarp tie-out and the Lineloc. Many benefits as chronicled above, whether or not the tarp itself is prone to stretching. I also use shock cord in the hammock tie-outs for obvious reasons, and I will be incorporating the same method as my tarp rig for (sensitive viewers will need to look away) tent panel tie-outs.

[MikekiM]

I use shock cord on mine. It helps with shock when my klutzish self trips over the guy lines instead of potentially ripping out a d-ring or tearing a tarp. I use sil poly for my tarps so stretch really isn't an issues. I'm a big fan of Dutch's tarpworms for putting them on the tarp. They make adjustment extremely easy and incorporate the shock cord right into the design of the guy lines.

For three seasons I do the same as this ^^ (for cold weather I find the small form factor of tarp worm really tough to work with cold hands... impossible with gloves. I use mini-ucr's in winter and swap out to tarp worms when gloves go away)

I've changed the stock shock cord to reflective cord.

I use small loops of shock-cord on my d-rings. I permanently attach Dutchware hookworms to my timeouts which are permanently attached to my stake. Seems to keep the tarp taunt without causing damage in windy conditions.

Curious why you permanently attached hook worms as apposed to using tarp worms...

[TxAggie]

For three seasons I do the same as this ^^ (for cold weather I find the small form factor of tarp worm really tough to work with cold hands... impossible with gloves. I use mini-ucr's in winter and swap out to tarp worms when gloves go away)

I've changed the stock shock cord to reflective cord.


Curious why you permanently attached hook worms as apposed to using tarp worms...

Would you mind explaining how you use the mini UCR and how you have them spliced in? I’m starting to become very interested in how they work.


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[Shug]

Would you mind explaining how you use the mini UCR and how you have them spliced in? I’m starting to become very interested in how they work.


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UCR's work.
Here are ones for hammock suspension but would work scaled down.
Shug