I see that many hangers use Mason Line for their tarp. The kind at Lowe's has a safe load of 8 lbs. Is this adequate? This is the right stuff? It seems so very thin.
I see that many hangers use Mason Line for their tarp. The kind at Lowe's has a safe load of 8 lbs. Is this adequate? This is the right stuff? It seems so very thin.
I used braided mason line from a big box store for years with no issues other than tangling. However, I didn't try to make a single ridge line, but had lines attached at both ends of the tarp. Recently got an adjustable ridge line from Arrowhead with Dutch hardware and couldn't be happier! Made my own guy lines with 1.25mm zline (no tangle) and some 1/8th in shock cord. Worked well in a pretty heavy downpour, and my set up and take down time has greatly improved.
I tried using mason line too, and because it is a single twist braid, it does tangle too much. It is small & strong though
~Sonny~
Braided mason line works well. Does tangle and knot if not careful. I have used it alot. Cheap and effective. Lightweight so you can carry extra line. Try it out and see if you like it. Just make sure you get the braided. It really does work much better than twisted.
Mine is way stronger than 8lbs SWL. I think I found it in a big box in the fishing, trot line section. Don't get the tarred line.
I bet mine has a break strength of a couple hundred lbs.
It would be plenty strong for a tarp ridge line.
I use 150 lb. trot line, from Walmart. Works great, but be careful...it tends to get knots where you don't want them. And they are tough to get out. For that being said, I use a clove hitch on my stakes for two reasons. It's easily adjustable and easy to untie.
Edit: whoops, i miss the ridgeline part. I described my tieouts. My tarp ridgeline is 3mm climbing rope.
Last edited by HeathC; 05-17-2012 at 23:39.
I use braided mason line for tarp guy lines but don't think I would trust it for my tarp ridge line!
Last year the 1.75 zing it that I use for a ridge line snapped during the night in a strong wind!
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