Techniques For Make Your Own Shock Cord Tarp Tensioners

[Ears]

revisiting this more for a question to you guys who know about all that is knowledgable about elastomeres and such. on a HH when the tarp is attached to the A sym, so ive read it sags, would a thick tensioner line hookup work to keep the tarp taut? i mean changing the origional hookup system with some good ole american made shock cord. maybe china made doesnt really matter. but this is just me reading and thinking.
would it work? thanks guys.

[smokeeater908]

I like this idea better than sling shot bands.

[defsquad]

crazy question.. anyone know if any of our resident hammock forum related sellers (JRB, Warbonnet, et al) are selling these sorts of things?

i saw that joann fabrics sells 1/8" shock cord, but its 165$!!!!! i'm not sure i'm ready to invest that much into materials for diy stuff just yet.

thanks for any pointers

[TrailH4x]

I go the continuous ridge line way myself. Get's rid of the in the hammock sag and lets the tarp be a stand alone unit for deployment during showers or lunch on the trail. Arrowhead equipment should be able to help you with shock cord by the foot too. I'm currently out...

[TiredFeet]

Jacks R' Better sells line tensioners here using elastic tubbing instead of shock cord. There are pros and cons either way.

[defsquad]

Jacks R' Better sells line tensioners here using elastic tubbing instead of shock cord. There are pros and cons either way.

TiredFeet; I had read a few places that SilNylon tarps are the main types of tarp material that would benefit from the tarp tensioners, is this not the case? When you say pros/cons are you referring to the silicone tube method vs. shock cord method?

This is all pretty new to me, as my last tarp was the stock asym HH tarp that went with my HH Explorer Deluxe Asym.

Thanks! (and sorry for the thread hijacking! further responses from me will be in a new thread .. unless my questions and their resulting answers still fit with the headchange4u's original post)

EDIT: Nevermind, I went ahead and just ordered some of those premade tensioners from JRB; thanks for the link!

[icedfire477]

This shock cord worked out well: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0042YN6TM

[WarmSoda]

I had read a few places that SilNylon tarps are the main types of tarp material that would benefit from the tarp tensioners, is this not the case? !

For the benefit of others:
nylon stretches.

Nylon tree straps stretch, which is why most people use polypropylene for straps and there are whole threads dedicated to stories of people ending up with their butt in the dirt over night using nylon straps.

Silnylon is still nylon and it stretches, up to 1%-3% when wet. Tarp tensioners help to keep the tarp taught when the tarp stretches. They are not needed on other types of materials, like spinn tarps or cuben tarps, as these materials do not stretch.

[jeepthangjim]

Thank for this instruction. I have a set made out of surgical tubing and they work great but they are way too bulky for me. I will be doing this very soon.

[jeepthangjim]

Alright. I got my materials from BWDD yesterday for this project and another. I was surprised with how easy these were to make and how much better they are than my old ones. The weigh so much less and take up almost no space compared to my old ones. After my first hammock and tarp modifications I had to carry a separate bag for all my hammock and tarp suspension components because they wouldn't fit in the original stuff sack. My goal this year has been to upgrade to better suspensions while getting everything to fit back into the original stuff sack. With the completion of this project the only thing I need to do is get some better, smaller stakes for the tarp. Other than that everything is back in it's sack. Thank you so much!