No, I'm not talking about the hairstyle. And no, that's not a picture of me!



This is a little...I'm not even sure if it's qualified to be called a gadget, but I'll call it that...gadget that I made to help hold stuff. I didn't have a name for it until Poof asked me what it's called. And while I can't take full credit for developing it--I think I may have seen something like it on some other web site?--I will take full credit for naming it: The Rat Tail.



Here's how it's done:

1. Take 15 (or so) feet of paracord and melt the ends to prevent fraying. Those of you who are gram weenies (you know who you are) can use Spectra or whatever else, as long as it will hold a knot.
2. Find the center. Fold the cord in half.
3. Tie an overhand knot 6" from the end using both strands together.

4. Tie overhand knots every foot.

To use:

1. Find a tree. If you're in the woods, there are bound to be a few around, just keep looking.
2. Take the small loop in the middle and bring it around the tree.
3. Feed the long end (the tail) through the loop.
3.a. If you want to get all techie, you can use a Dutch biner or somesuch for extra coolness.
4. You now have a place to store your misc. gear!

It's best if you put something heavy at the bottom to keep tension on the upper loops. I put a small carabiner on my pack and clip it in just high enough to keep it off the ground. I have a cord on my hat with a toggle on the end, and I feed that through one of the higher loops. Have a gravity water filter? This is the place to hang it and the bottle it feeds into.

Medicine Man posted a video of our hang, and if you skip to 6:50, you can see my pack, hat, and camelback hanging from it in the background.


Link, in case my embedded video doesn't work...

Comments? Concerns?? Improvements? Lemme have it.