Since I started hanging, I have used tarp tensioners; just simple shockcord loops girth hitched to the tarp tieout and girth hitched to a prusik that is attached to the tieout cordage. I also have a prusik at each tarp ridgeline connection point.
My first tarp was SpinnUL - not too much stretch. My current tarp is sil - substantially more stretch.
My question is this - even with tensioners, under heavy rain and/or wind, my tarp ends up slackened (nothing unmanageable, but in the morning I can notice quite a difference). I just re-tighten the prusiks and everything comes back to normal.
Granted, some of this may be the prusiks actually slipping, but some is the tensioners just not accommodating the slackening enough.
If I lengthen the tensioner size, it would probably assist in the overall slackening issue. However, heavy wind would actually push the tarp on me when it blows as a longer tensioner would allow for more give.
Although the tensioner is a "fail-safe" so-to-speak; a weak link that will break if someone falls over the tieout, thoughts on getting by without them as they really haven't assisted in doing their job of keeping things tensioned?
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