Tarp ridge line

[Maytag]

Should I run a ridge line from one end two the other or just tie it to the end at the grommets. I had one on the bottom side of my tarp but when it rains it leaks some where the ridge line touches the tarp. It's not bad, but bad enough.

[Bobwhite215]

It really is a personal preference. I use a continuous ridge line, and attach the tarp with prussiks and a couple of mini biners. A lot of folks here on the forum just tie off the ends. I think it is just whatever you are comfortable with. My preference for the CRL is that I can adjust the position of the tarp without retying to the trees. I only use my setup maybe 10 weekends a year, so I don't have everything memorized to get it perfect every time. The CRL gives me some fiddle factor. But as they say, HYOH.

[12trysomething]

I prefer a continuous ridge line...as stated, both are good, personal preference.

[mm53bar]

I'm converting to a CRL this spring for the same reasons mentioned above. As for the leaking, I've read that some folks prefer their line to go above the tarp just so the water doesn't get wicked down and underneath the tarp. I haven't had that problem but it makes sense.

[pizza]

Both ways work fine although I am partial to the over the top CRL. I just find it a bit quicker and less hassle centering the tarp over the hammock. I'm not enough of a gram weenie to care that I am using extra line or a couple extra pieces of hardware with the CRL rig than the separate lines off each end.

[SnrMoment]

CRL with the tarp suspended/attached to prussiks under it. Easy to adjust and easy to convert to over the top of the ridge line if I want to.

[Apis]

Yeah, I run a CRL for the tarp with prusick knotted boot laces tied to the tarp. Over or under the line is personal IMHO.

[breyman]

Both ways work fine although I am partial to the over the top CRL. I just find it a bit quicker and less hassle centering the tarp over the hammock. I'm not enough of a gram weenie to care that I am using extra line or a couple extra pieces of hardware with the CRL rig than the separate lines off each end.

+1 to this and what others have said. Most prefer a CRL for the ease of centering the tarp more quickly. If you go this way, though, putting the line above the tarp is often best. It avoids leaks and keeps tarps with cat cuts (slight curve) more taut when they hang below the line. Tying off at ends is certainly okay, too, and is typically done by folks that want more tension in their tarp (it's easier to really tighten it up when the lines are at the ends.

[Gruxxx]

I used a CRL with prussiks and mini-biners for a long time, but recently became a convert to using 2 lines and Dutchware that makes things a lot simpler. I use (2) 14' lengths of yellow Dyneema. One end of each line has a Dutch hook attached with a locked brommel. Both ends of my tarp have Tarp Flyz. I keep the lines tidy in a figure 8, so I can store them in the tarp's stuff sack and pull out line from the hook end with no tangles.

Setup goes like this: Peel off enough line to go around the tree, and attach it to the tree by clipping the hook back onto the line. Peel out the remainder of the line to where the hammock is. Fix the line onto one end of the tarp via the Dutch Flyz, a few inches past the hammock end. Then attach the other line to a tree and attach it to the tarp in the same way, pulling it tight. If the tarp needs to be adjusted, I just go to one end of the tarp, add some slack from the Tarp Flyz, and then draw tight on the other end. (Nearly as fast as prussiks.)

A few reasons I prefer this to a CRL are; there are no prussiks or mini-biners or anything else fixed along the line, so the lines are easier to keep organized and faster to deploy by figure 8-ing them, instead of tediously wrapping a longer line with dangling "stuff" around the outside the tarp's stuff sack. Eliminating prussiks and biners also means there is nothing to get lost. This method holds tighter than prussiks, and finally, 2 short lines are easier to keep untangled than one long one.

Obviously, there are other methods besides prussiks to lock your tarp on a CRL, but it still involves a longer line, often with loops and/or other stuff fixed along the line. That's my take, anyway. Experiment and see what you like.

[Bobwhite215]

A few reasons I prefer this to a CRL are; there are no prussiks or mini-biners or anything else fixed along the line, so the lines are easier to keep organized and faster to deploy by figure 8-ing them, instead of tediously wrapping a longer line with dangling "stuff" around the outside the tarp's stuff sack. Eliminating prussiks and biners also means there is nothing to get lost. This method holds tighter than prussiks, and finally, 2 short lines are easier to keep untangled than one long one.

I handle the CRL by keeping it attached to the tarp when I stuff the whole thing into the skins. I then use a couple of Velcro ties to bundle up the excess line, and strap them to the ends of the snake skins.