i've used a lot of mason's line on backpacking/camping trips. it's strong stuff.
one down side i remember is that it seems to absorb & hold water a little more than some other lines, increasing it's weight a little when wet. no big deal though.
i've used a lot of mason's line on backpacking/camping trips. it's strong stuff.
one down side i remember is that it seems to absorb & hold water a little more than some other lines, increasing it's weight a little when wet. no big deal though.
I too will something make and joy in it's making
great stuff, warbonnetfella. i wrap my tarp cords on the stake also. i made a stake bag out of a cheap walmart stuffsack (3 in the package, of different sizes, one is perfect for stakes) with a major addition: ive lined the bottom of the inside of the bag with a piece of plastic from a cheap placemat. keeps the bag from tearing. oh, and when i said in an earlier post i used a figure 8 and a figure 9 i was of course talking about the knot in the first instance and the little aluminum doohickey in the second.
I keep cord on the tarp. I use small Figure9s but I can't figure out a good place to keep them yet. My stakes I stick in the slots of a piece of corrugated cardboard wrapped in duct tape (I hate clinking). I am not a "long distance hammocker" though but I don't think it'd hold up well long-term.
Last edited by Redtail; 09-05-2007 at 12:57. Reason: Fix grammer so I don't sound like Tarzan
“I think that when the lies are all told and forgot the truth will be there yet. It dont move about from place to place and it dont change from time to time. You cant corrupt it any more than you can salt salt.” - Cormac McCarthy
i think i carry too much line per tieout to wrap them around a figure 9...without it becoming a ball. that brings up another question..how much line do you give to a tie-out? i go about 12 feet
Just wrap enough around the 9 so that the edges won't damage the tarp when stuffed tightly, and make a coil with the rest. That works for me. YMMV
For my MacCat, I use about 10 ft on the ridgeline tie outs, and about 5 ft on each of the corner tie outs. I really should shorten the ridgeline ones, though. I've never actually needed them to be that long.
“I think that when the lies are all told and forgot the truth will be there yet. It dont move about from place to place and it dont change from time to time. You cant corrupt it any more than you can salt salt.” - Cormac McCarthy
For my Blackcat:
I use about 8' on each end of the ridge and 6' on the other 4 corners. I keep a taut line hitch tied in the 4 corner cords and keep the small figure nines on the ridgeline cords a few inches from the ridge corners. I have mesh snakeskins (with pockets) between the 9's and the tarp. I use 4 MSR groundhog stakes.
When I take it down I take out the stakes, pull both sides of the tarp together, flop the both corners (with cords) inward and roll the tarp up close to the ridgeline. Then I pull the skins over the tarp.
Next, undo one end and roll up the cord and stuff in the snakeskin pocket. Then begin folding the skinned tarp from the end with about 6-7" folds. When I get about 18" from the other end of the tarp I begin tightly wrapping the end around the folded tarp. Keep wrapping with all the ridgeline cord till you get near the end and then use the figure 9 to secure the cord.
My tarp packs to about 3" diameter by about 9".
The stakes go into their own small stuff sack.
This past weekend I wrapped the ridgeline cord thru the biner on my hammock strap instead of going around the tree. We had some pretty hard showers Monday and nothing underneath got wet.
Last edited by stoikurt; 09-05-2007 at 14:03.
Stoikurt
"Work to Live...Don't Live to Work!"
it does stretch, i crank it down so much that it's almost like it's own tarp tensioner.
seems like tarp sag comes more from the tarp itself. silnylon supposedly stretches when wet. seems like a stretchy line would take up some of this looseness whereas a static one would not. never tried static lines though
I use Kelty Triptease 10' at four corner tie-outs with Titanium Y stakes. I loop around the stakes and tie a double bowline to adjust. I keep the guylines atatched to the tarp and roll them up and slide skins over the tarp. I use the stock side tieout cordage from my stock HH rainfly for the ridge and use bowlines to adjust. With all the easy and functional knots to use I don't understand the need for figure 9's and other devices that add unnecessary weight but that's just me. I leave the knots in the guylines unless I have to get more creative with my tie-outs.
Edit: I keep my stakes in a separate stake pouch.
Last edited by wamyteipen; 09-12-2007 at 23:30.
On my MacCat, I leave my lines attached. I have about 9 feet on the ends and 5 foot on the sides. I use Fling-It Orange tree line, very strong. I have figure 8 loops on my sides, pull it taut, stick the stake. Done. The MacCat is in SnakeSkins with the end lines wrapped around it and stuffed in a pocket on the outside of my pack. I stick my stakes in a homemade holder built from a toilet paper roll and duct tape. That is stuffed in the bottom of my HH sack.
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