1/16 1.18mm ridge line/tieouts

[AndyG]

Anyone using 1.18 millimeter micro cord for ridge lines for tarps? Considering it but not sure if it's strong enough. It's nylon braided reflective cord rated to 85lbs. I'm using it for the doors on a 4 season tarp already. Thoughts?

[SilvrSurfr]

Does it have a brand name? Spliceable?

Zing-It 1.75 mm is very popular on HF. If you're into the reflective stuff, there's a new vendor named Litesmith. Both will offer much higher breaking strength (400 lbs. +) than what you're using.

[AndyG]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00IGE...rb_top?ie=UTF8

Sorry but I don't know the stats, maybe the link will help. For reference it seems very similar to the zing it I've bought on a few cottage vendor sites, just thinner. I'll look into Litesmith, thanks surfr!

[SilvrSurfr]

I'm just a little skittish about something sold by Paracord Planet - 85 lbs. breaking strength doesn't seem remotely comparable to Zing-It 1.75 mm. Plus, the cord is nylon, which is probably going to soak up water. Nylon is also going to stretch, especially when wet. Also, it doesn't appear to be spliceable.

[markb]

Another option is the 1.25mm Z line sold by Zpacks, it's slight larger diameter but it's used by many for tarp ridge lines and guys outs. I don't know the rated breaking strength but maybe someone else does and will chime in. It's available in bright yellow and black.

[SilvrSurfr]

Another option is the 1.25mm Z line sold by Zpacks, it's slight larger diameter but it's used by many for tarp ridge lines and guys outs. I don't know the rated breaking strength but maybe someone else does and will chime in. It's available in bright yellow and black.

I looked at their website and it's 200 lbs. breaking strength, but doesn't appear spliceable either.

http://zpacks.com/accessories/spectra_cord.shtml

"Z-line Dyneema® cord is composed of a white Dyneema® core with a braided Dacron sheath."

I'm kind of partial to spliceable lines for tarp ridgelines and and guylines. The less knots I have to tie the better. I think the Litesmith line is more to my liking, strong and spliceable.

http://www.litesmith.com/cordage/

They also have reflective guyline.

http://www.litesmith.com/reflx-reflective-guyline/

It appears to spliceable since they say, "Avoid using knots if possible; splicing is preferable. Knots reduce the strength of the rope up to 50%."

[SilvrSurfr]

I don't care for reflective tracers and have no interest in buying reflective line. However, if I did have an interest, I'd want it to be spliceable, with about the same characteristics as Zing-It, probably the mostly wide used cord for guylines and ridgelines. Litesmith fits that bill - it's Zing-It or Amsteel for reflective cord junkies!

One thing that bothers me is the reflective guyline has a polyester cover:

" UHMWPE has a strength-to-weight ratio 8-15 times higher than steel and is the same type of fiber used to make Dyneema® and Spectra®. By itself, UHMWPE is slippery so an abrasion-resistant polyester cover is added so knots won't slip out."

So they added a polyester cover to UHMWPE cord? Hmmm.

Litesmithx.xls

Diameter Working Load Limit* Breaking Strength
1.1 mm 37 lb (17 kg) 187 lb (85 kg)
1.5 mm 79 lb (36 kg) 397 lb (180 kg)
2.3 mm 110 lb (50 kg) 551 lb (250 kg)

[markb]

Thanks for the suggestion about Litesmith. I'm going to try some of their 1.8mm Catzye line since I needed some Lash-It anyway.