DIY Tarp Tie-Outs; Loop or D-ring?

[DiceCaller]

Hi there,

I am taking advantage of Dutch's Hexon XL sale and I want to make Cowboy's KISS tarp.

Do most people use d-rings for the tie-outs, or are grosgrain loops strong enough?

I tried a few different searches, I am sure this has been covered but I couldn't narrow it down enough to find an answer.

Thanks

[AsaHanger]

Im in the middle of a DIY tarp and am putting beastie dees on the pullouts. The hole in them will fit a hiking pole tip if i decide i wanted to go porch mode. I would imagine you could save a few grams and forego them and still be fine.

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[kitsapcowboy]

Hi, DC.

IMHO you might as well use D-rings. While the 1/2" or 5/8" poly grosgrain is certainly strong enough to hold the tension, every camping tarp with only grosgrain I have ever had over the years has eventually lost at least one loop to cuts, grinding, "rope burn" or other physical damage from stakes and guy lines. Conversely, the acetal polymer from which most D-rings are made is very tough and abrasion-resistant. Eight 1/2" Beastee Dee rings will set you back a buck or two and only incur a weight penalty of 4 grams, and Dutch's titanium D-rings (while a little pricey) weigh even less and are super-strong. If you never want to use the tarps for ground pitches, you can omit the midpoint tie-outs as on the Verision 1.0 K.I.S.S. and use half the number of D-rings. Good luck with your build.

[CorwinC]

I don't use D-rings, but there again I don't use hardly any hardware at all. I do use sacrificial continuous loops when I need to pull cordage through to protect the grosgrain loops and avoid the situation kitsapcowboy mentioned.

[JackM]

+1 for Beastee Dee Rings

[DiceCaller]

Thanks for all the replies, it looks like d-rings are the way to go.
Not to belittle anyone's advice, but hearing from Cowboy himself really makes up my mind.

Thanks again.