Staking tarp guylines with shock cord tensioner?

[Longsocks]

Hi everyone,

This past weekend I got the chance to setup my tarp for the first time! I can tell I’m gonna need more practice, and one thing I’m confused about is how to stake the guylines. I have a piece of shock cord on the guylines based on what I read here and other places.

When I tie it out do I want the extra length of guyline to be taut?
B1E3AA89-BE83-4C2C-90E6-92F6212863EA.jpg

Or do I want the want it to have the extra length loose?
CEE9F370-36ED-4A7E-AB3A-0A9264728A7B.jpg

Also if I’m pitching the tarp in a tight A I feel like it would be better to not use the shock cord, since it increases the minimum tie out length by a bit. Should I reduce the size of my shock cord lengths? Looking at some other posts today mine seem a bit long.

Thanks everyone!

[cmc4free]

The elastic line should be stretched a little and the inelastic line should be loose. That way the tensioner can do its job whether the slack loosens (in which case the slack bit of static line will be even looser) or tightens (in which case the elastic will start to stretch more). A good amount of tension in the elastic is approximately halfway in between not stretched at all and fully stretched to the point it won't stretch any further.

The tensioners are most useful if your tarp and/or guylines are nylon. Nylon stretches more than polyester, especially when wet. If your tarp is silpoly, you don't really need the elastic, especially if you're using non-stretch line or minimal length of guyline for a close to the ground pitch.

In high winds, the elastic will allow your tarp to move quite a bit compared to its nominal pitch, which is not necessarily desirable.

[Longsocks]

Thanks for info! I have a silpoly tarp and the guylines are zing it. So it sounds like I may not need the tensioners?

[cmc4free]

Try both ways and see which you think works best for you. Some people hate shock cord in their tarp systems and others like having it.
If nothing else, it might provide a little insurance against damaging the tarp in some way if you accidentally trip over a guyline.

[Watertooner]

There are at least two approaches mentioned in various threads regarding guy lines and shock cord tensioners, 1) those who have it, and 2) those who don't.

In support of those who have it, the rationale is: Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

In support of those who don't, the response is: If I needed it, I'd have it, but I don't.

I've read many, many threads here on the forum, both current and historical, but I can't recall any pattern of tarp damage occurring because the guy lines were not tensioned with shock cord. Under normal everyday conditions, having it or not having it will make no difference in outcomes. Two scenarios oft envisioned that are out of the ordinary are heavy sustained winds and people/animals tripping over guy lines. Quality made and designed tarps will have sufficient reinforcement to withstand these events. Granted, I could see where a tarp could fail if the construction techniques were not up to snuff.

That said, my memory (addled though it may be) can't recall stories where the tarp failed because it did not have tensioners. If the stories are out there, it would be informative to hear about them if you are willing to share. In the meantime, we do have some evidence from some of our favorite tarp manufacturers that tensioners are not required. For example, in a Warbonnet video, Brandon shows how to attach a guy line to a stake. No tensioner in sight. On the Simply Light Designs website, the guyed-out tarps on display do not appear to have tensioners. If they were required or necessary, one would think that the manufacturers would say something in their support documents or add the features directly to their products. One could counter that these are arguments of silence and that the displays are kept simple so as to focus on the tarp and not on anything extra. I'll grant the counter-argument, but won't consider it conclusive either.

In this reply, I'm excluding any tarp that is damaged by falling/flying branches or punctured by flailing stakes loosened by some unusual event so as to focus only on the envisioned utility of a shock cord tensioner protecting a tarp from stress damage. I'm also excluding the use case of shock cord attached to tarp doors to make ingress/egress a bit easier. Neither scenario fits the scope of this reply.

Bottom line: Those who use shock cord tensioners aren't wrong in their thinking; those who don't use them aren't wrong either.

[cmc4free]

Short of performing a controlled experiment, I'm not sure one could definitely conclude whether or not shock cords at tarp corners are effective at preventing damage.

Anecdotally:

- Someone has shock cord and trips over a guyline. The tarp is not damaged (I recall somebody on the forum telling a story to this effect with respect to a DCF tarp, though I'm not implying they attributed the lack of damage specifically to the shock cord). This doesn't prove the shock cord saved it and there's no proof that it didn't.

- Someone doesn't have shock cord and high winds do cause damage to the stitching attaching the grosgrain to the tarp (this was the topic in a recent thread, albeit with a questionably made tarp). There's likewise no proof that having shock cord would have prevented this damage.

- Someone doesn't have shock cord and trips on a guyline, but the tarp is undamaged. This doesn't prove that a tarp (with or without shock cord) could never be damaged by tripping on a guyline.

It's possible using shock cord could serve as a weakest link - a fuse if you will - that would fail before any part of the tarp would. I don't know one way or another because I've conducted no such experiments.

One thing that could happen with shock cord that probably would never happen without is a staked guyline pulling out of the ground and the shock cord tension launching the stake into the tarp, which could puncture it.

I'm pretty sure the OP's concern was with maintaining tension on the tarp, not with using the shock cord as damage limitation. As we both mentioned, there's no one right answer. The OP should try both ways and decide what works best for him/her.

[SilvrSurfr]

I have no use for shock cord anywhere in my hammock system - I can't find any benefit.

[cmc4free]

I have no use for shock cord anywhere in my hammock system - I can't find any benefit.

What are your underquilt suspensions made of?

[SilvrSurfr]

What are your underquilt suspensions made of?

You've got me there - of course I use shock cord on my underquilt. Perhaps I should say I have no use for shock cord when it comes to my tarp.

[bluesam3]

There are at least two approaches mentioned in various threads regarding guy lines and shock cord tensioners, 1) those who have it, and 2) those who don't.

In support of those who have it, the rationale is: Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

In support of those who don't, the response is: If I needed it, I'd have it, but I don't.

I've read many, many threads here on the forum, both current and historical, but I can't recall any pattern of tarp damage occurring because the guy lines were not tensioned with shock cord. Under normal everyday conditions, having it or not having it will make no difference in outcomes. Two scenarios oft envisioned that are out of the ordinary are heavy sustained winds and people/animals tripping over guy lines. Quality made and designed tarps will have sufficient reinforcement to withstand these events. Granted, I could see where a tarp could fail if the construction techniques were not up to snuff.

That said, my memory (addled though it may be) can't recall stories where the tarp failed because it did not have tensioners. If the stories are out there, it would be informative to hear about them if you are willing to share. In the meantime, we do have some evidence from some of our favorite tarp manufacturers that tensioners are not required. For example, in a Warbonnet video, Brandon shows how to attach a guy line to a stake. No tensioner in sight. On the Simply Light Designs website, the guyed-out tarps on display do not appear to have tensioners. If they were required or necessary, one would think that the manufacturers would say something in their support documents or add the features directly to their products. One could counter that these are arguments of silence and that the displays are kept simple so as to focus on the tarp and not on anything extra. I'll grant the counter-argument, but won't consider it conclusive either.

In this reply, I'm excluding any tarp that is damaged by falling/flying branches or punctured by flailing stakes loosened by some unusual event so as to focus only on the envisioned utility of a shock cord tensioner protecting a tarp from stress damage. I'm also excluding the use case of shock cord attached to tarp doors to make ingress/egress a bit easier. Neither scenario fits the scope of this reply.

Bottom line: Those who use shock cord tensioners aren't wrong in their thinking; those who don't use them aren't wrong either.

I was under the impression that protection from such things was a minor side-benefit, with the real benefit being keeping tension up on the guylines as the guylines/tarp stretch.