hammock tie-outs

[slowhike]

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.

[johnnyquest]

i disconnect the lines from the tarp when packing up. i just roll each line up on it's own stake. this has made tangled lines a non-issue, and i even use #18 braided nylon construction/mason line, which has a reputation for tangling. not with this method though. i like the line because you can get it in flourecent yellow or flourecent green which makes tripping over your lines alot less likely.
its real cheap (10$ for 500 feet cheap) and it is as thin and as light as anything.
if you get some, make sure it's #18, nylon, and braided. twisted sucks. you can find it @ home depot, or wherever bricklayer supplies are sold. the best brands are marshaltown and stringliner.

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.

[Redtail]

i put this thread in the long distance hiking forum for a reason:
i use a hennessy with a blackbishop tarp with a total of 6 tie-outs. but regardless of what hammock/tarp combo you use as a long distance hammocker, i wonder if anyone has studied how best to rig your tie-outs for long trips.
re: what kind of cord? do you leave the cord on the item or on the stake or neither? how do you carry your stakes and cord? what knots do you use? do you use "rope slides"? thanks in advance for any imput.

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.

[angrysparrow]

I keep cord on the tarp. I use small Figure9s but I can't figure out a good place to keep them yet.

Have you tried just wrapping the cord around the 9's?

[johnnyquest]

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

[angrysparrow]

i think i carry too much line per tieout to wrap them around a figure 9...without it becoming a ball.

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

that brings up another question..how much line do you give to a tie-out? i go about 12 feet

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.

[stoikurt]

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.

[warbonnetguy]

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

If you take the lines off like that I think you would really like the pockets on those HH hex tarps. Okay I just went and took a pic


WBG, does that nylon line stretch and cause a loose pitch?

[wamyteipen]

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.

[eyewall]

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.