Tarp Ridgeline ?'s

[termite]

Two quick questions.

Would Amsteel Blue 7/32 be over kill for a tarp ridgeline? I can get it locally from a marine store for .27 cents a foot. I was going to use 550 cord as I have a 1000' spool of the Military issue stuff, but it stretches and gets worse when wet, however that will cost me nothing and will be more then string enough even when gutted.

How long are people running their tarp ridgelines? I know it will depend on the type, whether it is tree to tree or tarp to tree etc. Would 35' be enough to figure out what type of ridgeline I want to use?

This will be used with a MacCat deluxe, when it finally arrives....

[Boothill]

7/32 would be major overkill for a rideline, i'm using 1.8mm zing it and that's plenty.......i'd shy away from anything nyon

35' should be good, most people use somewhere around that

boot

edit: sure you didn't' mean 7/64, i looked on samsons site and don't see them making a 7/32 in amsteel blue, if they did that would have a breaking strength of approx 6000lbs, even 7/64 at 1600lbs is overkill, IMO

[ganon414]

7/32 would be major overkill for a rideline, i'm using 1.8mm zing it and that's plenty.......i'd shy away from anything nyon

35' should be good, most people use somewhere around that

boot

Yep, I concur with boot. While 7/64" amsteel is indeed unnecessarily strong for a tarp ridgeline, I surely would opt for it over 550. Paracord will sag way too much for your ridgeline. Many people, myself included, use some variation of a ~2mm hollow braided line for their tarp lines. Samson Ropes' Zing It and Lash It are two very popular options, both of which are offered in 1.75 and 2.2mm. If your marine shop stocks amsteel, there's a good chance they'll have spools of Lash It as well. Otherwise, go with the amsteel for now. You can always find a use for that wonderful stuff!

[termite]

7/32 would be major overkill for a rideline, i'm using 1.8mm zing it and that's plenty.......i'd shy away from anything nyon

35' should be good, most people use somewhere around that

boot

edit: sure you didn't' mean 7/64, i looked on samsons site and don't see them making a 7/32 in amsteel blue, if they did that would have a breaking strength of approx 6000lbs, even 7/64 at 1600lbs is overkill, IMO

Yep, I concur with boot. While 7/64" amsteel is indeed unnecessarily strong for a tarp ridgeline, I surely would opt for it over 550. Paracord will sag way too much for your ridgeline. Many people, myself included, use some variation of a ~2mm hollow braided line for their tarp lines. Samson Ropes' Zing It and Lash It are two very popular options, both of which are offered in 1.75 and 2.2mm. If your marine shop stocks amsteel, there's a good chance they'll have spools of Lash It as well. Otherwise, go with the amsteel for now. You can always find a use for that wonderful stuff!

Yeah that is a typo, I meant 7/64. They have Lash-it 1.75, but only in 180' spools. I think I'll just go pick up 50' or so of the Amsteel Blue.

Thanks for the info!

[Boothill]

Yeah that is a typo, I meant 7/64. They have Lash-it 1.75, but only in 180' spools. I think I'll just go pick up 50' or so of the Amsteel Blue.

Thanks for the info!

you'll pry eventually want the lash-it too (or something like it) my gf ordered 180' of it and i though it would be way too much and we could never use that much but it was basically all used in no time at all, lots of different uses, ridgelines for tarps and hammocks, tarp tie-outs, continuous loops etc.

then again you can't go wrong with amsteel either, ordered 200' in the group buy and have gone through alot of it already too

boot

[Tendertoe]

You can figure out how long your tarp ridgeline needs to be by looking at how long your longest hang can be with your suspension.

For me -

hammock body = 8'
fully extended whoopie length = 6' 2'' x 2 for head and foot whoopies = 12' 4''

longest hang from tree to tree = 20' 4''

5 foot treestraps = additional 10'

total cordage needed to accomodate that longest hang = 30' 4''

I use 30 feet of cordage for my tarp ridgeline. I also carry 2 Dynaglide extenders that could be used for my hammock as well as my tarp to extend the capabilities.

[Alanvalentinus]

I have had BAD experiences with 550 for a ridge line. Try instead

Zingit,
http://www.amazon.com/Samson-1-75mm-.../dp/B00455Q2X0


Lashit,
http://www.reddenmarine.com/marine-s...-x-180-ft.html


Kelty Triptease,
http://www.amazon.com/Kelty-Tripteas.../dp/B001ANPCSQ


Glowire
http://lawsonequipment.com/All-Produ...wire-p881.html

or some general utility cord might work ok
http://www.rei.com/product/799630/pm...ckage-of-50-ft

http://www.academy.com/webapp/wcs/st...t=rope&Ntk=All


Personally I am upgrading my ridgeline to ZingIt, and my guylines to Glowire





but I guess if you dont care about the overkill Amsteel certainly will work.

[MAD777]

Use Zing-it (Lash-it, same thing, diff. color)
It won't stretch which is critically important. Nor will it tangle and it can be spliced.
I concur, get the 180' spool - you'll find a use for it