Good inexpensive rope/line/whatever

[robv60]

Ok Im at a loss here, I.e., cant make up my mind. This question isnt in regards to hammock suspension but rather general line rigging for tarps, etc. I camp alot and really havent gone strictly hammock camping yet.....YET. I am in need of some general good line thats good for hanging tarps and general rigging/misc. use around the campsite. I have been using a plethora of cordage, basically whatever I have around. I have lots of paracord, some small line I bought from Wally World, some sort of yellow braided slippery synthetic stuff that I have no idea where it came from. Id like to find something that is:
relatively strong but nothing ridiculous
holds a knot well thats big a enough diameter so its easy to tie
doesnt sag when wet
Low stretch
Can be used for prussiks and maybe guy lines
Is inexpensive and can be found most anywhere like Lowes, home depot, etc.

weight isnt really an issue as I figure Id like to have 200' or so that I can pack into my camp box and cut to size as I see fit.That being said, it would be nice to have something that would work for all the above that I could also pack for a hike-in-hike-out hammock trip in the future that wouldnt bee too heavy/bulky.

I assume that rope with an inner core may be better for holding knots but is it?

High visibility would be great seeing as how I seem to trip over guy lines all the time.

I know this is a laundry list of expectations and Im sure no ONE rope will do it all BUT..... Polyester cord seems to fit the bill for most of these things except maybe the knot holding ability. I know I dont want nylon and maybe polypropelyene will work. I figure I need something in the 1/8"-1/4" range, probably 3/16 " would be best.

Ive been looking at some along the lines of the following:

http://www.theropeguy.com/servlet/the-1626/1-fdsh-8%22-x-200%27-Premium/Detail

http://www.theropeguy.com/servlet/th...Premium/Detail

or

http://www.theropeguy.com/servlet/th...--fdsh-/Detail

I looked at Lowes today and saw these:

A little large in diameter but strong and its Polyester

I liked this for the size and visibility, much less strength and its polypropelyne



I know alot of people recommend zing it and/or lash it amsteel etc, but I dont really want to have to splice everything. Ill be using one of those when it comes time to build myself a ridgeline for the hammock and possibly some whoopie slings in the future. I already have some continuous loops coming from whoopieslings.com for my hammock ends.

So aaaaaanyway.....On to the actual questions (finally)
What would be your recommendation for one rope for all these things?
What would be your preferred Diameter?
What kind of working strength should I be looking at for tarp hanging? I tend to put a good bit of tension on my tarp lines but im sure im not putting hundreds of lbs of pressure on the lines.


Sorry for the long drawn out question, ha ha.

[RootCause]

I don't use one rope for all occasions, but I carry a hunk of this for all my miscellaneous rope needs: General 1/4" Utility Rope

It's stretchier than I strictly like, but once stretched stays mostly stretched. It's bigger than I like now that I love 7/64" Amsteel, but not too bad.
It's not as strong as I'd like but again, not too bad.

In other words, this is my compromise cord-for-general-use.

[dragon360]

Braided masons line and dacron kite line have both worked really well for me. I think the kite line was $20 for 1600 ft and I use it all the time.

[robv60]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions! I finally just bought some 1/4" polyester rope from Harbour Freight for pretty cheap. Has a 300lbs working strength which probably more than I need. This wont be a be-all-end-all for everything I want it for but after much deliberation I decided it would be best to purchase different cordage for different purposes when the need arrives. This will be great for rigging and general work. It has good strength, low stretch, holds a knot well, is spliceable if I decide to go that route, easy to handle/tie, wont have to worry about it cutting into things from too small of a size, is visible and inexpensive. When I get ready to buy cordage for guy lines and hammock tarp ridgelines, I think ill go for the zing it. or possinly the Kite line a mentioned previously since its cheaper and I can get it made of polyester as well.

[Mouseskowitz]

I don't know if you'd consider this inexpensive or not but I ordered this reflective "paracord" from Supply Captain at $8 for 50 ft. I haven't gotten an chance to get out and use it yet so I can't say how much stretch there is. But I figure for tarp guy lines with shock cord tensioners it shouldn't be an issue. The high visibility should be good at night and I can swap them out for lash-it if weight is going to be an issue on a trip.

[JohnSawyer]

Zing it... 200', $20... strong, easy to see . . . very light...

[SmokeBait]

Zing it... 200', $20... strong, easy to see . . . very light...

I'll 2nd that. Zing It is great stuff.

[titanium_hiker]

The reason for the crazy strong breaking limits on the cords that people talk about is because of the physics of the angle- you might weigh 200 pounds, and so a 200lb string might be able to hold that dead weight, but the force required to hold you up when you bring in the near horizontal angles of hammock hanging is substantially more, especially when you bring in movement.

Just in case you were wondering.

[AaronAlso]

For guylines I use Lawson's Ironwire (Dynaglide, Zing-it, Lash-it, all work fine) where splicing will be needed. Splicing in things like Dutch Flyz or Hooks; as well as adjustable loops (Whoopies) for shockcorded doors & pannel pullouts.

For other guylines where splicing isn't used (my 4 main corner tieouts) I use Lawson's Glowire. (Niteize & Kelty also make reflective guyline)

For just general lashing of stuff to other stuff, I find that 1.2mm Techline usually works well.

Lawson's is Lawsonequipment.com
Techline available @ DIYgearsupply.com

[Itsamescott]

Zing it... 200', $20... strong, easy to see . . . very light...

Where can I find Zing It for $20? Every where I look it seems to come in 180' spool and cost closer to $30. Has the price gone up that much in one year?