Tarp tensioners

[te-wa]

for you fellas making the shock cord with a clove hitch how well do they hold and/or do you have to re-tie on occasion?

[Mustardman]

I use the clove hitch variety and it seems to hold just fine. I haven't had to retie them yet.

Clove hitches are deceptively strong for their simplicity. I use them regularly for things like anchoring myself to a wall while multipitch rock climbing.

[headchange4u]

I've never had to retie any of my tensioner. Clove hitch holds tight.

[Rushthezeppelin]

I've got shockcord attached to thicker nylon cord with a clove hitch for my asym tieouts. Never had any problems.....I've even tested them and that shockcord will fail before the knot will I surmise.

[Albert Skye]

The Double Overhand Knot (or a triple) seems better suited to this application. It holds better than a clove hitch and the ends remain relatively inline (rather than perpendicular).

[Frawg]

The Double Overhand Knot (or a triple) seems better suited to this application. It holds better than a clove hitch and the ends remain relatively inline (rather than perpendicular).

OTOH, a clove hitch does let you add a tensioner anywhere on the line without requiring access to the end of the line, and I've never seen it come loose when wrapped around shock cord or bungee cord, or a piece of bicycle inner tube. Which is not to say it couldn't.