I use them on my tarp ridgeline. They work fantastic, but they are heavy for what they do. I've just ordered some simple cordlocks to see if they can replace the 9s...
I use them on my tarp ridgeline. They work fantastic, but they are heavy for what they do. I've just ordered some simple cordlocks to see if they can replace the 9s...
550 is a heavy option for that application even before it gets wet.
The other thing, more important IMO, is that I want my lines to break first. If I happen to get caught in something really nasty, I don't want my tarp to rip first. I don't really want to meet that storm as I've been through a few doozies in my MacCat without issue.
If you get it for free and get bored easily, you could always pull the strands and braid them into some free line. You'd have to be really bored.
Trust nobody!
As mentioned, Figure 9s can slip with smallish cordage. An extra turn around the "horn" solves the problem nicely. Ditto a slippery half hitch.
Dave
"Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is the richness of self."~~~May Sarton
This got my attention, and probably deserves a new thread, but I can't find the new thread button on my screenOriginally Posted by Cannibal
what is the prefered material for tarp guy lines? I have been using mason line, but is that a good idea?
I use Speer no-tangle line for my Maccat tarp - it's easy to tie, and untie knots, it doesn't really tangle when you pack up, if it does, it's easy to untangle, it's easy to see and it weighs so little you can take 100' without a weight penalty. You can get it from Speer's website. I have to add a extra turn around my figure 9 like OG mentioned. I tried zing it, or lash it, I can't relly remember which, but it was gray. It didn't really work as it wanted to slip out of the F9, and the mini-biener came untied a few times.
Those who expect disappointment are never disappointed.
They have been working great for me with 1.75mm Zing-it. I put a slippery half hitch just behind the Figure 9, just in case.
Mike
"Life is a Project!"
I often use Figure 9's for tarp lines. Recently tried Knot Bones as a replacement but they proved to be less useful than the 9's. With Figure 9's you get some purchase on the line as you pull it around the horn before cleating it off. That's harder to do with the Knot Bones.
Knotty
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Before I switch my hennessey to whoopie slings I used the large figure 9's to hang. I filed off the cleats on it and it worked for me until I found the whoopie.
Yosemite Sam: Are you trying to make me look a fool?
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I too am using the smallest F9s with Zing-It for my ridgelines. And yes, another turn and/or a slipprey half hitch is needed.
Like Knotty, I have tried the KnotBones. After fiddling with them for some time I came to the conclusion that they are a solution in search of a problem. They do not offer the pulley-like tensioning benefit of the F9s, they do not work well with 1.75 ZingIt, and the uses advertized seem to me to be better served by actual knots.
Damage to the ZingIt from F9 teeth is a real probability, but should be distributed along the length of the line. And you are going to replace ridgelines occasionally, aren't you?
Jim
Yeah, be careful hanging off the large figure 9 'biners (unless you file the sharp edges or something). A buddy of mine had his line stripped to the core by them (the default HH line, with a core).
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