Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Gear Forum :: Packing Tarp and Guylines
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ParkerMag |
Jaywalker: "I have a home made silnylon ridgeline tarp similar to a CSS tarp. In addition to the ridgeline I keep 6-8 tie outs on there all the time, and I stuff it into a stuff sack when I take it down. To keep the ropes from tangling, I wrap each cord up on one hand in a figure eight, then put about 6-8 wraps around the coil and finish it off with a slip knot. Sounds harder than it is - I tie each on in typically 10 seconds or so. All tie outs and the ridgeline get done this way. Eliminates almost all the tangles, and makes for much faster set up. When I get to camp I open the stuff sack and always have one coil right on top which I know is the ridgeline (because it's yellow, not green/blue like the tie outs). I secure that, then walk to the next tree with the tarp coming out. The last thing out of the bag is the other yellow coil, which goes around another tree. Then do the tie outs. My tarp goes up and comes down very fast. Every once in a while the coils come undone by accident, but with practice they are fast and stay put about 98% of the time. " +1, and batting fashionably close to 1.000 on being tangle-free. |
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mjmkjun |
cowdoc: "Fold and roll tarp cuz it packs up nicer. No Ridgeline or guylines attached. Each campsite has different layout and trees so I start from scratch to fit the site. Guylines are figure 8 stored in separate mesh sack. I rarely hang a tarp the same way twice on a trip." +1 (except I use gallon zip locks) |
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Savage Voyageur |
zski: "good initial question, i'm taking notes as my cordage tangles way too much too. I've been using 550 paracord. In addition to technique, there must be less tangly alternatives. right? " 550 cord has its advantages, multi strand sometimes comes in handy. I use PMI 3mm Utility Cord from REI. It doesn’t tangle much because the core is not strand, it woven. |
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marsonite |
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joewildlife |
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HammerII |
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awbrown |
You roll most of the line over your hand like others have illustrated here leaving about a 1 ft piece loose at the end. Tuck the whole thing into the corner of the tarp and use the last 1 ft piece to run several circles around the rope/tarp bundle. Tuck the last couple of inches under the last loop and pull snug. Works neat. |
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SinglePortage |
When I get to my site I set up the ridgelines and attach Fleaz to the corners. I then attach eight or twenty foot chords to the appropriate tree's and attach to the tarp/Lean and tighten via the Fleaz. With the Fleaz attached to the tarp I can tighten my guy lines from under the tarp, a nice plus in a downpour. My method affords me the most flexibility with my various rigs. |
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HighnDry |
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TheGreatIndoors |
Experienced climbers very neatly tie and stack their gear for speed and safety. If you tangle, you are not tying neatly enough. |
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donr |
Wintertrekker has a good youtube video from which I appropriated this technique: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqlFP8C_z10&t=335s Hope this helps, Don |
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Jaywalker |
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bhouse46 |
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Flashback |
I typically leave the CCS cord I bought for both tarps attached to the tarps. When I take the tarp down, I double the cord a couple of times, and then daisy chain it. Doesn't tangle & pops loose with one pull on the ends. Not for sure, but I believe the pieces of cord I use are each about 15 feet long. I carry a couple of extra lengths of cord; don't remember ever having needed to use them. Both tarps, and all cord are still in nice condition. BOB |
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Bannock |
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HayRiverDrifter |
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DanCooke |
Polyester cord does not stretch nearly at all; and humidity or rain will not make it stretch more. Most inexpensive 3mm ply cord is stranded core and a breaking strength rating of 225 lbs. CCS has made special by the folks who made the first paracord a polyester core with 3 twisted braided cord with a breaking strength of 450lbs. Some folks like the stretch to dampen the impact of gusts, others prefer the lines to remain constant. For the final wrap to hold a figure 8 form or just a coil around the fingers, from my experience I find that wrapping away 3 wraps and then wrapping back a minimum of 3 wraps gives me the best holding force on a coil so it does not unwrap. Including the corner of the tarp in the coil I find gets rid of the ropes tangling with each other. I leave the ridgeline in and the corner lines attached, on a 15 x 15 I also have cord on the two seam lines on the sides parallel to the ridgeline. In the coming weeks I hope to post some short videos to show these techniques and other tarp tricks/ aids; just gotta get some other stuff done first. |
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smoke |
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THEGrandRapids |
I don't have a problem with my tent and tent fly, but I think I'm in a more routine packing process and everything gets folded and rolled into each other, with the footprint last, so any loose lines gets tucked into that. Am I the only one with this problem? Or just haven't turned into a Tarp Master yet? |
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jmedlin |
Each tie out has a pair of 10" pieces of cordage tied to it and I keep a bag with about 200 ft of 10' sections of cord. When I need a tie out, I just use a sheet bend with a quick release to add a guy line in that particular spot. When the tarp comes down, all of the pieces get bundled up and the tarp gets stuffed away. He sells the DVD as a digital download for $10, a lot of good knowledge in there. https://www.cliffcanoe.com/product-page/the-forgotten-skils-dvd-digital-download |
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Birdknowsbest |
donr: "I have a 10 x 12 CCS tarp that I leave in a ridge line configuration. I leave my lines attached, coil them, then secure the coils with elastic hair ties that I attach to the line loops on the tarp. I stuff, not fold or roll. |
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THEGrandRapids |
DanCooke: " Dan- What do you perfer? Are tarps designed for one or the other? Does the 1.1 or 1.9oz nylon act differently. Another poster mentioned added shock cord sections, which I've only seen with boat ties. |
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TipsyPaddler |
donr: "I have a 10 x 12 CCS tarp that I leave in a ridge line configuration. I leave my lines attached, coil ery, then secure the coils with elastic hair ties that I attach to the line loops on the tarp. I stuff, not fold or roll. This is my system as well. Every couple of years or so I replace the hair ties as they lose their elasticity but work very well. |
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Othello |
HayRiverDrifter: "What Jaywalker said." +1, and though I don't always leave the guy lines attached (depending on the tarp), the figure-8 coil is the constant that keeps it all tangle-free. Also consider snakeskins. These have made tarp management so much quicker and easier for me. |
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DrBobDg |
The rest of my lines are in a stuff sack individually rolled up. 10 to 25 feet. You can never have too many. If I have to I combine lines with a sheet bend... Lines are attached to the tarp and trees with a quick release knot. It is easy to readjust tension that way. Lines are always rolled up before putting them away....always, always, always. Until I get convinced otherwise that is what I will continue to do. good luck in your quest for a system that works for you... there is certainly more than one... surely we agree it is not fun to untangle a bunch of lines when the skies are getting darker and darker with liquid sunshine minutes away. dr bob |
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cowdoc |
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cowdoc |
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jcavenagh |
I use the figure 8 wrap shown by jaywalker. My guy lines have loops at the end so I can add extra length if needed. I bring some extra 10 and 20 ft lengths. I use zing-it for my tarp. |
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MagicPaddler |
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campnfish |
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Savage Voyageur |
I use the “Kanoes method” of cord management. Jan told me this years ago. I took a 150’ of 3mm cord and cut them into lots of 7’ pieces. Then each piece gets a loop on each end using about one foot for each end, leaving me with a 5 foot section with loops on each end. I then feed all the loops on a caribiner. Example, I look at the spacing and I need 15 feet of cord I just pull off 3 of the cords and loop the loops together to make 15’. It’s fast and easy to do. Ever since I tried this I have not thrown away any cord left over from trips. When breaking camp I just unloop the cords and back on the caribiner for storage. I used to never cut ropes until I needed a certain length. Then after every trip I had a load of weird sizes that were unidentifiable as far as length for the next time. I would get frustrated and toss the whole mess. Not any more. I also use the Nite eyes figure 9 cord tighteners with my cords. Simple and easy to connect onto any cord and they are fast and easy to use. This is another reason this method is so easy. No knots to use so you won’t have to cut tight knots apart anymore. Just remove the figure 9 cord tighteners and unloop the ends. |
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zski |
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Chlorin8ed |
Animated Knots |