Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Gear Forum :: More tarp rope length questions
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plander |
CCS Ridgeline Stuff Sack Video |
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schweady |
Jaywalker: "One additional thing I do differently is I use Dan's cord for the ridgeline, but green REI utility cord for the sides. Its not that I like the cord any better, but having different colors helps me grab the right bundle fast when setting up. " Seems to me (especially if you are using the ridgeline bag) that you'd already have that line running through the tarp's loops. Also, are you knotting or clipping your corner and side loops each time, and detaching when stowing away? Seems like leaving these attached and bundled with an elastic tie would be more time-efficient. |
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bri |
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Blackdogyak |
HowardSprague: "I bring a stuff sack that’s about the same size as my tarp stuff sack. I fill that with as much cordage as i can, from the 80’ that comes with the CCS to >50’ lengths of various diameters of cord from 4-6mm. Several shorter lengths from times i’ve cut to fit. The lengths and amounts needed vary so much from site to site and are unpredictable. The ridgeline trees might be 60’ apart. So i figure better to bring too much than too little. Absolutely. I really think there's no way to come up with some perfect scenario. Many times I pitch my tarp as an A-tent over my hammock. In that case the sides are down 12" -16" off the ground. The guy lines are very short. So I have a dedicated set of light reflective yellow guylines...about 4' each, pre-rigged to stakes and Nite-Ize Figure-9 caribineers. Then some odd small bits and carabineers to close up "doors " on the ends and a couple lengths to tie up to tree for panel-pull-outs. But if I rig for hangout/picnic table cover, that's going to be way different. Often times those corners need to go out 30 or 40 feet! and the ridge needs to be pretty heavy duty to avoid sagging. So I have a whole assortment of stuff in a ditty-bag. I'm monitoring how I use it and hopefully by next year I will have a decent idea of what is enough and what is really extra. There are so many different conditions that it's hard to be prepared for everything. I guess if I had to plan it all out...Id have a 50-75 foot ridgeline, half dozen 6' and half dozen 12' with bowline on one end. And a bunch of lighter 24"-48" for misc. And I'd probably keep a full 100' hank of 550 paracord just in case. Then you can gang them together if needed via loop to loop. two 12 footers...or a 12 and a 6....etc, as needed. Invariably you need to get to a tree 55' away....so the 100' paracord would work. Or you start to come up with solutions like a branch/stick "tent pole" and guy to ground close by. This is what I do when I want to get my A-tent tarp over the hammock into "porch mode" by lifting one side up. |
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HowardSprague |
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HowardSprague |
Help me, i can’t ...stop.....buying...rope! |
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unshavenman |
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butthead |
Always extra use for cordage, and adding line together is easy for extra long stretches. butthead |
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schweady |
boonie: "Did you get the ridgeline stuff sack? " Yes. I've been admiring the advantages for a long while. I look forward to having it rigged that way in the next stiff breeze. Perhaps this is where I bring up another stupid question. (One that may become more obvious when readying things for the first time...) What's with the two separate draw corded sections to the ridgeline bag? The deeper one for the tarp and the near one for the ridgeline cordage? I may have answered it myself: while playing a bit with the slipperiness of the silnylon, I'd guess that having the stuffed tarp closed off would be a big advantage while wrapping up the ridgeline and getting that stored away. |
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plander |
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schweady |
butthead: "I like the 50 and 20 foot lengths, but will double up on each piece. 2 50 foot 8 20 foot. I like the way you think. I'm convinced. I actually have four CCS 80 ft lengths now (like I said, I have been considering this for a long time...), so I have plenty to make such a plan work: Regular yellow for 50 ft ridgeline + extras 80 -> 50 + 20 + 10 ft 80 -> 50 + 20 + 10 ft Reflective yellow for 20 ft corners/sides + extras 80 -> 20 + 20 + 20 + 20 ft 80 -> 20 + 20 + 20 + 20 ft |
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boonie |
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plander |
schweady: "boonie: "Did you get the ridgeline stuff sack? " You’ve answered it yourself. But I’d add that it also helps when setting the ridgeline up as well. The tarp never needs to touch the ground. |
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schweady |
plander: "The tarp never needs to touch the ground. " Right. I should have said, "I look forward to not being lifted into the air while trying to handle it in a stiff breeze." Actually happened once, trying to control a Guide Gear tarp and miles of paracord while taking it down in a gale. I wound up just wadding it up as best I could and tossing it into the car... :-) |
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TrailZen |
McManus Quotes Our paddling trips always have a Patrick McManus book among the gear... TZ |
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boonie |
schweady: "plander: "The tarp never needs to touch the ground. " :) Thanks, I look backward to something I no longer have to do. Soon you will too. |
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schweady |
I have done some searches on this forum for recommended lengths to use for both ridgeline and corner tie-outs. It seems like 50 feet is the average consensus for the ridgeline. DanCooke himself says that's the length he uses, so that probably should be good enough for me... And, it appears that there was some agreement on around 20 feet at the corners, but don't recall if some felt a lot more could be needed. I did get some additional CCS cordage but wondered how much to anticipate using, especially if I would want to also tie-out at the midpoints on each long side. Seems like I could wind up wanting up to 3 lengths of Dan's rope. Of course, more is probably better in this case anyway. Thoughts? |
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YetiJedi |
I use the standard 50' for a ridgeline and I bring two just in case. I like 10' to 12' for the four corners. I bring a bunch of 6' to 8' lengths to put around as needed. The cordage for CCS works great and is what I prefer. |
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bobbernumber3 |
Make sure you have a way to keep your ropes neat when packing. |
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boonie |
I'm sure that's not much help, but think back over the sites you've stayed, and options. If you have options around home, you can try it out. I have 20 on the sides, but thinking of shortening them and carrying the extra to add, but worse trying to add them in the rain than dealing with what's there . . . ? I don't remember how long the ridgeline is, but it's at least 50. Did you get the ridgeline stuff sack? |
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boonie |
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straighthairedcurly |
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unshavenman |
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Jaywalker |
YetiJedi: "Rope configurations are endless, pack space is not! :) This is right about where I am too. About 50' ridgeline and about 12' for corners. In addition to the corners, I have cords on 2 of the 3 other tie out loops in between. The corners and middle are usually enough, but I'll tie out a 4th or maybe 5th if the wind is bad. I also keep 2-3 10 foot "extensions in my cargo pocket in case I can not reach. I'd rather have to add an extension on one or two places than always deal with a lot of excess - just my preference. One additional thing I do differently is I use Dan's cord for the ridgeline, but green REI utility cord for the sides. Its not that I like the cord any better, but having different colors helps me grab the right bundle fast when setting up. |
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YetiJedi |
Jaywalker: "YetiJedi: "Rope configurations are endless, pack space is not! :) Good tip, Jaywalker...going to switch my side cords now! :) |
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unshavenman |
schweady: "Jaywalker: "One additional thing I do differently is I use Dan's cord for the ridgeline, but green REI utility cord for the sides. Its not that I like the cord any better, but having different colors helps me grab the right bundle fast when setting up. " Yeah, I leave my ridgeline and corner lines on the tarp and stow it that way. I wouldn't want the hassle of rigging it every time I deployed it. |
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boonie |
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Jaywalker |
schweady: "Jaywalker: "One additional thing I do differently is I use Dan's cord for the ridgeline, but green REI utility cord for the sides. Its not that I like the cord any better, but having different colors helps me grab the right bundle fast when setting up. " Oh I definitely leave it rigged with corners and ridge line in place, it’s just that I sometimes move or add some of the extra lines on the side. When I put it away I bundle the cords doing figure 8s, wrap, and tie a slip knot so it’s super fast to undo. I can typically have my tarp up in about 60 seconds in rainy situations. I do leave my ridgeline through I think 5 loops on the tarp, but not through the 2 loops on the edge. There I have a short 24 inch line (yet another color by the way) with a prusik attached to the ridgeline. This allows the edge to be pulled down slightly, which I believe makes it better at shedding wind. I do not have a ridge line stuff sack. I know a lot of people love them, but I like having my stuff bag stay dry so if I put my tarp away wet my stuff sack (silnylon) holds all the moisture inside when in my pack. Having the different colors just makes it super fast to spot which bundle of cord to grab when setting up. |