Guy-line Knots – What is your favorite knot for tying off guy line and why?

[Mike Storesund]

This is something that was prompted by a tangent from a thread in G Spot under Tarp Book.

Mine is to Girth Hitch one end to the tarp and Trucker Hitch the stake end. These are easy to attach to the tarp/poncho and can be quickly adjusted to tension the line.

I have some of the Jacks-R-Better self tensioning lines, and they work nice, but I have not had them too long. I suspect the elastic tubing can/will deteriorate over time unlike a solid guy-line.

[William Wright]

Two half hitches to the tarp and trucker’s hitch to the stake.

[Vick Hines]

Tautline or prussic on the tarp and simple double or tripple wrap with a quick release bow on the stake. That way I can reach the adjustable knot from under the tarp.

[Douglas Frick]

Two half hitches on the tarp, taut-line or clove hitch on the stake end depending on whether it is hard or easy to place a stake. For removable guys, I girth hitch the tarp end. (I especially like the JRB self-tensioning guylines on my hammock tarp.) I’m upgrading some old tarp guylines to AirCore Pro Dyneema though, so I’ll be using rewoven figure-8s and the BPL cord locks with that.

[Peter McDonough]

Anchor bend to ursalight carabiner clipped to tarp, runs around stake and back to a tautline. Else bowline loops around biner and around stake.

[Mark]

I keep a loop from an overhand-on-a-bight on each end of the guyline. Attach with a girth hitch on the tarp end. Stake is usually straight through the other loop, but sometimes I’ll make a tautline.
-Mark

[David Bonn]

For the ridge lines and corners, I use the aircore pro cord and tensioners. I tie off with clove hitches.

Typically I have three or four short (fifteen inches or so) of aircore 2 with an overhand loop on each end). I use these as needed for side pullouts. They aren’t permanently attached to the tarp and I girth-hitch them when I think they will help. Usually I wrap the cord around a goodsized rock rather than actually stake them out, since the side pullouts need less tension than the corners or ridgeline — and I can still adjust them from under the tarp by simply moving the rock. The other thing I might do with those cord is use them as extenders for the corner tie-outs if the placement is awkward, where I tie them to the main cord with a double sheet bend and stake through the overhand loop.

I also usually carry and extra six or eight feet of aircore pro (or gossamer gear’s very similar EZC line) that I can use to extend the a tarp ridgeline around a really big tree.

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