Storm Resistance of Ultralight Shelters: Part 1, Introduction

[Jens W]

Mark, I currently tie a figure eight at the tie out end of the guy line and loop the guyline through it. My idea with the carabiner would mainly be to make it more modular in winter and save fingers from freezing, Even with the figure eight pre tied it is a bit fiddely to loop it trough with thick gloves.

Also, I had the idea that a carabiner would be a less abrasive interface so that the tie out would last longer. Naturally the carabiner solution is not UL, but 25-30g in total for the 7 attachments is not that much consirering what it adds in comfort for me.

Matt, How long did you cut the HMG guylines? Do you you any tensioners on the upper? Have you ever had the line locs slip? I dont see how doubling up on the guylines would anything the the tie out is the wakest point?

Do you guys know if somebody has ever measured the breaking strenght of the Ultamid (or similar DCF construction) tieouts ?

Wat do you guys think of adding an elastic loop at the tie out to lower the dynamic force peaks and possibly save the tie outs?

Finally, the whole idea behind choosing the Ultamid 4 was to be able to choose more bold parking spots ;-)

[Matt Dirksen]

“Matt, How long did you cut the HMG guylines? Do you you any tensioners on the upper?”

I replaced all the lines with Lawson’s rope, and his metal bar tensioners. They are easy to use with gloves and they don’t slip.

I adjust the bar tensioners at the top of each attachment, but I also tied small taught line hitches at the bottom of the lines. So each line can technically be adjusted from the top or bottom but the taught line at the bottom is meant to simply tighten on the stake (since the stake choice will vary depending on the conditions.)

Now I understand your desire for using carabiners, (a carabiner rated for climbing will be fine.) But since I’m always guying our the uppers, I don’t think I’d ever feel like I need to disconnect the lines entirely. I do use different colors for the upper, mid, and lower guy lines, making it easier to identify each set from the rest of the lines. While it’s a little colorful, it makes setting up quicker.

Generally speaking, the mid panel guyouts are the only ones that are “optional” and can’t have a lot of tension on them.

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