Finally added bling!

[Amber]

I’m doing my happy dance. After a semi-miserable experience a couple weeks ago, I decided to compromise my “no hardware” state of mind and add some convenience and functionality. A true compromise, I went with a tarp ridgeline system that still technically includes knots, but with a little Dutch bling to make things simpler (is that a word?).

I ordered a mini spool of zing-it and 4 Dutch Hooks for the ridgeline itself (not the whole spool, obviously), and the tree and tarp connections, using Prusiks. Yes, they’re tiny, but they seem to snap on pretty easily and they’re lightweight. I can’t imagine they’ll be harder to use with cold hands or gloves than tying knots. A step up in the world, in my eyes. Can’t wait to set it all up and try it out!

[dirtbag]

Nice!! Good luck with it!!

[Matthew / BPL]

Dutch Hooks are the tiny tiny ones, right? I like those but mine were all very hard to unhook with cold fingers. I opened them up with a quick twist of a screwdriver at Tom’s suggestion and like the result.

[Amber]

Yes, they’re the tiny tiny ones. Lol. I’ve been warned that they might be difficult with cold hands, but considering I’d been using zing-it soft shackles, I just can’t imagine this doing much to increase the difficult factor. I might try the tarp flyz next, if I find these TOO difficult.

[Kevin Babione]

Enjoy – This past weekend I was out and the temperatures were in the low 40’s with a light drizzle coming down.  My fingers got cold very quickly so simplicity is best.  I used the Dutch ridgeline on both of our tarps:

• Dutch Hook on one end (which pulled out pretty easily by folding the line)
• Dutch Wasp on the other end.  I’ll admit that it took me a little time to figure this piece of hardware out (I carried the instruction card with me on my first two trips with it), but I now love it and can confirm that, even with cold wet hands it was easy to get my tarp up.

I don’t normally go crazy with the bling, but a little, especially if it works well for you, is really nice.  Let us know how it works out!

[Marcus]

I love dutch bling and have Hook Worms for my guylines and a continuous ridgeline with a Tarp Fly and dutch hook. The simplicity and quick-release ability is worth a few grams. (nice to be able to put my hammock tarp in porch mode, just clip/unclip after setup). I think you’ll enjoy the bling!

As others have said, the dutch hook is too small to handle IMO, and can be a real pain to un-clip. I was just thinking I should open up the hook slightly so its easier to undo.

 

[Matthew / BPL]

Yep. That’s all that’s needed. If you just pry it open with a scredriver it will unclip easily and it’s not going to be unstable or fall off.

[Amber]

Ooo that’s a great idea! That’s the only thing I can think of being fiddly about it – the way the hooks snap onto the line. I can definitely see how that could be problematic with cold hands. I’ve got pretty small hands, but I can still see it posing an issue. I very well may try something else before long. That seems to be the beauty of these things – there are so many different methods and options out there!

I’ve gotten everything spliced up, but I haven’t tried it all out yet. My windy experience a few weeks ago caused my tarp to rub against the tent stake that was holding my pack at the end of my hammock. It resulted in a small hole I need to repair in the DCF. The snakeskin I was making was also a work in progress until today. Now that everything’s finally made and ready, I’m going to set it all up tomorrow and see how it works. That way, I can patch the tarp while it’s up and pack it all away in the new snakeskin. I’m planning to do the Eagle Rock Loop next week, so I’ve still got a few days to tweak things, if needed. Before it’s needed.

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