Anyone else using braid as tent cord? I have been doing it awhile with good luck, but was wondering if anyone else is doing it? I have not had any real bad winds(had tops of around 20) yet with mine so was wondering if anyone else has had a chance to really test it. (other than with the 50pd fish it was designed to handle)

It is very light and compact, and if you are a fisherman pretty much free when you change your lines.

I picked up some 100lbs test spectra fishing line on eBay for pretty cheap a few months ago thinking it would make a great, light guyline. However, the stuff I received has quite a bit of stretch to it. Even using it as a clothesline has resulted in quite a bit of sag. You might find that your fishing line keeps stretching if you do encounter high winds, but it likely varies a lot depending on the line.

Dan,

my braid has very little, if any sag. nothing like regular fishing line.

Dan-is yours braid?

I'm surprised by your success....only because I thought it would be tough to adjust & untie due to the small diameter. Sounds interesting! What brand & type do you like?

I've been using braided UHMWPE (Dyneema/Spectra) fishing line for quite a while, with braided polyester sheath and a drip of rubbery glue at the knots. It works really well and weighs a lot less than the lightest guylines. I've also used Dyneema/Vectran bowstring material (175 lb breaking strength) the same way, also with success. The fishing line, if used for taught-pitched tarps or tents, will gradually creep and the breaking strength will progressively decline (particularly for lighter line, which will always be operating nearer its breaking load). The bowstring material, because it contains about 1/3 Vectran, won't creep.

I've also made mini-whoopie slings with braided UHMWPE fishing line for adjustable guylines, but slippage was a problem (UHMWPE is ridiculously slippery) unless I used an extremely long pass-through, which became difficult to manipulate and negated some of the weight benefit of the system.

I find that tying and untying knots is impractical with this stuff. How have others adjusted their UHMWPE fishing line guylines?

Edited by ckrusor on 01/09/2011 19:59:26 MST.

Todd,

I wish I knew the brand I have been using. I pulled it off a reel about a year ago and replaced it with some junk... It is very hard to untie, but you can just cut and re-tie if necessary(would not work where you retie all the time though). The way I have my tent lines set up I really don't have to deal with this however...

also works great for zipper pulls, or anything else that you don't retie often.

mine came off a saltwater reel that is rated for around 50pd line, so mine should be in that range. my question is if all my tent lines are rated around 50pds will I be good in stronger winds, or should I be working with something heavy?

to be fair there is a downside- the lines are almost impossible to see at night when you are stumbling back to your tent/tarp in the dark. don't ask me how I know.

use it all over, mostly as thread.

Yup the stuff I have is braided. It's like this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/PE-SPECTRA-BRAID-FISHING-LINE-100LB-1000M-DYNEEMA-GREEN-/140495487341?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20b62f016d

It works okay a cord for stuff sacks etc but it's too saggy for guylines.

Yes.
http://buy.scientificanglers.com/fly-backing-line/xts-gel-spun.html
I had some of this left over after backing some line on a reel.

For anything up to 6-8' it works fine. However, it tends to tangle easily. I avoid it for longer lengths for this reason.