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  1. #1
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    Default Bottle top tie outs on a tarp

    Anybody have experience, good or bad, with using bottle cap button tie outs on a sil tarp, particularly xenon?
    You can walk in another person's shoes, but only with your feet

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    I'm not a big fan of using button type tie-outs on a tarp if I can avoid them because they bunch up the tarp and it's hard to get nice tight pitch. That being said, I don't know why plastic bottle caps wouldn't work fine. I've always used rocks or tree cones or wads of natural material. Most silnylon tarps have regular tie-outs that I always manage to make work without extras. I do have a couple plastic tarp clip things that allow me to hook a guy-line to the edge of my cheap poly tarps between the sparse or poorly placed grommets. I've never tried them on my sil tarps. I might place a button tie-out for a center pullout on a cheap poly tarp without one.
    I'm not lost. I'm exploring.

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    Default Bottle top tie outs on a tarp

    Thanks, nsherry. I ordered some xenon from Dutch and want to try a no sew solo tarp. I have used rocks before for button tie outs but you don't anyways find nice, smooth rocks and I worry about tearing a thin fabric.
    You can walk in another person's shoes, but only with your feet

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    Pics of what this thread is about?

  5. #5
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    Wrap up an object in a corner of the tarp and then tie a loop of line around the object, trapping it in the tarp. It makes a secure connection point using the tarp itsrlf.

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    Default Bottle top tie outs on a tarp

    https://youtu.be/IFbyyQ3C_zY

    This YouTube clip shows how to do it with a plastic bottle top.
    You can walk in another person's shoes, but only with your feet

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by devoidapop View Post
    . . . I ordered some xenon from Dutch and want to try a no sew solo tarp. . .
    Sewing is such a wonderful skill and tool for working with fabrics. If you have a sewing machine and know how to use it, it is also generally easier and faster than the alternatives, along with producing a much more satisfying final product. You can learn to sew in an afternoon and you can buy used sewing machines pretty cheaply. I even found a new one at Ikea a couple years ago for $45 that worked surprisingly well for a lot of sewing until I think I killed it (it may just be time to lube it) sewing bicycle inner tubes which should really only be done with special needles and an industrial level machine.
    I'm not lost. I'm exploring.

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    Default Bottle top tie outs on a tarp

    Sewing, baking, and carpentry all take too much attention to detail for me. I always skip steps and never the same step twice so my results are 1/4 @$$ at best.
    You can walk in another person's shoes, but only with your feet

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    Quote Originally Posted by nsherry61 View Post
    Sewing is such a wonderful skill and tool for working with fabrics. If you have a sewing machine and know how to use it, it is also generally easier and faster than the alternatives, along with producing a much more satisfying final product. You can learn to sew in an afternoon and you can buy used sewing machines pretty cheaply. I even found a new one at Ikea a couple years ago for $45 that worked surprisingly well for a lot of sewing until I think I killed it (it may just be time to lube it) sewing bicycle inner tubes which should really only be done with special needles and an industrial level machine.
    My wife sews a lot. It appears some projects are harder than others. When I asked about a nice plump down vest, she said no, too complicated. Who would have guessed?
    "It's fun to have fun, but you have to know how." ---Dr. Seuss

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    Setup the tarp today and its doing pretty well in a 15mph wind. I'm gonna have to continue to fiddle with it to get a tight pitch. Maybe cut a foot off the length. 9' is a bit overkill for a solo shelter.
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    You can walk in another person's shoes, but only with your feet

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    The tarp looks lovely.

    As noted above, it's hard if not impossible to get a good tight pitch with button-type tie-outs because the material is not flat, it is significantly deformed around the connection point. Not a problem if it works for you in what you are doing with it. Less of a problem with nylon where the fabric has more stretch than something like polyester or especially polyethylene that stretch less.
    I'm not lost. I'm exploring.

  12. #12

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    Quote Originally Posted by devoidapop View Post
    Setup the tarp today and its doing pretty well in a 15mph wind. I'm gonna have to continue to fiddle with it to get a tight pitch. Maybe cut a foot off the length. 9' is a bit overkill for a solo shelter.
    What's 1/9 of the weight of the tarp? In crap weather, it might be nice to have that bit of extra porch.

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    Quote Originally Posted by AllDownhillFromHere View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by devoidapop View Post
    Setup the tarp today and its doing pretty well in a 15mph wind. I'm gonna have to continue to fiddle with it to get a tight pitch. Maybe cut a foot off the length. 9' is a bit overkill for a solo shelter.
    What's 1/9 of the weight of the tarp? In crap weather, it might be nice to have that bit of extra porch.
    Point taken, and wise advice
    You can walk in another person's shoes, but only with your feet

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