Recent content by n00b

Good to know. Do they eat it?

That's basically what I'm building but not for protection!

Good to know. I thought conifer plantations among the safest woods, even after my close encounter with the douglas fir tree top. John Muir wrote a great account of riding out a gale at the top of one of them! https://loa-shared.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/static/pdf/Muir-Wind-Storm.pdf

I did stay out of the woods for the worst of the wind this weekend. That's probably when the huge beech fell otherwise I would have heard it, that would've been memorable.

Thanks toddy, I considered a net too and came to same conclusion that a good one is too expensive and also too bulky - but perhaps a strategy for more permanent stays. Yeah that's a good point too, there's no way of knowing from the ground whether a branch or treetop or whole tree will fall...

Yeah that's a good idea. It's getting to the point where I don't feel safe sleeping in the woods at all any more - especially with this news (to me) of ash dieback - which is sad because that's what woods are for isn't it?? Today I saw a huge beech that looks like it fell in the weekends wind...

Well that does add some weight to your opinion. For what it's worth to this thread, I've been living in the woods continuously for years - that's why I'm asking. We can all agree it's safer not to be in the woods on a windy day. I'm not disputing that. I think this thread could be a valuable...

Although then again the way I imagine it, a tight rope is more likely to deflect than a slack one... Might have to climb some trees and drop some branches to experiment.

Re truckers hitches though I do take on board the slack vs tight point from you TLM. That was useful.

It doesn't take long to tie some truckers hitches. I feel safer with them there because I don't see what's so outrageous about expecting ropes to break the fall of a branch big enough to break bone or pierce my tent from a height.

Should we take seat belts out of cars because they won't protect you if you drive off a cliff?

By big branches I mean branches big enough to do some damage and be stopped by the rope.

This is about possible safety measures, not total protection. I don't imagine it'll stop a tree that would crash through a roof! But just as a life jacket won't protect you from a storm tearing your boat apart, it's still advised to wear one while sailing. There are big branches that rope will...

Good thought thanks. Interesting

Bought some thicker cord - 6mm - today and tied in triangle above tent, a three-way truckers hitch. Looking at the difference in thickness maybe I was wrong about the standard size cord