Tarps. Why not use bungies instead of cord?

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Apr 8, 2009
1,165
144
Ashdown Forest
Now here's something which has been bothering me for some time now.

In 18 years of sleeping under bashas, I’ve only used cord/string/something non stretchy once to erect my makeshift home. That was the first time I put up a basha as a young teenager, when after circling my semi finished makeshift home in a constant holding pattern endlessly tightening, loosening, and retying, somebody with more experience whispered to me in a knowing tone that i needed to get myself some bungies. That Sunday night, my dads Paddy Hopkirk roof rack found itself attached to the garage roof with sisal rather than the aged 1970s bungies that had previously done the job, and i was thus suitably equipped for my subsequent basha experiences.

Many many years later, I’ve never looked back. To me, I stare in disbelief when the TV Characters instruct in the correct knots for tying up a tarp etc. I just don't understand it, why not use bungies?

They self adjust, they are far far quicker, easier to do in the dark with no torch light, in heavy wind, you just wrap them around the tree a few more times to get them very tight, and the slight stretch left in them reduces the stresses on the bashas attachment points.

All in all, a very handy way of helping keep all edges of a basha taut, even when the nylon stretches once its wet.

A further top tip (and one used by the military), use a pair of pliers to bend the hooks at one end of a bungie to permanently attach them onto the four corners, so your basha is ready to go as soon as you pull it out of the bergen.

Travelling in military circles, where they have been erecting bashas long before the bushcraft fad kicked off, you would struggle to find someone who doesn’t use bungies.

Ok, they are slightly heavier than cord, but that’s more than made up by me using an aluminium mug rather than a heavy steel crusader mug, but that there is a whole new campaign for reason that I will start another day!
 

sapper1

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Feb 3, 2008
2,572
1
swansea
Many people do use bungies,I don't as I don't find them versatile enough.They are either too short or too long.Whereas a piece of cord is always the exact length you need.
If the trees are too far apart the bungies don't reach.You need trees a specific distance apart to get the best from bungies and they dont often come in the correct spacing.
 

gregorach

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Sep 15, 2005
3,723
28
50
Edinburgh
Cordage gives you more options. I have ten meters of ridgeline and five meters each for the guys on my tarp. I can put it up in many different ways without having to worry about finding anchors that are in the right place to within a couple of feet - for example, I can put it up between two trees anywhere from 3 to 7 meters apart, and those trees can be up to a meter or so in diameter. Obviously, there's a trade-off between the maximum diameter of the trees and the maximum distance between them... And you can always use the cordage for other purposes should the need arise - I can probably abseil a 10 meter cliff on various bits of my tarp and hammock rig. ;)

The attachment points on my tarp are heavy-duty bungie loops to give a bit of strech and reduce stress, which is definitely a good idea.
 

John Fenna

Lifetime Member & Maker
Oct 7, 2006
23,095
2,824
66
Pembrokeshire
Hello and welcome!
An interesting first post!:D
I often use bungies and find them convenient but they are - as you say - heavy for their use, get in a tangle easily, are relatively expensive, allow the sides to blow around somewhat in a stiff breeze and are a "one trick pony" wheras cord can be "borrowed" for many tasks.

Some folk see their simplicity as "cheating":D
I always have a cord for a ridgeline though as it also prevents "sag" in any kind of wind.
When I fit guy-lines to a basha/tarp I put little tent "rubbers" between the guying point and the guyline to act as "shock absorbers" - they also give a bit of "self tensioning" - to avert damage if some pillock trips over a guy in the dark (me more often than not!)

Oh yeah - RM does not use bungies so they ain't cool......:rolleyes:
 
Apr 8, 2009
1,165
144
Ashdown Forest
That's a good point about the length of the bungies actually- although i usually manage to find a solution. For the centre point on the tarp/basha, i have a 2m length of paracord permanently attached, with a bungie on the end to give me some additional reach if i'm setting up a floating style basha.

I like the idea of using tent rubbers actually as a shock absorbing link when using cord- good plan.

On the eye danger subject, amusingly i was actually issued eye protection by my latest unit for use when moving through dense forests at night. An interesting, and rather unprecendented nod in the direction of health and safety. Of course, the concept was immediately dismissed by the end user, and anyone found actually wearing them were chastised within an inch of their life.
 

SimonM

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Apr 7, 2007
4,015
6
East Lancashire
www.wood-sage.co.uk
I was taught to use bungies when I first started with the TA - and used them for years.

Now I rig my tarp with cordage and look on it as an enjoyable part of the whole experience of wild camping, as opposed to getting a shelter up quickly because I was knackered!

I just took a group of kids from school out with the Army and part of the experience was basha building, with bungies. The ease of using bungies makes it ideal to folk with little experience of knots - before I get flamed, I know that some squaddies can tie knots, but IMHO most would have no interest in learning - hence bungies.

Hope that makes sense?

Simon
 

dwardo

Bushcrafter through and through
Aug 30, 2006
6,448
473
46
Nr Chester
Our kid is military and also likes to use bungies on his tarp.
I think it is a military thing due to the way the guys in the field tend to use tarps.

With a bushcrafty type of setup the tarp tends to be more open on one side to favour a fire or rigged a lot higher when used in conjuction with a hammock. In this type of setup bungies would be less usefull.
Our kids setup is usually just a standard tent shape with both sides touching the floor and his bergan blocking up one end. This is his preferred setup probably due to the more exposed places he is used to setting up.
 

Nat

Full Member
Sep 4, 2007
1,476
0
York, North Yorkshire
I was taught to use bungies aswell, the old think army green ones on our 58' pattern ponchos. That's fine when the trees are a nice distance together and if they're long enough then they'll reach.
Now, however, i use cord as it's alot more versatile than bungies and doesn't have that "Spring up into nostril" syndrome which i had on ex once, and that smarts :censored:
I know of one or two people who still use them but ever since that nostril/hook episode i stopped.

Cord is much better.
 

steven andrews

Settler
Mar 27, 2004
528
2
50
Jersey
There's also the risk of that military medics favourite: bungie eye/face. Nasty.


There is also the nasty "Bungie Knuckle". :tapedshut I saw quite a few bungie-related injuries when I was infanteering.

I now use Hilleberg guyline and line runners on my tarps.


They are a massive improvement over bungies, offering good reach and easy adjustment. You can pitch a tarp as tight as a drum with them if you need to.
 

gregorach

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Sep 15, 2005
3,723
28
50
Edinburgh
Knuckle? Nostril? Oh, I've had worse than either of those... Be careful how you're standing. ;)
 
Apr 8, 2009
1,165
144
Ashdown Forest
Simon, i can see if you enjoy the knotting side of things then fair enough of course. Ultimately, i think the point you make about the military needing speed, and bushcrafters enjoying and taking pride in using a little finesse is the key difference. Comes down to personal preference, although (as a Scouter) i'm quite happy with knots, i like to throw up my shelter double quick time and bash on with something else.

Dwardo, i must admit i find bungies equally useful high or low. When i use them with my hammock for example, a quick lift in the morning of one of the bungies instantly raises one side of the tarp high to make moving around more comformatble, and vice versa at night. I suppose if you are setting your tarp very high, you can't throw a weighted bungie over a high out of reach branch....
 

steven andrews

Settler
Mar 27, 2004
528
2
50
Jersey

PJMCBear

Settler
May 4, 2006
622
2
55
Hyde, Cheshire
Actually, I've just recently gone back to bungees, having last used them in the Army. I only changed back because of the speed you can get the tarp up.

Just recently a couple of friends joined me for a night in the woods. Before we setup it looked like rain, so tarps went up first. I was sat under mine as the heavens opened on the other two, still rigging theirs with chord.

There's a lot to be said for chord, and I'll still use it/carry it, but at the moment I'm favouring the bungee, if only because I stay drier than some. :lmao:
 
Apr 8, 2009
1,165
144
Ashdown Forest
Good to find a fellow bungee lover on here!

Steven, is that Tarp square? I'm thinking of making a square one actually, so it can be erected on the diagonal easier for use with a hammock. Thanks for those links.

Nick
 

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