Tell Me About Guy Ropes...

[maddave]

Oh, and if you see me at the ashdown meet with a pirates eye patch on them I'm wrong....I know I'm worng and I don't need reminding I was wrong!!! :shade: :zip: :sulkoff:

So is this you Bamboodoggy?? :yikes:

Yarrr Haaarrrrrr !! Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum !!

 

[jakunen]

Think MDs signature says it all really...<shakes head pityingly> ):

 

[bambodoggy]

I didn't see you about with your camera Dave!!!! Must have been looking with the other eye! ):

 

[jakunen]

...but as I said you're the first I've actually known it happen to.

Hmm, you said that you'd assumed that this was just an urban legend...does that mean that I'm...Legendary? <Adi we need a 'swelling head' smiley here LOL>

Where's all those Rep points then???:?:

 

[Squidders]

I have used bungees for the past 12 years to attach things to motorbikes, usually things that stretch the bungee beyond it's reasonable limits and never had one snap or break on me.

With all things, check them regularly for signs of fatigue, wear and tear and.
If they're showing signs of rust, replace them.
If they are significantly less springy than they should be, replace them.
If that make a funny noise, replace them.
If you're unsure about their condition, replace them.

it's all common sense, very rarely indeed will something snap without warning. They are, I agree a potential hazard and should be treated appropriately as with knives, saws, big sticks, water and fire.

 

[Justin Time]

1) I can have my basha up and down in less time than you guys spend tying and untying knots (work out how long each knot takes, times it by the number of knots you have on your basha, times that by the numer of times you use your basha in a year and that's how long you waste with knots!)
As eficiency is all in bushcraft my bungee's win ):

4) I can set up and take down my basha at night without removing my gloves to tie knots.

Having paid attention on my Woodsmoke course, I keep my guy ropes attached to my hoochi so no need to tie or untie knots. Can't remember the name of the knot you use to make a sliding loop on the end of the guy rope but it works just like those plastic sliders you get on tent guy ropes. And as for the ridge line, well the knots you need to attach that to the trees work fine with gloves on... IIRC Ray Mears learned them from the Evenc tribe in Siberia. Still, I'm not sure I'd want to get in a race with bungee users but that's because of lack of practice.
What I need to work on is being able to wrap the hoochi altogether without tangling the cords when I pack it away.

 

[Squidders]

I wrap the cord around my fingers on my left hand and put an elastic band around it until its tight.

Works an absolute treat and everything's ready next time I take it out of the bag.

 

[Justin Time]

must be a bit of a pain having a bag, cord and elastic bands round your left hand between camp sites though?

 

[beachlover]

It's not the putting the thing up with line, it's definitely putting it away.
That said, whilst we may not have paracord or similar in the wild, we may need knots to tie natural cordage and that will leave the "bungee boys" unsuspended

 

[Gary]

I can see either me or Roger will need to cover this at the Ashdown get together.

The evenk knot is actually a different form of the falconers knot and is used for one end of the ridig line - the taut line knot is the sliding one used on the lines from the corners.

There have been a couple of threads about this one here some where (a while ago) so I'll not go over it again. :roll:

Bungees are used by soldiers for use and for speedy bug outs - leaving your cordage attached is good on a hootchie but not so wise on a poncho if its your waterproof layer too!

 

[Justin Time]

taut line knot

thaks Gary
It's always good to know the name of things.

 

[Gary]

No worries mate. names are not as important as being able to tie em!!

 

[jakunen]

There was me about to say "Ask Gary, he showed me and its not that difficult. Well it can't be if he can dot it " and blow me if he doesn't beat me to it himself!

 

[Pete E]

Whats the reason for using the evenk knot for the ridge line?

Regards,

Pete

 

[jakunen]

iirc, because its quite easy to do (once you've learnt how to do it) and whilst being secure is quite quick to undo as well.

 

[bambodoggy]

To be fair there is a vast difference in being able to tie knots and needing to tie knots. I'm an SPSA qualified climbing instructor and an RYA Level three dingy sailor and so have a pretty good knowledge of knots and their uses but I still choose to use bungee's for my basha.
Almost in the same way that I'm quite capable of climbing safely without any metal work whatsoever, I can use an Italian hitch for belaying/abseiling etc, I can tie on instead of clipping into things, I can tie turks heads and use them as gear chocks and so the list goes on....however, for ease and speed I use stitch plates, fig8's, nuts, tricams and friends etc..... it's the same for bungee's, I use them for speed and ease.

Having started using basha's in the cadets (where it was a poncho and used as a waterproof) and then used them the whole time I was in the TA I think there's an awful lot in what Gary says about the military using them for speedy bug-outs and I think that and the fact that it's "how I've always done it" is a lot of the reason why I use them.

I'm not anti cordage on basha's, I just choose to use bungee's.

Each to their own though! :super:

 

[Gary]

iirc, because its quite easy to do (once you've learnt how to do it) and whilst being secure is quite quick to undo as well.

Jakunens right, but we also only use qiuck release knots.

Those who mention the problem of putting bashas away and the strings tangling - the trick here is to correctly coil your cordage - there is a technique but I cant even begin to try and write it.

I will show you sometime.

 

[Great Pebble]

Has anyone seen the proper peg/pole things for a basha anywhere?

They're like a long spike with a U shaped thingy at the top. When the basha is pegged out with them it's nearly flat and about 18" of the ground.

 

[jason01]

Anyone here fly traction kites? Keeping the lines clear on a big traction kite sounds comparable to a basha (I've never used a basha). With a big four liner you have say 4 lengths of 2mm 300KG Dyneema anything up to 50m long each, the bridle could then consist of 36 lengths of very fine line several metres long each. To make it easier to set up the lines are often left attached and the simplest way to prevent tangles (it takes hours to untangle one of these) is to attach the end of each line together at a common point with a small crab, then attach the crab to a loop somwhere on the kite, I prefer to bundle the lines on a figure 8 winder but with the heavier lines used on basha you could just as well coil them on your hand and secure with rubber band.

Dont know if this approach would be practical on a basha?

With flysheets I always coil each guy individualy and tie it up, takes a minute or two but makes life easy.

Jason

 

[Gary]

'With flysheets I always coil each guy individualy and tie it up, takes a minute or two but makes life easy.'

Thats the idea Jason01, but the technique we teach is designed to ensure they easily feed out too - no snagging next time you put it up as you might be doing so in the dark or a really cats and dogs down pour ect.