The guyline and tensioning systems normally found on backpacking shelters (including tents, tarps, and hammocks) share two flaws:

Insufficient cordage is provided. This limits stake-out locations, which is especially problematic in rocky or hard-packed ground. Natural anchors like trees, downed logs, exposed roots, and large rocks cannot be used, nor can deadman anchors in the winter. These anchors are stronger and more convenient than portable metal stakes.

As an alternative, I recommend the system that I will share here. It is simple and versatile, relies only on three easy-to-learn knots, and costs nothing.

Desirable characteristics in a guyline system

I’ve seen and experimented with many different systems. What characteristics and features have proven to be most critical?

1. Adjustability

Most shelters have at least some degree of flexibility in their pitch, in terms of shape, ridgeline angles, and/or height off the ground. This flexibility enables shelters to be optimized for:

The local terrain, e.g. flat or uneven surfaces, hard or soft soils, and inconveniently located vegetation and rocks; and,

The current and expected weather, e.g. temperature, humidity, and wind speed and direction.

Non-adjustable tensioning systems cannot take advantage of this flexibility. Hence, I use guylines (rather than just the stake-out loops) and I avoid fixed knots and fixed guyline lengths.

Finally, adjustability is especially important with shelters made of silicone-impregnated nylon, which has natural stretch, particularly when wet. With an adjustable guyline system, stretch-caused sagging can easily be eliminated.

2. Dependability

A dependable guyline system is a prerequisite to pitch a tarp in locations like this open tundra meadow in Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula.

In downpours, blizzards, and gusty storms — or a combination thereof — I must be confident that my guyline system will not fail. I have relied on this rigging system for nearly 500 nights and it has earned my trust: the line has never snapped, and the knots have never slipped or become untied. I teach this guyline system on my guided trips as well, and again no client has experienced failure.

3. Speed

When I must set up or break down my shelter in inclement weather or in cold temperatures (when exposed hands quickly lose dexterity), I appreciate having a fast guyline system.

4. No fixed knots or hardware

Before I mastered this guyline system — which took 20 minutes of practice — I first relied on end-of-line fixed loops, which greatly impaired adjustability while also instigating knots, before transitioning to plastic line locks, tensioners, and cleats, which were convenient but imperfect. They:

Added weight,

Created an additional failure point,

Froze up during the winter and in wet-and-freezing conditions,

Instigated knotting, and

Required guyline of a specific width (e.g. 2mm) that could only be found at specialty outdoor retail stores with a climbing department.

To tension shelters in the winter, I tie-off to deadman anchors that I bury in the snow, or to equipment (e.g. ski poles) that isn’t needed at the moment.

Cordage & stake recommendations

For the best combination of holding power, user-friendliness, durability, and weight, I recommend Y- or V-shaped aluminum stakes, and nylon-sheathed cord that is 1.5 to 3 mm in thickness.

My top pick for cordage is 1.5-mm Kelty Triptease LightLine. It best balances strength, weight, and user-friendliness — and it’s reflectivity is a major plus when I need to re-find my shelter in the dark.

PMI Utility Cord is a more economical choice, but less strong and twice the weight as Triptease.

Gram weenies might be tempted to use pure spectra cord like Z-Line Dymeema Cord, which has unparalleled strength for its weight. But this is a “stupid light” choice: the cord is expensive, prone to knotting, and hard to work with (because it’s very thin and slippery).

I recommend aluminum Y- and V-shaped stakes, like the 7-inch Kungix Tent Stakes. They offer excellent holding power and can be pounded into the ground with a rock without bending.

I also own a few titanium Shepard hook skewer stakes, but reserve them for optional or non-critical stake-out points only. Their holding power and durability is limited even in ideal soils.

Guyline lengths

The exact number and lengths of cord depend on the specific shelter. In general, I avoid being stingy on the amount of cord I attach — an extra foot or two weighs very little but it adds tremendous flexibility. My 3-season recommendations:

A-frame tarps: 8 feet for ridgelines, 4 to 6 feet for sides depending on the usual side height

Hex-shaped hammock tarp: 8 feet for the ridgelines, 6 feet for the side corners

Tents and mids: 3 feet for ground-level corners and sides

In the wintertime, longer guyline lengths are needed to tie-off to to deadman anchors, because the anchor is buried under about one foot of snow. For ground-level tie-outs on tents and mids, for example, I use 6-foot lengths.

Knots: step-by-step directions

Bowline

Watch the video below starting at 2:00

And again at 6:00

McCarthy hitch

To secure the tarp to an anchor point (e.g. stake or tree trunk) I prefer to use the McCarthy hitch, which is a simplified trucker’s hitch first showed to me by my friend Forrest McCarthy. If it has a real name, I don’t know what it is.

Watch the video below starting at 3:00

And again at 6:10

1. Attach the guyline to a stake-out loop using a bowline; other fixed loop knots would work too (e.g. the Figure 8) but the bowline consumes less cord and it creates a nice round loop. Unless you replace the guyline cord in the future and/or reconfigure your system, you will need to do this only once.

Cord attached to a tarp’s corner loop with a bowline.

2. Run the guyline around the stake. The maximum distance between the shelter and the stake is a few inches less than half.

3. Run the guyline tip back to and through the bowline loop, then reverse its direction 180 degrees again back in the direction of the stake, thereby creating a 2:1 pulley. Tighten the guyline until the tarp is positioned and/or tensioned correctly.

Run the cord down to the stake, and then back towards the tarp and through the bowline loop.

4. To secure the guyline, pinch the 2:1 pulley so that it can’t slip, then tie it off with a slippery half hitch.

Tension the cord using the mechanical advantage, then tie if off with a slippery hitch.

5. To undo the system in the morning, simply pull on the guyline tail in order to remove the slippery half hitch, then unthread the system. Don’t forget your stake!

Tarp tied off to a nearby tree using the McCarthy hitch.

Step-by-step directions: the trucker’s hitch

The McCarthy hitch demands a lot of cord — about twice the distance between the tarp’s stake-out loop and the stake — so it is generally impractical for long guyline lengths, e.g. the ridgelines on an A-frame tarp. An alternative system is sometimes required too by the shorter guyline lengths, such as when a large rock is in the ideal stake position. In these instances, I use a trucker’s hitch with a slipped overhand loop.

Watch the video below starting at 4:35

And again at 6:20

Watch a good YouTube video of this knot.

1. Follow Step 1 from the McCarthy Hitch. Basically, tie the cord to the tarp with a bowline.

2. Run the guyline to the stake, then tie a slip loop into the cord between the tarp and the stake. This slip loop will serve the same function as the bowline loop in the McCarthy hitch.

Slip loop

3. Run the guyline tip around the stake and up to the slip loop, then reverse its direction 180 degrees again back towards the stake, thereby creating a 2:1 pulley. Tighten the guyline until the tarp is positioned and/or tensioned correctly.

Once you’ve installed the slip loop, run the cord around the anchor/stake and back to the slip loop. By threading the cord through the slip loop, you can create a 2:1 mechanical advantage.

4. To secure the guyline, pinch the 2:1 pulley so that it can’t slip, then tie it off with a slipper half hitch.

Tie off the trucker’s hitch with a slippery hitch so that it can be easily undone in the morning. I don’t tie off the knot more than this, but if you were really concerned you could add another slippery hitch.

5. To undo the system in the morning, simply pull on the guyline tail in order to remove the slippery half hitch, then unthread the system. Don’t forget your stake!