So on our last camping trip, I managed to get tangled up in the guylines of my privy tent.
I am considering replacing the factory guylines with reflective paracord.
Has anyone done this and what are the gotchas I need to look out for?
I am thinking about sourcing up some 4mm reflective paracord, remove one by one, measure out and cut the replacement to length, singe the end with a lighter to prevent fraying, and tie it into place. I have some really nice aluminum adjusters that I can swap in during the process to eliminate the possibility of plastic ones failing in a storm…
Is my thought process on the right track? Is reflective paracord really highly visible?
While it seems like it would work, you can also purchase glow in the dark rope from Harbor Freight and just cut a few 6" pieces and tie them on the cords. After they stop working, untie them, put them in the fire and put new ones on. You can buy 50’ for $4.00 or 100’ for $7.00. Seems way cheaper.
Seems to me glow in the dark would work better than reflective since you need light for the reflective to reflect. The glow in the dark work even on a moonless night and without a flashlight.
An intriguing thought, but I suspect that glow in the dark line from Harbor Freight is probably made of some pretty toxic stuff. Best to not burn it off if you can avoid it…
Mind you, due to back issues I am no longer backpacking, BUT… in my backpacking days all but the absolute cheapest tents came with reflective guylines. Unless you are on an absolute moonless night, you are going to get some reflection off of them… And typically when wandering around camp in the dark, most folks use flashlights, headlamps and the like… I would hope…
You can order glow in the dark guidelines. Also, i bought several packs of solar powered rope lights. They’re light and weren’t expensive. I twine them around my guidelines and make sure the solar is getting good sun. Easy to see the guidelines at night, conversation starter and bonus night light for bathroom trips. We always know which tent is ours
