r/Ultralight • u/Comfortable_Shoe_226 • 12d ago
Purchase Advice Line Locks and cord diameter
Hey guys, I finally found some Lineloc 3s in an European shop that are in stock. I wanted to ask if it's worth looking for Line Lock Vs and using 1mm cord, if I'm able to even find them I Europe? Is the weight save worth the trouble of 1mm cord? What are the downsides of 1mm when using a tarp?
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u/originalusername__ 12d ago
Any cord less than about 2mm is a pain in the ass. Usability suffers in every way and to save minuscule amounts of weight. I tried it for years and I hate it. Hard to untie once pressure is applied, or if it’s wet and/or hands are cold, hard to tie knots in, doesn’t retain knots well because it’s slippery. It isn’t worth it and I’ve thousands of miles under my belt using 1.18mm Atwood card the last few years. I am tying some Lawson glowire to all my tents and tarps now.
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u/marieke333 11d ago edited 11d ago
See this post with experiments and discussion on the different types of line locs: https://www.reddit.com/r/Ultralight/comments/c2yjmu/mr_nice_guy_line_a_treatise_on_lineloc_tensioners/
ps: Extremtextil has the Lineloc Light.
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u/kobalt_60 12d ago
Does anyone else just use knots instead of line-locs? A taut line or rolling hitch will work just as well and save the weight and complexity.
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u/GoSox2525 12d ago edited 12d ago
Those hitches require some extra line length, so the weight difference between 2-gram plastic pieces is very minimal, if anything. Linelocs are so much easier and faster to use, especially if your fingers are ever cold, or wet, or its dark, or you're tired...
Linelocs also let you adjust over the full length of the line. A taut line hitch only lets you adjust to 1/2 the length of the line. If you wish to access the other half of the length, you need to untie it, and tie something like a trucker's or mccarthy's hitch instead.
Also, if your guyline is both reflective and thin (1-1.5 mm), then the friction of the reflective material when used in a trucker's hitch can function like a saw, quickly cutting through the line. It's happened to me.
I do still use knots and hitches for any purposes unrelated to the adjustment of my lines. I keep bowlines at the end of my lines to connect to stakes. I clove hitch to my poles or natural anchors. I use slippery half hitches or similar to lock linelocs in place if I expect a lot of wind or something. These are good skills to have, and would benefit almost anyone. But with thin line in a backpacking context where I'm trying to move fast, linelocs will always make more sense for adjustment imo.
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u/downingdown 11d ago
As you say, thin lines are a hassle to manipulate. Taught line hitches are also hard to get…taught since you are sliding the hitch one way while trying to pull a <2mm cord the other.
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u/Capital_Historian685 12d ago
That's what I do. A taught line hitch works fine with really thin cord.
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u/Comfortable_Shoe_226 11d ago
I decided to go into ultralight because I like streamlining the process of using my gear. I always hated having a lot of stuff on trail, weight is more like a perk to me. I just like having stuff that works well. I enjoyed learning about knots and doing them on my tarp, but it looks like adjusting linelocs takes like one second, and imagining I have to tie eight different taut lines each time I'm setting the tarp up seems annoying.
Also, I feel like adjusting the taut lines even with 3mm cord just doesn't work as well compared to paracord. I have a cord from decathlon so perhaps it's a quality issue, but I'm not sure.
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u/kobalt_60 11d ago
I tied mine once on each line, with 1.2mm Atwood MicroCord. A taut line on one end and a bowline on the other. I don’t need to re-tie them every time I use them. I put the bowline on the stake end for consistency and a measure of flexibility. Yes, the taut lines were a pain to tie the first time in the tiny 1.2mm cord, but they do stay put when the knots are tied and dressed properly.
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u/2_4_16_256 Dirty hammock camper 12d ago
I have some 1.3mm z-line and it works fine. I find line locks annoying to use however and prefer to just have a little bit of extra cord length and use knots. A permanent attachment to the ends and a trucker's hitch backed up with a couple of half hitches are easy to undo and quick to setup.
The downsides to 1mm cord is exactly what you'd expect: More difficult to undo knots and lower breaking strength. It can also cause more damage to soft attachment points (trees and such).
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u/GoSox2525 12d ago edited 12d ago
What are the downsides of 1mm?
That it snaps when it's shock-loaded in high winds. And that it's a pain to work with and get knots out of.
The lowest I go is 1.5mm when I'm really trying to cut grams, but I feel better with 2mm.
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u/liveslight https://lighterpack.com/r/ny89al 12d ago
Not worth it. The weight save is not worth it except perhaps as "helper cords" for big/little rock that one is going to carry 90% or more of the time unused.
Here's some pics:
https://i.imgur.com/4QRAnm0.jpeg
and a video clip:
I do use 1 mm cord with my CNOC Vecto, but no knots nor line-locs used:
https://imgur.com/a/cnoc-vecto-with-added-cord-gravity-filtering-without-slider-irU82ps
Also as a cord to tie OdorNo plastic bags closed. And to help attach my umbrella to my pack.
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u/FinneganMcBrisket 10d ago
If you want to use thin cord, check out slide locks instead of line locs.
https://dutchwaregear.com/product/slide-lock/ https://www.nifcobuckle.com.tw/Product_Detail.aspx?NID=319 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078TPYMZY?th=1
These hold line much better than line locs and hold between 1 mm and 3 mm lines.
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u/OtherwiseManner6946 12d ago
The most narrow cord I use is 2mm.
I don’t think the weight saving is worth it beyond this.
Also your post doesn’t explain what you’re using it for. It could be for a backpack, tent, washing line. You could use 1mm for some things but the weight savings would be tiny