Clamcleat Line-Lok

ALL GRIP NO SLIP

"There are many guy tensioners in the world, these ones are mine."

There are a vast array of guy tensioners in the world: bushcrafty knots, weird aluminium hooks that appear designed for hunting alien fish, wooden bolts so you can cosplay as a Mongolian Head-of-the-Yurt. Some of them can be invaluable in specific circumstances, e.g. some alloy tensioners can easily and temporarily connect two separate guys together.

However, for a standard backpacking tent nothing more than a Line-Lok is required: they are small, light, do not slip, do not break, and you can release or tension them wearing gloves. They are that simple and that utilitarian. They are so good they are the standard tensioner on all Hilleberg tents (see Hilleberg Guy Line Runners) and there is no greater recommendation in the outdoor world than the Hilleberg seal-of-approval.

Providing you get good quality non-strech guy cord (e.g. Dyneema, Lawson Equipment Reflective Glowire, Hilleberg Guy Line) then your guys should never fail. (Or more precisely, your potential points-of-failure will be at the pegs or the material of the tent).

They come in four sizes for different width of guy cord:

• CL266 1-3mm (Mini)
• CL260 2-5mm
• CL271 4-8mm (Large)
• CL276 3-6mm (Medium)

And they come in five colours (Black, Khaki, Green, White, Luminous). The luminous (aka Glow-in-the-Dark) are fractionally more expensive but not enough difference to make a difference.

For my Lawson Equipment Reflective Glowire (2mm) I got the CL266 Mini version in luminescent and they have been implacably reliable: zero hassle zero slippage. My (reputable and reliable) retailer has stated reports of slippage with 1mm Dyneema cord but no slippage from 1.5mm Dyneema and upwards. They clamp my 2mm wire like a hungry python.

The luminescence itself is basically a novelty. As dusk turns to night they sometimes catch the corner of the eye, but they are small and by the time full darkness hits the luminescence will have all but gone. But each time I do notice them they can't help but make me smile a little—I grew up in a time when glow-in-the-dark tat for children was a big thing. Fortunately they are so easy to use they can easily be tensioned by touch alone, even if your torch fails you should be able to tension your guys in pitch black.

 

Background

Have used these for the last six months on a new tent. No failures, none expected.