View Full Version : Rope/ Triptease
earthbound
11-06-2007, 20:03
Anyone use the Kelty triptease rope for hanging their foodbags? It's lighter than normal parachute cord, but it supposedly hurts the trees. I wouldn't want to hurt the trees! :p
Dirtygaiters
11-06-2007, 20:31
The best lightweight rope for food bag hanging is Spectra 725 because of its smooth surface and flat weave. Gossamer Gear sells it for $30. Regular Spectra 1 will also be better than triptease as far as abrasion goes. One thing that triptease rope has going for it, however, is the high reflectivity, which makes it very easy to see at night, if you hung your food bag 100' away from your tent, then it's easy to find it in the middle of the night with only a little LED light.
I don't recall where just now but while I carry triptease I bought someone else's cord of about the same thickness and weight which was advertised as being explicitly for bearbagging --- supposedly more slippery, less abrasive, so hopefully would be less inclined to cut into the tree limb.
YMMV. With cord that light --- and particularly that thin --- then if you haul enough weight on it and if the wood is soft enough you're still going to cut in some.
There are two downsides to that. One is damage to the tree limb. The other is the prospect of getting your bag stuck and/or possibly losing some of your cord. That happened to me on a recent trip, was quite challenging to get the bag down with the cord dug into the tree limb.
I'm more inclined now to use an Ursack, or in those few places that really need or require it, a bearcan.
I don't recall where just now but while I carry triptease I bought someone else's cord of about the same thickness and weight which was advertised as being explicitly for bearbagging --- supposedly more slippery, less abrasive, so hopefully would be less inclined to cut into the tree limb.
YMMV. With cord that light --- and particularly that thin --- then if you haul enough weight on it and if the wood is soft enough you're still going to cut in some.
There are two downsides to that. One is damage to the tree limb. The other is the prospect of getting your bag stuck and/or possibly losing some of your cord. That happened to me on a recent trip, was quite challenging to get the bag down with the cord dug into the tree limb.
I'm more inclined now to use an Ursack, or in those few places that really need or require it, a bearcan.Yes, I had that happen to me (line stuck in tree. I went to a thicker, slippery-er ba bag line. It is a bit heavier, but I haven't had to spend a couple frustrating hours getting my food bag down. I was about to start whittling the tree down!
Lone Wolf
11-06-2007, 21:16
Anyone use the Kelty triptease rope for hanging their foodbags? It's lighter than normal parachute cord, but it supposedly hurts the trees. I wouldn't want to hurt the trees! :p
sleep with your food
earthbound
11-06-2007, 21:40
sleep with your food
that would be great... except while I'm sleeping an army of mice will invade. OR I will sleep-eat! Never done that before, but I can imagine getting hungry and dreaming that I'm eating a ton of food and waking up only to discover I just ate all my food!
I have occasionally used Triptease for bear bagging. As mentioned, it is easy to find in the dark due to its reflectivity. In fact, it can be easier to find in the dark then the next morning (what tree did I hang from again?).
As for it being abrasive, I don't think it is much more so then the old parachute cord. As I can never find the perfect rock, I normally tie my 1.5oz pocket knife to the end of the rope and throw that. I've never had a problem with the rope having too much friction to slowly fall down the otherside of the branch. This is a good thing as I would hate to lose my knife. I've never had a rope break or get stuck but I also don't reuse the same rope year after year.
brit4jesus
11-12-2007, 21:30
im ignerant whats wrong with para cord?
earthbound
11-12-2007, 21:49
Nothing is wrong with it. I was just wondering if triptease rope would work instead. It's lighter, thinner, stronger than para chord. The problem with thinner rope is that it can get dig into tree branches which hurts the tree and possibly gets your food bag stuck in the tree. 50ft of parachord is about 3oz, 50 feet of triptease is about 1oz. The weight is what is so appealing about it to me.
im ignerant whats wrong with para cord?
bulldog49
11-13-2007, 13:01
2 oz is not worth the hassle of struggling to keep your cord from getting stuck on a tree limb. Common sense should be applied, don't use a screw driver to do the work of a hammer.
johnny quest
11-13-2007, 14:46
this is just a thought....
when you pull the guts out of paracord you end up with a hollow cord that flattens out and seems to pull better across the limb, maybe cause more of the line is contacting the wood. so...would gutting the triptease do the same thing? or do i just like to gut things?
brit4jesus
11-13-2007, 20:22
2oz ? thats what this is all about ? heck i lose 20 times that much by taking a dump. do you ulrtalight weighters worry about if you took a dump or not befor you leave that could be a difference of carrying 8oz at least!!! do you guys weigh your poops so you can keep track of all that extra weight ? oh oh oh another idea do you guys make sure you trimm all 10 toe nails and all ten finger nails to shame oz's and what about shaving your head an other places ??
earthbound
11-13-2007, 21:55
yup, 2oz. Which is why I posted this in the ultra-light hiker forum If you cut off 2oz of everything you carried from your backpack all the way down to your rope, you would lose pounds off of your back. Rather than buy all my gear without paying lots of attention to the weight just to replace it at Neels Gap, I will just buy it right the first time.
LostInSpace
11-14-2007, 00:31
http://www.wesspur.com/Throw-line/zing-it-throw-line.html
1 ounce, 40ft, 725lb breaking strength and smooth, with storage/throw sack $18.95.
LINK (http://www.antigravitygear.com/proddetail.php?prod=TRLINE&cat=74)
johnny quest
11-14-2007, 10:19
2oz ? thats what this is all about ? heck i lose 20 times that much by taking a dump. do you ulrtalight weighters worry about if you took a dump or not befor you leave that could be a difference of carrying 8oz at least!!! do you guys weigh your poops so you can keep track of all that extra weight ? oh oh oh another idea do you guys make sure you trimm all 10 toe nails and all ten finger nails to shame oz's and what about shaving your head an other places ??
although this was a hilarious rant...earthbound has a point. this forum is the place to worry about ounces. circle gets the square.
brit4jesus
11-14-2007, 19:10
i conciede the point. im really not poking fun just trying to keep a light hearted (see what i did there ) perspective on a topic that can get WAY too serious too quickly.
johnny quest
11-14-2007, 19:28
yes it can. but we're in the cathedral of the uber-lights. i myself find it tempting to take a gram scale to my socks. hell, shaving my back would account for several ounces.....
Dirtygaiters
11-15-2007, 00:41
Nothing is wrong with it. I was just wondering if triptease rope would work instead. It's lighter, thinner, stronger than para chord. The problem with thinner rope is that it can get dig into tree branches which hurts the tree and possibly gets your food bag stuck in the tree. 50ft of parachord is about 3oz, 50 feet of triptease is about 1oz. The weight is what is so appealing about it to me.
BTW, 50' of spectra 1 cord is about 0.5 ounces.
earthbound
11-15-2007, 01:31
yes it can. but we're in the cathedral of the uber-lights. i myself find it tempting to take a gram scale to my socks. hell, shaving my back would account for several ounces.....
Just so you all know, I appreciate the humor too and was laughing about the weighing the "internal" crap as well. I realize I'm super obsessive and if you are super obsessive about anything, you have to laugh at yourself. Which is why I LOVE the spork cartoon at http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/gear_guide_index.html
i've used the triptease for bear bagging. discovered that it lights up like an airport runway (what was i thinking!?) so i quit using it (i prefer to remain stealthy).
I have occasionally used Triptease for bear bagging. As mentioned, it is easy to find in the dark due to its reflectivity. In fact, it can be easier to find in the dark then the next morning (what tree did I hang from again?).
As for it being abrasive, I don't think it is much more so then the old parachute cord. As I can never find the perfect rock, I normally tie my 1.5oz pocket knife to the end of the rope and throw that. I've never had a problem with the rope having too much friction to slowly fall down the otherside of the branch. This is a good thing as I would hate to lose my knife. I've never had a rope break or get stuck but I also don't reuse the same rope year after year.
Put a rock in a stuff sack then tie your cord to the sack then you dont have to find the perfect rock
Jim Adams
11-15-2007, 23:34
this is just a thought....
when you pull the guts out of paracord you end up with a hollow cord that flattens out and seems to pull better across the limb, maybe cause more of the line is contacting the wood. so...would gutting the triptease do the same thing? or do i just like to gut things?
triptease is a braided line...you can't pull the "guts" out of it.
geek
johnny quest
11-16-2007, 18:09
triptease is a braided line...you can't pull the "guts" out of it.
geek
well if thats true what the hell did i buy? see photos. i pulled the white guts out of my triptease.
It has a spectra core and a nylon sheath
johnny quest
11-16-2007, 19:55
so you can gut it then? now i forget why i even cared...
johnny quest
11-21-2007, 12:36
hey! i just looked on the label of my unopened kelty triptease and, lo and behold, it specifically says not to use as a bear bag line. why do you think they care enough to say that? some under the table deal with booboo? or cause they know it will snag a limb?
whitefoot_hp
11-28-2007, 18:08
cause it is so small that it harms trees.
johnny quest
11-28-2007, 18:21
yeah, we'll call that theory B. im going with the Booboo conspiracy angle.
take-a-knee
11-28-2007, 20:04
I've found that the 725 spectra works much better than paracord for bearbagging, mainly because it is so slick. The paracord sheath wants to get hung on some types of bark.
envirodiver
11-30-2007, 12:41
Well the line may get stuck, then again the throw bag may get stuck. I still don't know how this happened, but the bag (with stick inside, no handy stones) landed in this upright postion and stuck tight. I spent about 30 min. throwing sticks at it till I could hit it hard enough to knock it loose and get my bag and cord back. Just sharing, you may now resume your previous conversation.
whitefoot_hp
11-30-2007, 14:55
be prepared to lose whatever you throw over the tree. i used my keys once...
johnny quest
11-30-2007, 15:18
good point. my stake bag is reinforced for both carrying the pointy metal stakes and whatever rocks i find for throwing. i need to remember not to run my bear bag with the stakes as ballast
I've used mule tape with good results. It's a woven polyester tape used to pull wires thru conduits. Very strong, very light, little or no stretch.
Bad news is that unless you can get access to a job site where it's used, it is usually only sold in 3000' spools!
You can sometimes find EBay sellers with more manageble lengths ... there are a couple right now (mid December 2007)
pure_mahem
12-24-2007, 09:14
Just so you all know, I appreciate the humor too and was laughing about the weighing the "internal" crap as well. I realize I'm super obsessive and if you are super obsessive about anything, you have to laugh at yourself. Which is why I LOVE the spork cartoon at http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/gear_guide_index.html
The answer to that Ti spork question would be a Lexan spoon with notches cut into it and the handle shaved down, LOL!:welcome :banana
I got so tired of that bear bagging crap, so I bought a air tight compression sack. I put all my food in it at night and then wraped my dirty sticking shirt and shorts around it and kept it in my tent every night for 3 months. Never had any trouble.