Originally Posted by
HooKooDooKu
I was wondering the same thing... because I've always used tensioners.
Back when I started camping in the 90's I came across a camping instructional book from the 70's. The author made the point that when you cinch your guy lines too tight and a strong wind comes a blowing... something in the system is likely to loosen up (cordage stretches, the tent material stretches, or your anchors come loose). Once there's that looseness in the system, you're left with either having to cinch the guy lines again or live with a flapping tent.
The solution was to include shock cord in the system and size its strength such that when the wind blows, the shock cord can give a little, but once the wind has dissipated, the guy line returns to a state of tension.