How to make a continuous ridge line using soft shackles.

How to make a continuous ridge line. There’s a previous post about hammock camping where we look at some of the ‘hammock bling’ on the market.

I thought it would be a good idea to show you all how this cheap and really versatile piece of tarp camping gear.

This rig is extremely lightweight as it uses only the dyneema there’s no metal clips / carabiners used in this setup.

Replacing the carabiners are soft shackles made from the dyneema you will purchase for the ridge line.

The soft shackles take a little while to get the hang of making them but once you’ve got the hang of them they are easy to make.

Why a continuous ridge line?

A continuous ridge line (when it is made as light as this) is well worth having in your tarp kit.

Whether hammock camping or ground dwelling as it gives you more possibilities to string a shelter.

Continuous ridge line means as it says on the tin ‘continuous’ so it runs all the way across your tarp.

Personally I run mine above the tarp using the webbing of the tarp as if you run it underneath there is the possibility that rain will run down the ridge line and drip on you.

How to make a continuous ridge line using soft shackles.

What do you need.

• Spool of dyneema (generally I use 1.8mm Dyneema this has a breaking strain of 272kg, 30m of this can be purchased from Amazon).
• Fid. (Once again this can be purchased from Amazon).
• Sharp Knife.
• Tape Measure
• Cutting Board.

What are we making?

You need to make 1 x small soft shackle and a large soft shackle. The large soft shackle will be tied as a Prusik knot where you can adjust the tension of the ridge line.

See video below.