AirCore Spectra cord is a high-strength, low weight tent and tarp guyline cord.

The primary difference between AirCore Spectra accessory cord and competing Spectra-core accessory cords, such as Kelty Triptease, is that AirCore Spectra is composed of 100% braided pure Spectra fibers, while other cords are composed of braided (nylon) outer sheaths surrounding a continuous Spectra fiber core. Such construction (as in Kelty Triptease) improves resistance to bight slippage due to more friction created at the nylon-to-nylon interface; thus, these cords hold tautline hitches quite well. In contrast, pure Spectra cords (including AirCore Spectra), will not hold a tautline hitch well. We don't see this as a major limitation, because the simplest tarp and tent guylines simply have end loops that connect to the shelter and slip around the stake. Retensioning is just a matter of relocating the stake, which is usually, a much faster and easier process than worrying about tautline hitches. Caveat: Tautline hitches are still the way to go in extremely hard soils (soils hard enough to require that you pound your stake in with a rock or hammer, rather than your hand or shoe), and AirCore Spectra cord may not be for you if this is your norm. However, we find that these kinds of soils are (1) ill-suited for camping (they aren't so soft), and (2) ill-suited for use with thin titanium-type skewer stakes. But choosing a campsite is a topic for another day, indeed.

• Length: 50 feet

  Compare Triptease with Aircore 2:

  Type	Weight (oz/ft)	Diameter (in)	Breaking Strength (lbs)
  Triptease	0.0290	0.0875	188
  AirCore 2	0.0100	0.0600	327

AirCore 2 is recommended for those who have trouble tying knots in the thinner cord of AirCore 1, or for mountaineering applications where a stronger, more robust, and durable guyline is needed for tent guylines.

Knots

AirCore Spectra does not hold a locking bight around a straight section. Consequently, it is an inappropriate cord for tying tautline hitches. It does hold bight-on-bight knots well, including bowlines, figure eights, overhands, sheepshanks, etc.

Tarp Guylines. Simple, foolproof, easy-to-tie tarp guylines can be made by cutting AirCore 1 or 2 into 3.5-foot lengths, and tying a figure-eight-on-a-bight or a bowline into each end, leaving a 2-inch loop in the end. One end of the loop can then be girth-hitched to the tarp guyline tie-out, with a stake inserted through the other end and placed in the ground at the desired location to control tension. This is the fastest method for pitching any tarp, and appropriate in all but the hardest soils (for very hard soils that would normally bend your titanium stakes, use a rock for the "stake").

Longer Length Guylines: If you need longer length guylines, loops at the ends of smaller lengths can be girth-hitched together. This is useful when using large rocks as stakes, tying the line around trees, or tying out longer length guylines, such as the ridgeline of your tarp.

Using Trekking Poles: Many of us use trekking poles to support the ridgelines of our tarps. Effective ridgeline guylines can be made with a 9-foot length of AirCore 1, 2, or Plus, with a figure-8- or bowline-knotted loop in each end. One end goes to the tarp guyline tie-out, the other in the stake, as with your normal guylines. Then, in the middle of the guyline near the tarp's guyline tie-out, use a clove hitch around the trekking pole handle or tip (whichever is less likely to cause the guyline to slip), and voila! An instant, simple, strong, and very fast way to rig - and height adjust - a tarp anywhere.