Pull Tab Tensioner

One of the best skills for camping and outdoor activities is knowing knots and their applications. However, not everyone has taken the time to learn how to tie knots or perhaps do not have the proclivity for the art. A taut-line hitch is used to keep tension on a guy-line that is attached to a tent or tarp. However, if you don’t know this knot or forget how to tie it, and don’t have a tensioner included in the tie-down kit, you can make an impromptu tensioner using a pull-tab.

Once a pull tab is carefully removed from a can lid, you can fold over the small attachment eye on the tab to smooth out the ring’s inside edge. Any sharp edges can wear on the line over time but give added friction to help hold the line in place. You can feed the line in the larger hole, pass over the middle bar, and exit out the other hole. Pull the line out a ways and return the end of the line to the previously attached end of the tab and tie onto it… I prefer a bolen knot, but a couple of half-hitches (simple knots) will do. You can now place your cord’s loop around an anchor like a tent peg and slide the new tensioner up the line until the slack in the loop is taken up. This device works best on cord versus string as a thicker line provides better friction.

Keep this handy application in mind along with pull-tab fish hooks. What other applications have you used? Please share them in the comments below.

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