Owner Review by Michael Lissner

Owner Review of
Kelty Triptease Lightline
By Michael Lissner
12 August 2004

Contents:
1. Tester Biographical Information
2. Backpacking Background
3. Product Information
4. Product Description
5. Comments
6. Summary

1. Tester Biographical Information:
Name: Michael Jay Lissner
Trail Name: The Chemist
Age: 22
Gender: Male
Height: 201 cm (6' 7")
Weight: 88 kg (195 lb)
Email Address: yourmothership at hotmail dot com
City of Current Residence: Berkeley, California
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2. Backpacking Background:
I have been backpacking for the greater part of my life. I started with heavy weight packing with the Boy Scouts, but my current style is a highly minimalist one relying on more skill and discomfort and less on creature comforts and toys. Although my backpacking style is an evolving thing, at this point I usually clock in 27 km (17 mile) days with a base weight (without food or water) of about 5.4 kg (12 lb), including my tarp, frameless pack and down quilt. My usual stomping grounds are any of the terrain within three hours from here.
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3. Product Information:
Manufacturer: Kelty
Manufacturer's URL: http://www.kelty.com
Product Name: Kelty Triptease Lightline
Year of Manufacture: 2003
Suggested Retail Price: 14.95 USD
Claimed Weight: 1 oz / 50 feet (27 g / 15 m)
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4. Product Description:
Kelty's Triptease Lightline is a thin rope that is intended to be used as guylines on tents. It has a spectra core and a nylon sheath that give it both visibility and strength. Kelty claims that it has a breaking strength of 188 lbs (85 kg), and is bright gold colored with white reflective yarns woven into the sheath for greater visibility. The diameter of the rope is very thin, and Kelty specifically states that using it to bear bag will cut the bark off of the top sides of branches - do not use it for that purpose.
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5. Comments:
I bought this rope in the summer of 2003 to tie into the corner, side and end pulls of my tarp. Since that time, I have used it in temperatures ranging from 20 to 110 F (-7 to 43 C) and weather ranging from intense sun to light rain. I have used it in the mountains and on the beach. In addition to using it as guylines for my tarp, I have also used it as drawcords in a number of stuff sacks that I have made out of 1.1 oz silnylon.

My initial impression of the rope was delight. It was very light and claimed to be very strong. Rope strength has never been something that I have doubted because of the possible legal problems companies could encounter if their numbers were wrong, so I was happy with what I considered to be such a light and strong rope. I tied it onto the ten pull outs on my tarp and under the ridgeline as a clothesline. I ran it through a number of stuff sacks and actually ended up needing more than the 50 feet (15 m) that came in the first package. I have used the following knots in the Triptease rope: Bowlines to attach it to the tarp, taught line hitches on the stake side of the guylines, and double overhand knots on the ends of the drawcords in the stuff sacks.

My actual experiences with the Triptease have been varying. The first time I ever set up my tarp with the Triptease attached to it, it was night out and I was in my rather dark backyard. I set up the tarp and guyed it out. I must admit, the ropes really are quite visible at night. They are especially visible when a light is shown on them, but even under ambient night light, they are pretty visible. I appreciate this a lot because I loath tripping on my guylines at night when wandering around camp. The only thing that is worse is when other people trip on my guylines.

That night, I left my tarp set up next to the lake I was living on at the time, only to come back to it in the morning to find it sagging rather severely. At first I wasn't sure what had happened to take the taughtness out of it, but I quickly figured it out as the day warmed up. It seems that as the night progressed, the moistness in the air from the lake got the ropes and tarp all wet. As the ropes got wet, they stretched out slightly, loosening the tarp. Later, as the day warmed up, the ropes dried and contracted again, tightening the tarp up again, though not as tight as before they were wet. In itself, this wouldn't be such a problem, but as the ropes contracted, somehow loops of the spectra core leaked out the nylon sheath in little one inch loops here and there. The rope now has little bits of exposed spectra core that have never found their way back into their sheath. I have continued using the ropes with the loops in them here and there, and it hasn't really been a problem. They look a little unsightly, but all in all, they're not so bad, and the tarp continues to work just fine. As for the sag issue, I have to say I was pretty disappointed to learn that these ropes stretched when wet.

As a drawcord for my stuff sacks, I have not a one complaint. It works very well in this capacity. It is light and strong and looks good in the stuff sacks. The cordlocks that I use with it hold well, and it is a perfect system. I have noticed that it has abraded the silnylon a little where it rubs, but as soon as I noticed this, I stopped closing the full sacks by pulling on the cord. Instead, I always relieve the internal pressure of the sack from the cord before drawing the cord closed. Since doing this, I have not noticed any more abrasion problems.

As far as this ropes capacity to hold knots goes, I haven't been completely pleased, but it gets the job done. I have had a couple of my bowlines come undone, but I tend to tie my knots very close to the end of the rope, and that is probably more to blame than anything else for the knot failure. I have also had trouble getting my taught line hitches to be strong and tight knots. They are loose almost every time that I set up the tarp. They just won't stay tight. The one knot that I haven't had any trouble with is the double overhand knot that I have used on each of the stuff sacks.
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6. Summary:
After having used this rope for about a year, I can say that I am not completely satisfied with it. I like how visible it is at night, but I am not a big fan of the fact that it stretches out when wet and bunches up upon drying. I do wish it would hold knots better, but it holds them pretty well, and I suppose I can't really complain. If I used a stronger knot, I do not doubt that it would hold under pressure. However, even with all of these complaints, I must admit that I will buy this rope again. It is strong and it is light. For me, these features are more important than any others.
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