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Prevent Tripping Over Tent Guy Lines

Q. Our troop is often a little crowded at campsites. How can I keep people from tripping on my tent guy lines at night?
— Travis, Salt Lake City, Utah

Try replacing your tent’s guy lines with reflective cord, such as MSR’s Reflective Utility Cord Kit ($23). The kit includes handy CamRing Cord Tensioners that result in a knot-free design.

You could also use a UCO StakeLight (four for $20) to make your tent easier to find in the dark. Turn it on when there’s high traffic; otherwise, keep it switched off to conserve the AAA battery’s 10 hours of power. A strobe mode is helpful for way-finding should nature call in the middle of the night.


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26 Comments on Prevent Tripping Over Tent Guy Lines

  1. put neon tape on the ropes. The stakes go in just the opposite as this pic shows.

  2. I think Scouts should still be about TEACHING people to not make mistakes, not PREVENTING them from it. Let people trip over it a few times….they will soon learn to pay better attention to their environment.

  3. Maybe we could just teach scouts to watch where they are going.

  4. Chair, table or cooler makes a great deterent.

  5. I love the suggestions that don’t impact the environment; glow sticks are not easily recycled. It’s important to teach scouts sustainable means.

  6. Pool noodles on the rope

  7. I buy glow bracelets and loop them around stakes!

  8. I use florescent survey tape. Tie it to the guy wire

  9. We clothes pin glow sticks to ours. We can get them at the dollar tree 8/ $1. Gets us through a 2 night weekend.

  10. I use glow in the dark paracord

  11. Johnny Dollar // September 15, 2017 at 2:18 pm // Reply

    Tie a white handkerchief or unused or toilet paper around the line

  12. I make flags out of orange surveyor’s tape. It helps remind the young scouts how far the stakes and lines extend away from the tent. Seen them trip over lines in broad daylight

  13. As mentioned, four $1 solar walk lights from the dollar store are lightweight and can mark the four corner stakes to establish a safe perimeter for much less. Did so at the Jamboree.

  14. Clip your stinky socks on the tie-down line.

  15. Pool noodles, split lengthwise but not all the way through. Just cut them 1-2 foot sections and slide them over the guy wires.

  16. Dollar store glow in the dark braclets in the guide wires work for a 2 night camp out.

  17. Hang a glow stick on them or a string of battery operated lights from the dollar store…

  18. We use glow bracelets from the dollar store. you can weave them in the lines.

  19. We used glow in the dark duct tape to make flags attached to the lines.

  20. I get solar garden lights from dollar stores and stick them in the ground next to the tent stakes. It’s cheap and also makes it easy to find my tent at night!

  21. Set up the tents in rows and teach the boys to NOT walk between them, go around.

    • Primitive Camper // November 30, 2017 at 11:03 am // Reply

      Best answer from my point of view. This is the NO COST / PACK LIGHT way while teaching the campers organization and responsibility. If they cant learn how to avoid this then they should bring the RV next time! 🙂

      • I agree. Good campsite setup helps avoid this.

      • Not all camp sites are set up like that. At campgrounds there are specific spaces where tents can be set up. Tents have to be spread out. I think the solar lights and glow in the dark paracord are both good ideas.

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