Guy rope illumination for camping/tent

This summer me and the family are going camping. And I was thinking how much of a literal pain it is to hit your feet on a tent peg (and get it lodged in your foot) or tripping over guy lines. I don’t expect this to be much of an issue for me, since I learned this the hard way when I was camping in my younger years. However, I hope my kids don’t need to have this steep learning curve.

So I was thinking, is there a cheap and easy way to light up guy-lines and tent pegs in the night? Is tritium a viable option? Will that be affordable? Do you guys have any good sugggestions for glow in the dark items?

Solar yard lights on top of the tent stakes. Maybe a new invention here “illuminated solar tent stakes”.

2 Thanks

Welcome back to BLF, agree solar garden lights your best bet, perhaps warm white solar fairy lights would be good and add to the ambience.

Tritium “kit markers” are available - tritium vials in acrylic tubes. I think to kit out all the guylines ok a tent would be expensive, tritium also best with night adapted vision. Fluorescent paint (I find pink has some of the best contrast in outdoor conditions) and quality glow in the dark paint might be a viable alternative. Also think about retroflective guylines/stickers, they show up really well with a headlamp.

Around the camp I find these to work effectively.

Lawson Cordage has a reflective cord which is available without the tensioner do-dad

2 Thanks

Personally I just clip some cheap led keychain lights on my lines. Most are squeeze types you have to mod to stay on. I picked up a bunch a few years back that are actually switched. They were some promo item from a company that the name has long worn off. I replaced the key ring with a small clip.

quick search found these:LED Flashlight Keychain 5 Pack Super Bright Mini Flashlight Key Ring Photon Beam | eBay

Reflective bright orange paracord is highly effective and catches any torch light. This site is EU based.

https://www.paracord.co.uk/paracord/parcord-type-1/reflectable-colors-type-i

Maybe you could find something like the Afterburner rings or mini markers? I use both on bags and zips, they glow for hours. Years ago I had a load of Sugru and dipped balls of it into GITD sand that I moulded onto my pegs. It didn’t glow all that long, but Sugru liked the idea and awarded me ‘Hack of the Month’.

2 Thanks

Nice, congratz on the “hack of the month”!

Was initially thinking lights as well, but not looking forward to replacing batteries or recharging.

Think we’ll go for the GITD rings. These also show the location of tent pegs, which is nice.

If you’re buying from EDCGear it’s definitely worth putting a stock notification on the CountyComm stuff. I got an email and immediately tried to buy 2 packs of Afterburners and there was only one left. I think Tim is about the only guy bringing in CC and Maratac gear here in the UK, I’m not sure how you’re fixed in NL?

The little mini markers are cool too.

3 Thanks

Sadly, they didn’t have a lot in stock.

Ordered some GITD paracord and GITD silicone fishingpole rings from AliExpress. I am just going to braid some paracord items and attach them to the guy lines.

Going to go camping in 2 weeks time, will let you know how it goes.

Ah yeah, the markers were in stock when I looked, and I see the guy is away until 4th. GITD cord doesn’t glow bright or long unfortunately.

Something else that’s really effective is Cyflect tape. Made of the same stuff that is used for emergency exit signs on ships, you can cut strips and stick them back on themselves.

The owner is really helpful, Im sure he’d be able to get something to you in time. If not, I have some I can get to you (if I can find it).

Interesting, I’ve a short strip I bought during a “glow in the dark kick” and found it disappointing. The retroflective nature is good, but glow is lacking compared to the countycomm GITD stuff. Their moral patch and the limited edition boker folding knife with glow scales “outshine” any other GITD material I own.

Not sure how to post those photos again, it’s post 113 in the GITD and bling thread

For sure the CC stuff glows longer, it’s on a par with Turboglow. It’s hard to get for us Brits and EU dwellers, EDC Gear sells out fast.

You’re right on with the thickness, tape just can’t glow as long as thicker material. Nice to see the Boker folder, I had one of those knives, only just recently sold it. Lovely thing, but like many of my torches, not used very often.

1 Thank

For your use, I think the reflective line is probably the best idea. It works really well, and it’s going to be a lot more obvious than some of the glow in the dark stuff, especially after a couple hours of darkness.

1 Thank

THIS :arrow_up:

As a tent camper, paracord with reflective tracers is my recommendation in general over most glow products, keeping in mind that your flashlight or lantern is necessary.

Whether it’s traditional 550# cordage or a smaller diameter alternative such as the 275# Tactical Cord (3/32") I prefer for guylines, a few of the best manufacturers in the U.S. make cordage with reflective tracers, a GITD thread, or both.

With nighttime covered, you can also help prevent tripping over guylines during the day by purchasing these cord types in a bright color such as Neon Green.

I wasn’t sure how much a bright color would help to see & avoid guylines, but in my experience, neon colors in particular are as helpful during the day as reflective/GITD cords are at night.

In the UK, if you can find a vendor that carries 550# and smaller diameter cordage from U.S. manufacturers such as Atwood Rope, EL Wood, Franklin, or Gladding at a decent price point, I think you’ll be set.

So we went camping previous weekend, cheap chinese GITD paracord: useless. Will put them on the guylines for visibility during the daytime. Sadly don’t have time to look for good reflective alternitives. However will measure the guylines and have some new reflective ones for next year!

1 Thank

Thanks for the update. Thought you were probably lying in a bush tangled up in your guylines :smile:

Real use reviews for glow in the dark stuff are hard to come by; thanks for your report, sorry the GITD paracord was no good! I had suspected this would be the case, seems like only hard plastic items can be made with good glow, at least for now.

I’ve got some GITD lineloks recently and going camping next week, I’ll see how they perform!

If you’re EU based, check out paracord.eu. I usually order from them. Fair prices, huge selection, good quality in my experience. No idea if they offer fair shipping prices to UK tho.

I recently bought some hanks of paracord on Ali from the Noble Eagle official store, which glows in the dark. The white is awesome. I also bought some glow beads (include the term “mine pattern”) from the Ha EDC Tools store. Those are amazingly bright and glow brightly for quite a while. UV with a VL (woods glass) filter will get you up and running.

That’s my bead, and my cord. White is on top. The bead glows much brighter and puts off more useable light than the photo shows. The white cord is bright too. It’s easy to light it up in a split second with a quality light… I hold the light in one hand and pull the paracord through it under the light, quickly and easily inducing glow. The beads cost more, but they really are great… buy multiples because you’ll find uses for them!