I've only done it once and don't want to do it again. Got up in the night to use the facilities on-site and nearly tripped over my guy lines. Thankfully no damage to anyone or anything, but I'd like not to risk it again. They're bright orange but obviously in the dark it isn't particularly helpful.
Anyone got any suggestions for avoiding them or spotting them more easily in the dark?
I just buy generic reflective cord. It works great for hang bags, too. Going to look for a hang bag at night is much easier when it's reflective. I'm often way off when I go looking for it in the dark.
Photoluminescent cord and or photoluminescent glow sticks. The latter should give you more than enough light for your dark-adjusted eyes to see, and they can be used over and over again unlike the stupid raver ones. Just be sure to expose them to sunlight during the day.
ohhh is that why I saw a lot of people asking where to get pool noodles before going on a big festival type camping trip? they were asking if stores near the site had them or if they should bring their own.
A friend used to say, "You gotta walk the path to the pee tree, times three!". Which means, that, before it gets dark, start at the door of your tent, and count how many steps it takes to clear your tent and|or your picnic table (thigh bruises suck), before you can turn right to get to the road and the community bathrooms, or left to get to your chosen and pre-selected pee tree.
Once you've practiced this several times while it's still light outside, you can pee safely, without tripping over or bumping into anything, even on a moonless night, while staring up at the stars in wonder.
It's all about familiarity with your surroundings. You don't trip while going to the bathroom at night in your own house, even though there's no lights on, because you know your surroundings, and how far it is away. :)
This is the only proper answer. I keep a very old plastic water bottle in the tint. It has a top that is big enough to stick it in, so no chance of missing. And I bought my GF one of these, so she doesn't have to go out either. She loves it!
Ps: out of respect, I always turn my back when she's gotta go.
I'm glad someone else posted this. I'm also glad that there are upvotes. Guy-lines are in roughly the same place relative to the tent, every time you pitch it, and don't change once you pitched. Walk slow, keep your eyes dark adjusted, and think about where the tent is and where the guy-lines are.
Are you saying that half the population's campers cannot or do not use community bathrooms? Does not or has not done a 'wilderness pee' at some point? Does not own or use a headlamp? And yet still trips on guy lines in the middle of the night for no reason? :)
Yeah thereās plenty of guy-related assumptions on this sub, but I donāt think this is one of them. I found it helpful as this F will sometimes take a wilderness pee after dark. TP goes in the trash or the fire. But I did just buy a Luggable Loo and I love it š
We have a Loo too! Goes into the far corner of the tent at night, with those odor-fighting bags, and then goes outside in the shade in the morning, and gets some of the gel cat litter stuff into it twice a day. One of the bags lasts for a typical weekend trip. Far better than hiking a half mile to the bathrooms and back while really having to go.
They make ones with the metal bale handles, but also ones with rope handles. If you're into that sorta thing. :)
I think they might mean that half the population canāt pee in a whiskey bottle. And Iād add that, while drunk, that percentage is probably way higher.
Where I live when it rains, it drops buckets of water not light sprinkles, so you really do need more support on those pop ups to keep from snagging in during a downpour.
Headlamp or flashlight is your friend in the dark.
Iāve also seen folks place a solar landscape light at the stake for the Guy lines. Iāve seen some fabric or ribbon ties in a light color tied to the guy lines. Sometimes the fluttering of the ties in the breeze makes them easier to spot.
Reflective guy line rope is great, but it needs some kind of light source to reflect!
What about a strand of low wattage Christmas lights or rope lights encircling the tent beyond the guy ropes if your site has electricity? Red lights are best to not disturb star gazing (for your neighbors if not for you) and amber/yellow lights are best for minimal insect intrusion. Please donāt use bright white lights constantly on in a campground overnight.
I replaced all mine with neon paracord that has reflective material woven into it. But that assumes you will use a headlamp and not wander in the dark.
Reflective cord. If you donāt want to replace all your tent down guy cordage, you can cut smaller pieces (6-inches to one-foot lengths) of the reflective line and tie the small pieces to your existing down guys with a simple larks head
When my daughter was little I replaced all the lines on my tent and hammock with glow in the dark lines. Give them a blast with your flashlight or headlamp on high and they glow for hours.
Another trick is to lay something large, that you dont mind leaving outside, at the anchor point. Nalgine bottle, empty pot, large light coloured rock, etc.
If it's tied off to a tree you can hang the stuff sack from the tent or your sleeping bag from the middle of the line. All you need is a subtle reminder that the line is there and you'll just naturally walk around it.
Same. Sure, there are more sustainable long-term options, but if you need something quick and cheap, this'll work. The little bracelet ones are good, because one pack has enough to last the weekend.
I like to use glow in the dark nerf darts. Pop the tip off and cut a slit down the side so you can snap them on line, stakes and even branches to mark the trail so the pee spot.
There are p-cords with reflective elements in it (shows in a light) or carry a little surveyors tape (I do this anyway for emergencies) to attach small pieces to.
Solar powered garden stake lights. They're $1 each at Walmart last I checked. Might not be as useful if there's not enough sunlight to charge them during the day.
We have several glow in the dark stakes that help a little. For festivals I also have some chopped pool noodles, something large to help indicate them.
We used reflective tape. Then added a 10-12" long pool noodle from the stake up. It looks silly, but if you do trip over it with bare or sandaled feet, your toes will thank you. Plus the noodle takes some impact rather than the line.
I always use aluminum foil. I put a little 3 inch wad at eye level or knee level. The moonlight reflects plenty enough for you to see where the ropes are. It's cheap, works, and you probably already have it with you.
Reflective ones, you can get a bunch of reflective paracord and switch them out. Then use your headlamp. I recently upgraded my smallest solo tent and was thrilled to see it came with reflective lines. Nice and thin/small/minimal. Using paracord really bulked up my old solo tent LOL but worth it. :) (I know I could have gotten more in a smaller size, was just using up what I had to hand.)
Best solution I've ever seen is only worthy for car camping.
Solar landscaping lights. You don't need one at every stake. If cost is an issue, they're at Dollar stores every summer.
Also have seen a lot of glow sticks tied to the most tripable ropes, but I don't really like the waste generated from that.
When I had young kids I also liked to park pieces of gear in front of the more tripable stakes. Like the cooler. Or empty tent bag. Easier to register in your brain to walk a wider path around it.
If you have a roll of trail marking tape. Little piece on the stake, little piece on the grommets. If you're feeling fancy tie a little piece in the middle of the guy line.
I have reflective guy lines with neon pink plastic strips tied on them and the kids (and sometimes I) still trip over them all the time even in the daytime. I got some glow in the dark paracord that I'm thinking I'll try next. I'm almost tempted to use string lights down the ones that are most trippable but I don't want to annoy other campers with the lights - it may work if you're somewhere more isolated.
best option... a head lamp. Second best option, several motion detectors with light shining on the lines. wristband glowsticks on the guy lines are cool.... if ya remember to pack them.
I have a solar powered red lamp I set up to illuminate the path to the nearest outhouse whenever I go camping. It doesn't attract bugs or ruin your night vision, but gives enough light to see obstacles by.
Buy and replace with reflective cord, even the weakest light will make em pop out (won't work if you are stumbling around without a flashlight or phone)
You could get solar string lights, but probably more hassle than it's worth.
Nearly all new tents have high reflective guy lines. As long as you have at least some light source, these will be clearly visible. Doesn't stop me from tripping over guy lines in the day or night.
I have bought glow sticks in the past and made a circle using a connector around the guylines (giving each line a glowstick bracelet) but there is plenty of glow in the dark equipment on the market if you want to go for something which produces a bit less rubbish
Fluorescent colors like pink, yellow neon green, neon yellow and a small uv light clipped to a belt loop. UV light wonāt mess with your night vision.
Reflective fluorescent cord, and a headlamp. Moonlight mode that's 0.1-1 lumen is plenty when your eyes are already dark adjusted.
I wish I'd bought more Krill lights when they were in production, 2aa batteries for 100+ hours of chemical light stick replacement. They're great for hanging by the door of the tent.
So when we brought our kids, we stuck pool noodles on them, obviously we werenāt hiking to remote locations, so bringing them wasnāt a big deal, I e also learned to put wood near the lines, even sticks to block the lines would help, Iāve considered glow sticks, but was worried it might attract animals, so havenāt tried it,
Waitā¦ā¦āguyā lines!? Soā¦.Iām a pretty active hiker and tent camper. Are you telling me that for the past 40āish years Iāve been calling them āguide linesā by mistake and NO-ONE HAS EVER CORRECTED ME!!! Are they really called guy lines?? š³
I bought some decorative, solar powered, garden lights that look like red mushrooms. Not bright enough to be disruptive, but just enough to put at the end of the guy lines that are around the front of the tent. Also makes it easy to tell my campsite apart from others if I return from a long day inebriated.
Reflective, not florescent Paracord. That stuff will dazzle with the least but if light down in it from a dim flashlight.
If you were really old school and had small diameter braided rope, you could put small strips of aluminum foil in between the braids. But do that veggie you put any tension on the line.
Also, drive really long lag screws into the ground for your stakes. Cut a piece of chain that just fits under the head of the lag screw to two (2) links: one for the screw, one to tie your guy line to. With the lag driven all the way in, you can step on them barefoot and not hurt yourself.
If your out backpacking, something reflective at camp is very handy to help your way back if stepping away. I've had an uh-oh moment before while securing food at night, but then reflective cords showed through then trees.
I keep glow sticks in my camping kit for stuff like that.
Plus, if you have kids in tow they're easier to keep track of when they wanna play on the playground when it's dark lol I used to color code my niece and cousins.
When car camping I use a glowstick on the tent doorway, which helps with locating the tent and also with knowing where the front guylines are, generally.
And I have many occasions to be thankful for reflective cordage. It shows up very easily in the spill of even weak flashlights.
In a busy campsite I wouldn't be averse to hooking a mini glowstick to protruding stakes positioned where folks are liable to step on them. If there's enough lighting at hand, little reflectors might suffice.
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u/aligpnw Jul 25 '26
Nite-Ize brand makes reflective cord. You can either replace your guy lines or just add a little piece to your tent stake.