A Dutch Hook is a small, titanium, hook designed to be attached to either; the end of your ridge-line or a Prusik knot, making for a quick setup of your tarp. They weigh only .4 grams and can be tied or spliced onto 1.75 mm Zing-it or Lash-it line. All you have to do is wrap the line around a tree and clip the hook into place. You can get these great quality Dutch Hooks from DutchWare Gear.

To set this up, first we are going to need some materials: I am using a single braid, 1.75 mm, Lash-it line, a Dutch Hook, some very thin jewelry wire stolen from my wife, and a multitool with pliers.

Let’s begin by feeding the working end of the line through the eye hole of the Dutch Hook, and decide how big of a loop you want, but leave 2-3” of line beyond the point where you want base of the loop to be, for a stronger splice.

Now push the Lash-it line together, like a Chinese finger trap, on the standing portion of the line where you want the loop to be, and feed the loop of the wire, created by folding it in half, through the hole and place the working end of the line into the metal loop, then pull it back through the hole, and readjust the loop to where you want it to be.

Next we are going to do the same thing to the working end. Push the line of the working end together, just below your first pass on the standing part, and feed the wire through to the opposite side, grab onto the standing end and pull the entire standing part through the line. These two passes through the standing part of the line is called a Marlin splice.

Now we are going to finish this off by tucking the excess working end into the standing part of the line for a stronger splice that looks clean. Stretch the lines out, parallel to each other, and find a point 1/4” to 1/2” beyond the end of the working end, on the standing part of the line. At this point, squeeze the line together like you have before but this time feed the wire through the inside part of the hollow braided line towards the loop, coming out just below the point of your second pass. Grab the excess working line and pull it back through. I found it to be easier if I keep the line of the standing part scrunched up while I pushed the wire through and pulled the working end back, tucking it into place.

Finally, starting at the base of the loop, I used my fingers to work the line and stretch it out, covering the working end and completing the splice.

Keep your eyes and ears open and your powder dry!