I like to hang out on the front porch with Chester when the weather is good but I always use a tie-out line since the road is only 25 ft away and even with good recall, I'm not chancing him going after a cat at that distance. It also gives peace of mind to people walking by with kids or dogs. But I hate the wire lines because they have cheap clips on the ends and the wire doesn't flex smoothly when Chester moves around.
So I got creative:
I bought 100 feet of good quality synthetic rope, a heavy duty bull snap and a heavy duty link that secures with a screw (both zinc plated and weight rated). I used climbing knots to attach to each after cutting the rope to my desired length. Then I made a 3rd climbing knot about a foot away that won't slide and it can be used to loop the one end around a fence railing or tree.
Here's the snap and knot that is for the harness end. I used a bowline knot and then a double overhand to secure. The bowline is very tight and secure when there is any tension on the rope and the double overhand is to prevent it from worming loose when there isn't slack. I can untie these if needed
And then here's an example of it hooked onto a railing. The loop a bit down from the end is an alpine butterfly loop knot and can be tied anywhere along a rope as long as there is slack in the rope (meaning, no need to have a free end)
If I bought another set of hardware, I have plenty rope left for another tie-out/long line. Could easily 2 for $25 or so. It isn't good rope for holding in the hand like a leash though. It is easier to grab than a wire tie-out but not as comfortable as a nylon leash handle.
While technically all the parts can get wet just fine, it isn't really suited to being left outside long term. Shouldn't rust though from wet grass or playing in water.
So I got creative:
I bought 100 feet of good quality synthetic rope, a heavy duty bull snap and a heavy duty link that secures with a screw (both zinc plated and weight rated). I used climbing knots to attach to each after cutting the rope to my desired length. Then I made a 3rd climbing knot about a foot away that won't slide and it can be used to loop the one end around a fence railing or tree.
Here's the snap and knot that is for the harness end. I used a bowline knot and then a double overhand to secure. The bowline is very tight and secure when there is any tension on the rope and the double overhand is to prevent it from worming loose when there isn't slack. I can untie these if needed
And then here's an example of it hooked onto a railing. The loop a bit down from the end is an alpine butterfly loop knot and can be tied anywhere along a rope as long as there is slack in the rope (meaning, no need to have a free end)
If I bought another set of hardware, I have plenty rope left for another tie-out/long line. Could easily 2 for $25 or so. It isn't good rope for holding in the hand like a leash though. It is easier to grab than a wire tie-out but not as comfortable as a nylon leash handle.
While technically all the parts can get wet just fine, it isn't really suited to being left outside long term. Shouldn't rust though from wet grass or playing in water.