There are good bungees and there are bad bungees

Choosing a good bungee cord solution

Holdon^® Systems supplies bungee cord on spools, as bungee hook ties, ball ties, T-bar ties, etc. since we are convinced the choice of a good bungee cord solution is critical for a good fastening result. There is no better way increase performance in the securing of tarps, banners, awnings, etc than using bungee cords...

Holdon^® Bungees  - Why Use them?

Bungees will;

• distribute the loading force between clips/eyelets
• allow the fabric to give in to the wind somewhat thereby reducing the pulling force in clips/eyelets/fastening points. This is due to the cords tilting in a direction more parallel to the wind.
• absorb sudden jerks.

When customers ask us for "stronger eyelets" or "stronger clips" the usage of bungees is the first step we suggest increasing performance/strength.

Above all we strongly warn against all kinds of stiff non-flexible connection methods such as straps, hard tensioned standard cords, screw fastening in eyelet/clip etc. The reason for this warning is that when the wind starts the material cannot give in and the forces on eyelets/clips straps etc. will be enormous in order keep banner stretched. On top of that there is another problem; you will never be able keep all straps /cords tensioned uniformly causing almost all loading be on a few fastening points. This can often be see on stormy days when such installations start give in in one point, moving load to next that breaks and so on like a zipper. 

The difference between a bad and a good Bungee

OK - so we use bungees, why not take the cheapest ones? Because there are good bungees and there are bad bungees. There are typically 2 types of cords; mono-cord and multi-strand cords. Those are also available with polyester, polyamide or polypropylene coating. The most important thing is to have a quality natural rubber core that consists of many threads - we call it multi-strand. If one thread breaks there are a slight decrease in performance but it will still work, a mono-strand bungee will break in one go. Further at least non-black coatings on bungee cords shall be made of polyester or another UV-stable material. If the cord is black it is of less importance since the black colour protects well against UV deterioration.

How to apply/ Use Bungees

It may sound strange, but very often we get questions about bungees, that makes us understand many people actually do not know how to apply them. There are bungees with plastic hooks and steel hooks - our steel hooked bungees, BannaBungees, is weather resistant, our steel hook bungees are in stainless steel or black enameled steel. The hooks are made to fit in Holdon^® Mini and Midi clips without rattling out when hanging loose. These bungees are intended to grab around a tube or a mesh in a fence etc., the hook being stuck through the end loop and hooked into clip. These bungees are very popular in the sign industry since they are easy to connect and offer reasonable elongation at loading thus reducing the load.

Crochet hook ties; these bungees are intended to run through eyelet/clip and around a surrounding truss tube or fence mesh and then the end of loop is snapped into the hook. This will form a closed double loop - and therefore these cords are a little thinner - a pulling force in the eyelet /clip will be divided on four cords, not two. These type of bungees are extra popular in the event business where a framework/truss often is rigged to support a backdrop which you want attached near the frame. Our Crochet hooks ties are metal free and terminated by means of knotting. This is our best-selling bungee.

T-bar ties; commonly used when you want swap fabric without removing the bungees from fence, etc; simply pull out T-bar a bit twist and let trough eyelet/clip. Our T-bar ties are terminated with a cramping ring. You may also use them as the Crochet hook ties forming a double loop.

Ball ties; these are popular when you want a solution that is not instantly removable - you can put the bungee trough eyelet and then attach the loop end to a hook in wall etc. Our ball bungees are terminated by knotting - they will not give in. These are actually our strongest bungees, but bear in mind, that strength always means you push the weakest point to another chain in the link.

Plastic hook ties; this is an economy version of the steel hooked bungees, to get price down the cord is stapled to the cord. This is a version used mostly for light weight applications.

Please go ahead and view our range of Bungees here and if you have any questions don't hesitate to contact us!

Staffan Gunnarsson, MD