Wow, what an education in a short time, and fun to boot. Never thought that question could provoke two pages of discussion, clear down to the shoelace level. Jimshaw, Glenn, Eric, Rick, finallyME and Dryer. You're all certainly right about the taughtline hitch. Been using it since I learned it about 1950 -- and frankly, I think I sorta sneered at people who put hardware on lines. Also tied in with a girth hitch on loops or rings (learned that one working cattle on horseback in the late 1940s) and I use a bowline on grommets (and a whole lot of other things). Had just one tent with tighteners, a scottish one, and they were the exact thing on the kite site, DJ2. Wish I'd thoughta kites.

But with age, and weight reduction (so I can keep doing it)the eyes, the dexterity, the patience and the size of the lines involved have all dropped, plus, as Barry notes, the hitches get fussy in bad weather.

But the real irony is that the lines I want to tighten are Ron Bell's (MLD) lines. I mentioned Triptease simply because I figured everyone would recognize the size. Thanks for all your research, Oregon Mouse. I obviously haven't looked at Ron's website for way too long. The ones at ULD and BPL appear to be the same as Ron's and Francos suggestion appears to be the ultimate source. Couple of you suggested Campmor 15466 -- These are the large ones. I bought a package because the specs were limited. Thanks everybody, time to call Ron.