Backpacking Knots

“On another thread BS mentioned a prussik knot and it got me wondering about some of the most useful knots for backpacking. Didn't see another thread so I thought I'd ask. What elegant knots out there help you save pack weight and stay safe and dry?

I'll start...recently found this knot Maltese guy-line hitch (scroll down) which is a nifty variation to the taut-line or rolling hitch. With an extra loop for your tent/tarp spike you could leave it in for the whole trip.”

“The pussic knot is one of the strongest. Used for safety harnesses. I dont know how it would save you pack weight?”

“well here is a "knot" that I use for tying (if you can call it that) my hammock sides and rain fly - I usually don't take any tent stakes and just find a couple reasonably solid sticks and put a point on each with my knife and push / hammer (with rock) the sticks into the ground. To attach the line to the stick I just wrap it around the stick 10 to 20 times - holds just fine and no problem to "untie" in the morning. If I need to adjust the line I just unwrap it and adjust then rewrap it.”

“Figure 8 follow through is very handy.
(that's the knot used to tie into a climbing harness)”

“The coolest rope trick I use is when you want to hang a hammock,clothesline or anytime you need to wrap around a tree. First wrap the line around a couple of times then the next time around go around and around the fisrt two strands, pull tight, that's it! There is no knot to untie and it really holds. I saw John Veiman use it on Trail Time when he was sleeping a hammock over water in the everglades.”

“I have never seen this subject addressed on tt before. Wow, you'd think with all the depraved individuals around here there'd of been talk about how to tie "stuff" up before!”

“Hi Sass - I sent you a check today.”

“Do NOT forget the TP.”

“There is a simple knot that works like wolfsister is describing called the clove hitch. You can use it on a bight (loop) of rope or on an end. It is self-cinching and can take a lot of force (depending on the type of rope)before it slips.

Here's an animation of it:
http://www.mistral.co.uk/42brghtn/knots/42ktclov.html”

“Guess you'll have to cut and paste. I'll get TownDawg to "edumucate" me on html next week. :)”

“The Hangmans noose for when you are on the AT and Chip shows up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!LOL”

“LMFAO!!!!
Good one Spam!”

“Thanks Wolfsis!!!:D”

“I thought you'd like that one Dude! and iffin chip don't show up you can use it on Radman after he's had some of that Spiced up Rum! LOL”

“Teach me your magic, Sassafras...lol”

“uprocks, it is easy.. you should have saved that href file when I showed it to you.

oh well.. in the meanwhile.. if ANYONE know knots.. I bet it's a climber.. (take it away, Uprocks.. )


:)”

“"Figure 8 follow through" -forgot how to do one of those. Hmm... now I just tie one off from a bight.

Handy knots to use in the field:

-Bowline. Hangin' stuff
-Figure 8. Climbing
-SlipNot. Tarp and tent guylines
-Munter Hitch. Hoisting
-Overhand. General purpose
-Clove Hitch. Tent and Tarp.
-Prussik. Climbing and Safety

...can't think of any more.”

“UpRocks - great site. It helps to see them illustrated.

tekapo - I think you have a solid list of outdoor knots - particularly for someone without a 'knot tieing' background (Boy Scouts, military) like me. The only one I'm not familiar with on your list is the munter hitch although maybe I know it by another name.

It is amazing to see how many knots there are out there, particularly the sports specific ones for climbing (UpRocks), kayaking, sailing etc.

Prowler - concerning weight savings. With elegant knots one might not need as much rope. You might also be able to eliminate guy-line stays, spring-loaded bag closures, and compression straps. Granted this is not much weight savings but it does cut down on inventory.”

“Email me Uprocks, we don't want all the riffraff to know howto make a link! ;o) I'll send you my cheat sheet on html and links.”

“There are also a few threads out there with good HTML info of which I think this thread is the most comprehensive.”

“good demo of munter hitch:

Munter Hitch ”

“If I use more than a square knot or a granny knot, I have to carry a book.”

“I can never remember those knots. Last summer I spent an afternoon tying up my furniture from pictures of knots but they did not stick in my head.”

“I'm with you Pathman and maryphyl. Unless you practice them everyday you forget them. I've got a book but it doesn't do me any good sitting at home when I'm out on the trail.”

“I tie up my Trekker Tarp between two trees anymore (not using poles) and never really tie it to the trees. I wrap the line around the trees about 1 1/2 times then slip the end of the chord halfway under one of the wraps. The tension keeps the chord from slipping out, and when you want to take it down, just pull the end from under the wrap and Wa La it's untied and detached.”

“another knot I use every time I go camping is the Constrictor Knot - I use it to tie the line onto the rock that I throw over the branch for bear bagging my food. I tie it just the way the animation shows only instead of a post I am using a rock.”

“I use a Tarbuckle (sp?) for tarp and fly lines. The line length adjusts easily, by sliding the knot, when it's not under load.”

“I like tekapo's list.

I think the typical person wouldn't need to know anything but: 2 half hitches, bowline/sheetbend, clove hitch, tautline hitch, and reef knot.

Also, I'm surprised no one has mentioned mechanical advantage. Knots like the Trucker's Hitch are very useful for tensioning rope.”

“one "knot" that should also be mentioned is the butterfly - very useful for keeping lines from getting tangled in the pack. In climbing there are a couple variations called the Butterfly Coil (rope is doubled) and also a Single Butterfly Coil where you start at one ind of the rope. In weaving it is just referred to a a butterfly - see link : how to make a butterfly in hand - I learned it from weaving and use the technique shown in the link for small lines. For slightly larger stuff like my bear bag line I use the same technique only I form the cross between my palm and my elbow. I also wrap the coil a bit more than shown in the link. Key item to wrapping is to cover the area where the cross is. When it is time to use the line just pull on the end that you started the butterfly with and the line will come out smouthly without any tangles or at least with very little tangles (only when you get close to the coiled end)”

“Here's a Knot Link I have in my Favorites.”

“unfortunately the Butterfly knot shown on Buddur's Knot Link is for forming a loop in a blight (middle of line) and not for coiling rope. It is however something that is occasionally useful for a camper so ...”

“HogOnIce, that's interesting about the butterfly coil, but why coil rope? It twists the rope and the rope tends to form a memory. (Of course that all varies with the type of rope you're using.) I would suggest the layperson use stuff sacks instead. It's easier and faster than coiling rope (unless you've had lots of practice) and it doesn't twist the rope, nor does it form memory because it's stuffed differently everytime. Plus, it pays out of the stuff sack as slick as snot, whereas with a coil you had better make sure you uncoil it exactly opposite of how you coiled it, unless you want a giant knot. Plus, a stuff sack will protect your rope from dirt and ultraviolet radiation. I mean, I like coiling rope just for the hell of it. It's good to know how to do, but for most practical non-climbing purposes, I think a stuff sack beats it out. But then again, maybe the extra weight of a stuff sack is not something backpackers would want to add to their pack weight.”

“I'm w/ mutt. Coil the little stuff (string). Stuff the big stuff (rope). Be selective where you stuff your rope, though. :)”

“I'm not a climber so I will go along with y'all - its just that I had to wade through a lot of climber sites to find one site with a butterfly like I do it and in the course of the search I ran across references to butterfly coiling of rope”

“REI used to have a bandana with all sorts of knots printed on it. I covet it, but alas it hasn't been available the last few times I've been there with money to spend. It was cool.”

“One of the neater one's I have used is the friction knott. It's kind of like the Knot Wolf Sister described but you just do one pass around the tree then go around the taught section of rope and head back around the the tree the other way. A few times around and whammo, no slippage. Easy to untie and will not bind after getting wet. Other then that, the truckers hitch seems to come in handy.”

“Hey Sass, not sure if it's the one you were thinking of but here is a knot bandana available online. Sounds like a pretty cool idea. I think I now covet one as well. $10 with shipping though. :-[”