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bredler
02-26-2008, 06:37
What are some of the most useful knots that you know for camping/hammock/tarp use etc.?

If you list one, try to find a tying diagram and tell what you use it for.

Thanks!

mweinstone
02-26-2008, 06:47
slippery hand hitch. the universal guyline knot. and the bow. to tie my shoes.

bredler
02-26-2008, 06:53
slippery hand hitch. the universal guyline knot. and the bow. to tie my shoes.

can't find it anywhere...maybe it goes by a different name?

DAKS
02-26-2008, 07:01
taut-line hitch, two half hitches, clove hitch, bowline, larks head, overhand on a bite...that should about do it.

mweinstone
02-26-2008, 07:09
tauntline hitch. not to be confused with a bad hitch. goat tells that story at the warmmer.

Frolicking Dinosaurs
02-26-2008, 07:19
Have fun: http://www.animatedknots.com/

bredler
02-26-2008, 07:46
Have fun: http://www.animatedknots.com/


Seen it, it's a great resource for sure. Just wondering what people are using.

HIKER7s
02-26-2008, 07:46
taut-line hitch, two half hitches, clove hitch, bowline, larks head, overhand on a bite...that should about do it.


I could see needing a sheepshank once in awhile too, at least the knowledge of it. (use it to shorten a weighted rope without cutting it)

highway
02-26-2008, 07:47
http://www.netknots.com/html/outdoor_knots.html

Everyone should know the bowline. You can tie it, put it under stress, then untie it. So learn this one first.

Next would be the trucker's knot. Everyone occasionally ties something onto an auto, or lashes gear somewhere, and this know allows one to do so quickly, use the compound leverage to almost double the force of the line upon the gear so as to secure it more securely, then, with a stiff tug, the knot miraculously unties itself, no matter what the force placed upon it.

One can survive without knowing these two, but i cannot imagine why.

There is a sliding knot that I use too, like when I tie the lines from tarp to a tree but I cannot remember its name. Once tied you just slide it up or down upon to make the line taunt or to loosen.

Hooch
02-26-2008, 07:56
IMO, everyone going into the backcountry should have a working knowledge of these seven knots:

1) Bowline
2) Clove Hitch
3) Prusik Knot
4) Square Knot
5) Lark's Head
6) Round Turn and Two Half Hitches
7) A bow to tie your boots. :D

highway
02-26-2008, 08:02
Prussik knot. With this knot you can make a ladder out of a heavier line. Just do a few loops, wrap/tie to heavier line, use as hand/foot holds and they will slide up/down easily on the line:

http://www.chockstone.org/TechTips/prusik.htm


Tauntline hitch. This is the sliding knot for securing your tent/tarp or hammock fly:
http://www.isu.edu/outdoor/knots.htm

bredler
02-26-2008, 08:30
http://www.netknots.com/html/outdoor_knots.html

Everyone should know the bowline. You can tie it, put it under stress, then untie it. So learn this one first.





My dad is a landscape architect by education (although he has moved up now) and when he was in college he had to take some arborculture courses. As a result he got pretty good with knots, and the one that he harps on every time we're doing anything involving knots is the bowline, or the bowline on a bight.

..."have I showed you the bowline?"..."yep. rabbit comes out of the hole, around the tree, and back in the hole. yep, I know it holds tight then releases. yep, I've seen you do it with one hand and behind your back in five seconds. yep, it's a great knot."

every...single...time.

But on the upside, I learned it!:sun

jlb2012
02-26-2008, 08:46
an old article here on Whiteblaze: http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?p=99057#post99057

take-a-knee
02-26-2008, 08:53
Fisherman's knot to join two equal sized ropes and to form a fixed bight on the end of a rope.

Hooch
02-26-2008, 09:01
My dad is a landscape architect by education (although he has moved up now) and when he was in college he had to take some arborculture courses. As a result he got pretty good with knots, and the one that he harps on every time we're doing anything involving knots is the bowline, or the bowline on a bight.

..."have I showed you the bowline?"..."yep. rabbit comes out of the hole, around the tree, and back in the hole. yep, I know it holds tight then releases. yep, I've seen you do it with one hand and behind your back in five seconds. yep, it's a great knot."

every...single...time.

But on the upside, I learned it!:sunAfter some time away from scouting, I re-learned my knots the hard way. In the Marine Corps' Basic Reconnaissance Course. We had to do knots every which way; day, night, blindfolded, underwater, whatever they shot at us. You remember them that way. :D

Critterman
02-26-2008, 09:01
The bowline - " the king of knots " and the square knot. Surgeons knot also

John B
02-26-2008, 09:04
IMO, everyone going into the backcountry should have a working knowledge of these seven knots:

1) Bowline
2) Clove Hitch
3) Prusik Knot
4) Square Knot
5) Lark's Head
6) Round Turn and Two Half Hitches
7) A bow to tie your boots. :D

A brief statement on the uses of each knot would be very helpful. The animated knots link is great for learning how to tie, but it's a bit weak in terms of the respective applications.

At a shelter during a heavy rain, I saw a guy use his bear bag cord to make a damned nice clothes line. He used a knot that allowed him to adjust the tension of the line easily and quickly. Any idea what type of knot it might have been?

jlb2012
02-26-2008, 09:13
truckers hitch

TN_Hiker
02-26-2008, 09:50
I'm surprised the jug knot (aka moonshiner's knot) hasn't been mentioned. It is great for putting a rope handle on a empty coke bottle or Gatorade bottle.

take-a-knee
02-26-2008, 10:32
truckers hitch

Excellent suggestion! That is a must know.

HIKER7s
02-26-2008, 10:37
edited-repeated junk

Appalachian Tater
02-26-2008, 15:08
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/bear_bag_hanging_technique.html

http://www.ray-way.com/Tarp-Kit/butterfly/index.htm

Something related is different ways to lace your shoes.