You’d think as a climber, I know a lot of knots, but I don’t know this one. In fact I only know the figure 8, bowline, how to tie a prusik, and a reef, which I usually fuck up first go.
Basically, don’t ask a rock climber to help out with knots unless your life depends on it, then you’re good.
Well, there is very little call for knowing any knots except the figure eight when rock climbing. In fact in my experience with the same, it seems that knowledge of too many fancy knots tends to lead people towards using the wrong knot for the application for no other reason than to show off and/or justify knowing that knot. But one thing most people of that stripe tend not to know is how said knot performs under strain or shock load or being bounced when unloaded. And most especially, how various knots reduce the load capacity of the rope where they’re tied.
For similar reasons, I wince every time I see arborists insisting that the bowline is the answer for every single application imaginable up to and including supporting human weight, which it absolutely is not — speaking of knots that can be untied by bouncing them. You will never catch me dangling from a bowline in any circumstances.
You could do a lot worse than only being good at figure eights, then.
There are variations to the bowline that make them suitable for climbing. Scotts locked, EBSB, lees link, harry butlers Yosemite, and alan lees Yosemite.
I’d pick the harry butlers Yosemite bowline, and Id say it is objectively better than the figure eight. Its totally security, easier to untie after heavy load, just as easy to verify, similar line strength reduction as the figure 8, and the tail end points inside the eye as to not interfere with clipping the rope to climbing protection.
There are many other knots used commonly in climbing and he named a few. You cannot tie off a three way anchor with a figure 8, a bowline is not safe for human weight because it can invert, despite being used for thousand pound logs all day everyday at my job… And it’s funny he called it a reef to me, all my sailing buddies call it a reef, all my climbing friends say square, and hardly use it. A sheet bend is really hardy for hauling loads up the wall, a prussic for a repel device, and an alpine butterfly for tripoint anchors.
Edit: this is more about Trad climbing than sport or toprope. If you didn’t set the anchor on a toprope and your guide/partner isn’t into carabiner/harness setups, yea you’re gonna tie a lot of double 8s
I am a few stages into the knit obsession, I own the Ashley Book and have a couple project knots displayed in my house.
Sounded like the kind of knot that’s good for climbing. Bomb proof and easy to untie. So I looked it up and it does indeed get used, but it looks too complicated, so risky. Never seen it done, but also, never seen anyone risk tying two ropes together. I’d rather anchor in and wait for a rescue.
You’d think as a climber, I know a lot of knots, but I don’t know this one. In fact I only know the figure 8, bowline, how to tie a prusik, and a reef, which I usually fuck up first go.
Basically, don’t ask a rock climber to help out with knots unless your life depends on it, then you’re good.
Well, there is very little call for knowing any knots except the figure eight when rock climbing. In fact in my experience with the same, it seems that knowledge of too many fancy knots tends to lead people towards using the wrong knot for the application for no other reason than to show off and/or justify knowing that knot. But one thing most people of that stripe tend not to know is how said knot performs under strain or shock load or being bounced when unloaded. And most especially, how various knots reduce the load capacity of the rope where they’re tied.
For similar reasons, I wince every time I see arborists insisting that the bowline is the answer for every single application imaginable up to and including supporting human weight, which it absolutely is not — speaking of knots that can be untied by bouncing them. You will never catch me dangling from a bowline in any circumstances.
You could do a lot worse than only being good at figure eights, then.
There are variations to the bowline that make them suitable for climbing. Scotts locked, EBSB, lees link, harry butlers Yosemite, and alan lees Yosemite.
I’d pick the harry butlers Yosemite bowline, and Id say it is objectively better than the figure eight. Its totally security, easier to untie after heavy load, just as easy to verify, similar line strength reduction as the figure 8, and the tail end points inside the eye as to not interfere with clipping the rope to climbing protection.
There are many other knots used commonly in climbing and he named a few. You cannot tie off a three way anchor with a figure 8, a bowline is not safe for human weight because it can invert, despite being used for thousand pound logs all day everyday at my job… And it’s funny he called it a reef to me, all my sailing buddies call it a reef, all my climbing friends say square, and hardly use it. A sheet bend is really hardy for hauling loads up the wall, a prussic for a repel device, and an alpine butterfly for tripoint anchors.
Edit: this is more about Trad climbing than sport or toprope. If you didn’t set the anchor on a toprope and your guide/partner isn’t into carabiner/harness setups, yea you’re gonna tie a lot of double 8s
I am a few stages into the knit obsession, I own the Ashley Book and have a couple project knots displayed in my house.
I’m not sure if this is even suitable for climbing. I like it because it’s easy to untie even after being tightened.
Sounded like the kind of knot that’s good for climbing. Bomb proof and easy to untie. So I looked it up and it does indeed get used, but it looks too complicated, so risky. Never seen it done, but also, never seen anyone risk tying two ropes together. I’d rather anchor in and wait for a rescue.
I believe that double fisherman’s knot is what a climber would use in a situation like this.