KNOTS

August 2025

This is a simple collection for my hiking and backpacking use

Anil Mitra

home | one page version for travel

CONTENTS

Principles

Design of knots

Cover the main applications

The main knots

Ways to improve and improvise knots and rope use

A Collection of Knots

Basic knots

Overhand knot

Half-hitch

A half-hitch tied around a pole

Hitches

Two turns and two half hitches

Buntline hitch—a very secure hitch

Clove hitch

Slipped half hitch

Loops and nooses

Bowline

Tautline hitch

Slip knot

Bends

Sheet-bend

A double sheet-bend

Bowline bend

Enclosing knots

Reef knot

Secure a damaged portion of a rope

Sheepshank

Stoppers

Slipped half hitch

Figure of eight

Double figure of eight

Double figure of eight loop

Bowline

Yosemite bowline

Miscellaneous knots

A useful tension slip knot

Fisherman’s knot

Double fisherman’s knot

Sheet bend

Double sheet bend

Shoelace knots

Sheepshank

Clove hitch

Prusik friction knot

Bachman friction knot

Prusik knot

Mountaineer’s coil

THE KNOTS

Principles

Design of knots

Knots should be secure and easy to release; some knots should be fixed, others adjustable; some are self-tightening.

Cover the main applications

Bear caching (loop knot for food sack, slip knot or loop to tie to a tree trunk or other object).

Setting up tents and tarps (loop knot to secure to a grommet etc, slip knot to adjust tension, a hitch to secure a line to a post or pole)

Tying two ropes or laces together (square or reef knot, double fisherman’s knot for equal size rope or sheet bend for ropes unequal in size, shoelace knots)

Simple climbing knots

The main knots

Basic knots (a) the half hitch almost always used with other knots and (b) stoppers or ends such as overhand and figure of eight knots

Loops—bowline, Yosemite bowline (more secure than the bowline); slip knots provide adjustable loops

Bends to tie two rope ends together—reef or square knot for tying bundles, double fisherman’s knot to join two ropes of equal size, sheet bend and the more secure double sheet bend to join ropes of unequal size, bowline bend, shoelace knots

Hitches—sheepshank for bypassing a damaged portion of a rope, clove hitch to attach to a pole.

Climbing—the Prusik, and Bachman friction knots attach a small diameter rope to a larger diameter climbing rope; the mountaineer’s coil is used to coil and carry a rope

Ways to improve and improvise knots and rope use

Practice, reflection, and memory (i.e., keeping records).

Combining knots as in bowline bend.

Use of friction—single and multiple half hitches used alone and with other knots.

Reduce friction load and reduce rope wear—e.g., by use of a carabiner, especially in climbing. Another example is to use a key chain or micro carabiner to hold the sliding rope for bear caching: this is useful if the cache is heavy.

Load multiplication—using a ‘block and tackle’ or ‘pulley’ system rigged from anchors (climbing), branches (caching) and carabiners functioning as pulleys.

A Collection of Knots

Basic knots …function primarily as parts of other knots Overhand knot …the simplest knot, part of many others
Half-hitch …overhand knot used as a hitch, primarily as a part of other securer (e.g. double or multiple half hitch) or adjustable knots Shown > A half-hitch tied around a pole from Wikipedia
Hitches …connect a rope to, e.g., section of another rope, eyelet, stake, tree… …shown > Two turns and two half hitches
Buntline hitch—a very secure hitch Left—buntline hitch Right—slipped buntline hitch
Clove hitch …to secure a rope to a midpoint.
Slipped half hitch …useful for quick release or as a quick and temporary stopper
Loops and nooses —fixed or adjustable (a noose is a loop that slips and tightens under load). Bowline …secure, easy to release; may be made more secure by half-hitches or seizing.
Tautline hitch …to make loop whose tension may be adjusted; very useful for tents.
Slip knot …one or more half hitches and a loop; used to attach one end of a rope to a stake or tree etc—for adjustable tension; tightens under load. Shown > a slip knot with three half-hitches
Bends …tie the ends of two ropes together Sheet-bend —particularly useful even if the two ropes are different in size Shown > A double sheet-bend …is more secure than the sheet bend: it has one more turn than the sheet bend.
Bowline bend …a bowline at each end; made more secure if the free ends are tied to the loop with seizing or a half hitch.
Enclosing knots Reef knot …to enclose or contain something—e.g., a bundle of sticks or parts of a fly; not good as a bend; do not use a granny knot.
Secure a damaged portion of a rope Sheepshank …shortening is not the primary function; seizing the ‘ears’ to the standing rope provides security.
Stoppers …knots that prevent a rope from running out through an eye—e.g., in other knots, grommets Slipped half hitch …shown above. Shown > Figure of eight …a good stopper because it is bulky (bulkier than the overhand) but still easy to undo.
Double figure of eight …not shown—figure of eight with an extra twist (instead of straight over, the free end goes over and under) Shown > Double figure of eight loop
Bowline Note, if there is a lot of rope left over, the rope can be doubled up on itself (this is called a ‘bight’) to form an end.
Yosemite bowline See the note for the bowline, above.
Miscellaneous knots A useful tension slip knot This shows a slip knot with three hitches; I use four. See the note for the bowline, above.
Fisherman’s knot
Double fisherman’s knot
Sheet bend	This is the knot below without the extra final loop on the small rope.
Double sheet bend
Shoelace knots	I don’t use special shoelace knots. The main points are (a) interweaving the laces before the ankle to maintain different tensions and (b) multiple loops for to secure relatively low friction modern laces and avoid too long loops.
Sheepshank
Clove hitch
Prusik friction knot
Bachman friction knot
Prusik knot This knot slides on a climbing line but locks under load at an acute angle
Mountaineer’s coil