Rope Length Efficiency of Common Rigging Knots

Thomas Evans
SAR3

Introduction:
When tying knots for life safety applications, we often need the knots to have specific
properties and functions. Sometimes they must produce loops, be tied in the middle of a rope, or
have long tails. In cases where there is less equipment available than needed, it may be necessary
to employ knots that use less rope; it is useful to know how much rope is required for each knot
we tie (Smith 1995). Generally, experienced users have a good idea how much rope is required
for a knot however new riggers often have no idea.
Here, I measure the amount of rope needed for many commonly used knots. I report how
much rope each knot utilizes relative to other knots to enable riggers to choose the knot they
wish to tie based on the amount of rope used in the knot. I chose knots used in rope access and
rescue, and tied each of those knots in a variety of ropes. The length of rope used to tie each knot
was then measured.

Methods:
A list of knots was chosen based on frequency of personal and observed use and in
conjunction with frequency of publication in well-utilized rope rescue and caving training
manuals. Table 1 lists all knots tied and why they were included.
Table 1: Knots tied and their reasons for inclusion in the study.
Knot Why it was included in the list
Overhand The simplest knot, frequently used as a backup knot
Figure 8 Frequently used as a stopper knot, and tied as part of a figure 8 bend
or follow through
Figure 8 on a Bight Probably the most frequently used rigging knot
Double Figure 8 Often taught for alpine or sport rigging
Directional Figure 8 Frequently included in rope rescue books
Bowline with a Yosemite Finish One of the most frequently used knots for sport and rescue rigging
Bowline with an Overhand Finish One of the most frequently used knots for sport and rescue rigging
Bowline with a Barrel Knot Finish One of the most frequently used knots for sport and rescue rigging
Bowline on a Bight Frequently included in rope rescue books
Inline Bowline with a An interesting knot included in some rope rescue texts
Yosemite Finish
Double Bowline Frequently included in rope rescue books
Butterfly Most versatile in line loop knot
Barrel Knot Used in double fisherman's knots and as a backup knot
Barrel Slip Knot Frequently used for personal tethers in sport caving and rescue
Clove Hitch Efficient and strong anchor knot that can be adjusted under load
Clove Hitch with an A common backup for the Clove Hitch
Overhand Finish
Clove Hitch with a A common backup for the Clove Hitch
Barrel Knot Finish
 The knots were tied in the ropes and webbing available to the author (personal gear).
Pigeon Mountain Industries (PMI) donated two ropes for testing prusiks and 3:1 haul systems,
and both new ropes were first used for this study prior to use in destructive testing. The ropes
utilized and their brief histories are detailed in Table 2.

Table 2: Manufacturers, makes, and diameters of rope and webbing used, as well as brief use history.
Rope and Webbing Sizes and Makes
11.5 mm PMI Isostatic
11 mm PMI EZ Bend
9 mm PMI EZ Bend
11 mm PMI Pit Rope
11 mm Bluewater II
11 mm Bluewater Assault Line
9 mm Bluewater Assault Line
11 mm New England KMIII
9 mm New England KMIII
1 inch tubular milspec nylon
webbing
Brief History
New unused rope donated by PMI
New unused rope donated by PMI
Lightly used as edge lines for less than three years (Truebe)
Moderately used for caving and canyoneering for six years
(Truebe)
Heavily used for 8 years in caving, canyoneering, and rescue
rigging (Evans)
Heavily used for 8 years in caving, canyoneering, and rescue
rigging (Evans)
Heavily used as a hand line for six years (Truebe)
Light to moderate use as a training rope for six years (Truebe)
Heavily used for one summer of canyoneering in Utah (Evans)
Lightly used for personal harnesses and rigging for 8 years (Evans)

I tied each knot in rope or webbing, and set it as tightly as possible. Then I removed
slack, and adjusted bights until they were just big enough to pass one carabiner (Petzl Am’D)
through them. One carabiner sized loop is the absolute minimum necessary for a functional knot
(excluding stopper knots). Clove hitches were tied around the spine of a carabiner (Petzl Am’D).
Once knots were tied, dressed, and set, I marked the ropes or webbing where the tails and
standing ends of the rope exited the knots. Knots were untied and the distance between the marks
were measured in centimeters. It is important to note that these measurements do not include the
tail of the knot because whoever ties a knot can adjust tail length, just as he or she can adjust the
bight length. Each knot was tied only once in each rope or webbing.
Measured lengths were normalized by the length of rope or webbing required for an
overhand knot. This calculation was performed by dividing all measured lengths for a given rope
or webbing by the length required to tie an overhand knot in that rope, and multiplying by 100.
This is helpful to understand the relative amounts of rope needed for each knot, regardless of the
manufacturer of rope or webbing.

Results:
Figure 1 depicts what the knots looked like in 11.5 mm PMI Isostatic rope and webbing
prior to measurement. All knots tied were dressed and set as tightly as depicted in Figure 1.
Table 3 reports the rope lengths measured for each knot for each rope and webbing. Table
4 shows the normalized data, with all rope and webbing lengths expressed as a percentage of the
rope required to tie an overhand knot.
Discussion and Conclusions:
Regardless of rope manufacturer, diameter, and hand, most knots used about the same
amount of rope relative to an overhand (Table 5); that is, a figure 8 in 9mm rope took as much
rope relative to an overhand in 9mm rope as a figure 8 in 11mm did. Table 5 also shows that the
variation in the amount of rope required for various knots was generally small. This suggests that
these knots, when tied tightly and dressed well, consume about the same amount of rope (relative
to the overhand) on any kind of rope regardless of its properties (stiff or light hand). The
summary table (Table 5) can thus be used as a general guide for how much rope will be needed
for a particular knot as compared to length of rope required to tie an overhand knot.

Acknowledgements:
This research would not have been possible without Sarah Truebe loaning me her ropes,
and PMI for donating rope for destructive testing which I temporarily appropriated to tie knots.
While this is not a large data set, it would have been much smaller without their help! In addition
the text was edited for content and quality by Sarah Truebe. Any mistakes or omissions remain
solely the author’s.

Bibliography:
Smith, Bruce, 1995, Myth Busting, Nylon Highway 39:6-11
(Measured the amount of rope necessary to tie a range of rigging knots. See tables on pages 10
and 11 for comparison with the work here)
Figure 1: Pictures of tied, dressed, and set knots tied in 11.5 mm PMI Isostatic rope and 1 inch tubular webbing.
11.5 mm PMI Isostatic Rope 1 Inch Tubular Military Specification Nylon Webbing
Overhand Figure 8 Overhand

Figure 8 on a Bight Double Figure 8 Overhand Bend

Directional Figure 8 Bowline with a Yosemite Finish Overhand on a Bight

Bowline with an Overhand Finish Bowline with a Barrel Knot Finish Frost Knot
Bowline on a Bight Inline Bowline with a Yosemite Finish Double Bowline

Butterfly Barrel Knot Barrel Slip Knot

Clove Hitch Clove Hitch with an Overhand Finish Clove Hitch with a Barrel Knot Finish
Table 3: Minimum rope or webbing length utilized to tie a knot (lengths in centimters).
Rope Diameter and Overhand Figure 8 Figure 8 Double Directional Bowline Bowline Bowline Bowline Inline Double Alpine Barrel Barrel Clove Clove Clove Hitch
Manufacturer on a Bight Figure 8 Figure 8 Yosemite Overhand Barrel on a Bowline Bowline Butterfly Knot Slip Hitch Hitch Barrel Knot
Safety Safety Knot Bight Yosemite Knot Overhand Safety
Safety Safety Safety
11.5 mm PMI Isostatic 15.5 21.5 64.8 96.2 42.9 52.5 51.4 65.5 64.7 98.3 95.0 46.5 25.9 37.0 22.5 38.2 50.1
11 mm PMI EZ Bend 14.9 20.9 62.2 92.5 44.5 47.2 51.2 62.2 62.0 95.8 89.4 45.4 25.2 34.8 21.1 35.2 46.4
9 mm PMI EZ Bend 11.8 16.5 50.7 78.9 35.3 38.8 41.9 50.8 52.2 78.3 75.0 37.1 20.5 29.7 18.5 30.2 40.0
11 mm PMI Pit Rope 16.8 24.4 67.6 101.9 49.1 50.6 55.8 68.6 71.6 103.0 100.9 51.0 27.2 37.4 23.8 41.1 51.1
11 mm Bluewater II 17.0 23.7 71.1 107.1 48.7 52.0 56.5 69.0 70.5 105.2 100.6 50.1 27.1 37.7 23.7 40.5 51.8
11 mm Bluewater Assault Line 19.3 27.1 75.5 123.1 53.8 57.5 58.1 73.6 70.6 114.5 115.8 55.3 30.7 40.2 26.4 42.4 54.6
9 mm Bluewater Assault Line 12.2 15.6 50.1 75.8 34.9 37.0 38.2 49.5 50.5 78.6 73.3 36.6 19.1 28.8 17.7 28.7 37.9
11 mm New England KMIII 15.9 21.2 67.1 93.8 44.9 49.3 52.0 66.3 65.2 104.9 94.4 47.6 25.6 37.7 22.9 36.7 48.5
9 mm New England KMIII 12.6 17.8 54.4 81.0 36.0 40.5 44.6 54.8 56.6 87.6 78.3 40.1 21.3 30.8 19.6 32.9 42.1
Overhand Overhand Overhand Frost
on a Bight Bend Knot

1 Inch Tubular Webbing 10.8 31.7 27.4 84.2

Table 4: Minimum rope or webbing length required to tie a knot scaled as a percentage of an overhand knot. All numbers expressed in units of percent.
Rope Diameter and Overhand Figure 8 Figure 8 Double Directional Bowline Bowline Bowline Bowline Inline Double Alpine Barrel Barrel Clove Clove Clove Hitch
Manufacturer on a Bight Figure 8 Figure 8 Yosemite Overhand Barrel on a Bowline Bowline Butterfly Knot Slip Hitch Hitch Barrel Knot
Safety Safety Knot Bight Yosemite Knot Overhand Safety
Safety Safety Safety
11.5 mm PMI Isostatic 100.0 138.7 418.1 620.6 276.8 338.7 331.6 422.6 417.4 634.2 612.9 300.0 167.1 238.7 145.2 246.5 323.2
11 mm PMI EZ Bend 100.0 140.3 417.4 620.8 298.7 316.8 343.6 417.4 416.1 643.0 600.0 304.7 169.1 233.6 141.6 236.2 311.4
9 mm PMI EZ Bend 100.0 139.8 429.7 668.6 299.2 328.8 355.1 430.5 442.4 663.6 635.6 314.4 173.7 251.7 156.8 255.9 339.0
11 mm PMI Pit Rope 100.0 145.2 402.4 606.5 292.3 301.2 332.1 408.3 426.2 613.1 600.6 303.6 161.9 222.6 141.7 244.6 304.2
11 mm Bluewater II 100.0 139.4 418.2 630.0 286.5 305.9 332.4 405.9 414.7 618.8 591.8 294.7 159.4 221.8 139.4 238.2 304.7
11 mm Bluewater Assault Line 100.0 140.4 391.2 637.8 278.8 297.9 301.0 381.3 365.8 593.3 600.0 286.5 159.1 208.3 136.8 219.7 282.9
9 mm Bluewater Assault Line 100.0 127.9 410.7 621.3 286.1 303.3 313.1 405.7 413.9 644.3 600.8 300.0 156.6 236.1 145.1 235.2 310.7
11 mm New England KMIII 100.0 133.3 422.0 589.9 282.4 310.1 327.0 417.0 410.1 659.7 593.7 299.4 161.0 237.1 144.0 230.8 305.0
9 mm New England KMIII 100.0 141.3 431.7 642.9 285.7 321.4 354.0 434.9 449.2 695.2 621.4 318.3 169.0 244.4 155.6 261.1 334.1
Overhand Overhand Overhand Frost
on a Bight Bend Knot

1 Inch Tubular Webbing 100.0 293.5 253.7 779.6

Table 5: Knot name, average rope or webbing length needed to tie a knot expressed as a percentage of an overhand knot, and the estimated range of of values expected in knot lengths as a percent.
Knot Name Overhand Figure 8 Figure 8 Double Directional Bowline Bowline Bowline Bowline Inline Double Alpine Barrel Barrel Clove Clove Clove Hitch
on a Bight Figure 8 Figure 8 Yosemite Overhand Barrel on a Bowline Bowline Butterfly Knot Slip Hitch Hitch Barrel Knot
Safety Safety Knot Bight Yosemite Knot Overhand Safety
Safety Safety Safety

Approximate Average ~100% ~136% ~411% ~630% ~288% ~318% ~328% ~408% ~407% ~644% ~614% ~302% ~165% ~230% ~147% ~240% ~311%
General Range +/- 0% +/- 10% +/- 20% +/-40% +/-11% +/-20% +/-27% +/-27% +/-42% +/-51% +/-42% +/-16% +/-9% +/-22% +/-10% +/-21% +/-28%
Overhand Overhand Overhand Frost
on a Bight Bend Knot

1 Inch Tubular Webbing 925.9 1290.8 3872.5 5833.3