fall thereby minimising shock load on the
Knots Every Operator Needs To
know
Introduction
Whether you are preparing for special forces
selection or just want to upskill your life, rope-
work and knots are a must have skillset.
Special forces across the world require their
operators to maintain high level expertise of
roping and with good reason. Mission sets
often make use of roping whether its
rappelling down a building, doing a cliff
assault, rope extraction under a helicopter or
just tying down cargo for a road move.
But even in civilian life rope skills are a great
thing to have. Every outdoorsman knows the
value of a few key knots, especially in a
survival situation. Mountaineers, climbers,
tree loppers and those guys who clean
windows on high rise buildings all use ropes
every day. If you are gardening around the
home, camping, fishing or want to teach your
kids a cool skill then knowing the right knot
will go a long way.
Scope
Knots don’t stand alone in the roping skillset.
In this article I will address common types of
rope and the key knots that every operator
and outdoorsman should know. Knowing how
and when to use a knot or hitch when setting
up an anchor point for belaying, joining 2
pieces of rope correctly or setting a “z” pulley
to gain mechanical advantage are all examples
of using knots in the field and are topics for
further study.
Rope & Tape
Ropes for climbing come in 2 basic forms,
dynamic and static. Static rope has minimal
stretch properties and is used for roping
activities and anchor systems. Dynamic rope is
designed to stretch and is used for climbing
activities, it’s ability to stretch means that if a
climber falls it will dissipate the force of the
anchors and the climber.
Tape is essentially a form of static rope that is
flat webbing rather than being typical round
rope. It is often used for improvised harnesses
as the flat profile is far more comfortable for
the user.
Ropes used in climbing and roping are of
kernmantle construction. The name
kernmantle refers to the way the rope is
constructed, the “kern” is the core of the rope
and the “mantle” is the sheath. The kern
provides most of the strength of the rope and
should be at least 50% of the weight of the
rope. The mantle is a braided covering over
the kern which provides protection to the
kern and improves handling for the user.
For safety reasons it is vitally important that
ropes used for climbing or roping are regularly
inspected by experienced/qualified climbers
or roping professionals. If you don’t know the
history of piece of rope it is unadvisable to use
it for any climbing or roping activity. When
inspecting ropes for safe use you are looking
for signs of external wear, local areas of
abrasion, cuts and nicks, discoloration in the
sheath that might be caused by chemicals
such as bleach and any sign of excess heat
exposure such as melting or disfigurement. An
experienced roper will feel the rope as they
are coiling it feeling for lumps, bumps or gaps
in the kern that indicate rope damage.
Knowing the rope history is important as
shock loading such as a climber taking a fall
may render the rope unsafe, manufacturers
set guidelines on all their ropes as to the
number and severity of falls that a rope is able
to withstand before it becomes unsafe.
Knots & Hitches
In rope-craft there are knots and hitches. A
knot is where the rope is fastened by looping
and tying the rope against itself or another
rope. A hitch is a connection like a knot, but
the rope is looped and tied to another object
such as a post or beam.
Rope-craft has specific terminology, and this is

listed below.

Term Definition
Bight A bend in a rope that doesn’t cross itself.
Loop A bend in a rope that crosses itself.

Overhand loop A loop formed by bringing the hand forward and down, passing the running
end in front of the standing end.
A loop formed by bringing the hand forward and up, passing the running end
Underhand loop
behind the standing end.
The end of the rope that is free and not attached to an anchor point. May be
Running end
attached to a person/load and referred to as working end.
Standing end The end of the rope secured to an anchor point
Tail The section of the standing or working end left over after a hitch or knot.

Knots 6. Rethread figure of eight,

There are literally thousands of knots out 7. Double and triple fisherman’s knot,
there but for a special forces operator there 8. Bowline,
are only a handful of regularly used knots that 9. Bowline on the bight,
will be useful for almost any roping task 10. Alpine butterfly,
imaginable. 11. Prusik,
12. French prusik,
These knots are the: 13. Klemheist,
14. Bachman, and;
1. Overhand or thumb knot,
15. Dix knot more commonly called a
2. Tape Knot,
truckie’s hitch.
3. Reef knot,
4. Figure of eight,
5. Figure of eight on the bight,
The overhand or thumb knot- A thumb knot is
about as simple as they come, it is generally
used as a stopper on the tail or in the
formation of other knots. Follow this link for a
video of how to tie the thumb knot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkadvVPA
Nis

The tape knot- This knot, which utilises the

thumb knot in its formation is used to tie the
ends of tape together. Follow the link for a
video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OxmKi_c
RYw

The reef knot- Reef knots are used to join

ropes of equal diameter together. They are not
to be used as part of a system loaded with a
climber or other person and should always be
secured with a thumb knot or fisherman’s knot
to secure the ends. Follow the link for a video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnZUCvqk
sFA
The figure of eight- a figure of eight on the
trace can be used as a stopper knot in the same
way that the thumb knot is and is easier to undo
after being loaded. The primary use though for
the figure of eight is in the formation of a re-
thread figure of eight. Follow the link for a
video. Note- the knot is complete at 1min
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh3eKugf0
Ho
Figure of eight on the bight- The figure of eight
on the bight is used to form a loop in the rope.
This loop can be used for load bearing such as
in the formation of an anchor point Follow the
link for a video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbB85p_u
JsE
Re-thread figure of eight- The re-thread figure
of eight creates the identical knot as the figure
of eight on the bight but allows for the rope to
be tied around an object like a tree of into a
harness. Follow the link for a video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1GzrRYcr
M8
 Double & Triple fisherman’s bend- the
fisherman’s bend is used to join 2 ropes of
equal diameter. A common use for this knot is
to join the ends of a prusik loop. The triple
fisherman’s is more secure than the double.
Follow the links for video tutorials.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHUv-
oOMwRA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRmdhXV
2IhM
Bowline- The bowline is an ancient knot. It is
reasonably secure and easy to untie after
loading. With practice it can be tied around the
waist one handed for use as a rescue harness. If
used as an anchor it needs to backed up with a
double fisherman’s knot in the tail of the rope.
Follow the link for a video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9NqGd7
464U
Bowline on the bight- The bowline on the bight
forms 2 fixed loops. It can be used to provide a
foothold in a climbing rope or to create an
emergency harness when hauling someone to
safety. Follow the link for a video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzE89JBmL
wo
Alpine butterfly- The Alpine butterfly is used to
create a loop on the bight of a rope. It is
distinctly useful in that it can be tied without
having access to either end of the rope such as
making a clip in point on a rope when climbing
or during glacier travel. It is a load bearing knot
that can take a load at 90 degrees to the
direction in which the rope is running. Follow
the link for a video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwffvlkGl
wo
Prusik- the Prusik knot is a friction knot
thatessentially grips the rope that it is tied to. It
can be used in many situations and is a must
have in the arsenal of any roping practitioner.
As a rule the prusik loop must be at least 4mm
less in diameter than the rope it is gripping, if
not then extra wraps need to be added. Follow
the link for a video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFHxQ5fi
UvI
French Prusik- The French Prusik is also a
friction knot. It works in the same way as the
Prusik knot however instead of being looped
around itself it is wrapped up to 7 times around
 the rope and then the ends are secured to a
karabiner. Follow the link for a video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsMpEn5
U1NA
Klemheist- The Klemheist is very similar to the
french Prusik except that the lower bight is
looped through the upper bight instead of
having both loops attached directly to a
karabiner. Follow the link for a video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whFUyeo5
jH4
Bachman- the Bachman is similar to a prusik in
that it is a friction knot. A major difference
though I the use of a karabiner wrapped with
the rope which can be very useful as a handle
during ascending or haulage. Follow the link for
a video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCCvOTyY
4O8
Dix Knot (Truckie’s hitch)- the Dix knot or
truckie’s hitch can be usd to tension ropes. It is
commonly used to tie down crago loads on
vehicles. In essence the dix knot creates a 2:1
mechanical advantage. Follow the link for a
video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxOWV4iLt
Q4

Hitches
As with Knots there are innumerable hitches 1. Clove hitch
available, but it is a core handful of 2. Round turn and two half hitches
indispensable hitches that need to make their 3. Italian or Munter hitch
way into the toolbox of a special operator. 4. Girth hitch

Clove hitch- the clove hitch is used to fix a rope

to a pole, karabiner or bollard. It is expedient
and useful in many circumstances however it
can’t be used as an anchor knot on its own.
Follow the link for a video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a58xEj9EG
4c
Round turn and two half hitches- the round
turn and two half hitches is a fast and simple
hitch mainly used to secure a dix knot under
tension. Follow the link for a video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0PHGKH
yfs8
 Italian/Munter hitch- The Munter hitch is a
means to exert friction on a rope with a
karabiner. It forms a method of belaying
without a descender. Follow the link for a
video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HNCXTW
ojnI
Girth hitch-The girth hitch is a simple hitch for
securing a rope to an object like a rod, bar or
pole. Follow the link for a video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhFmIKx
W4lw

Where to Now
Armed with this knowledge get a piece of rope and practice these knots until you are comfortable to
tie them without referring to any guide. Remember this is just the tip of the iceberg, application of
these knots for roping activities, coiling ropes
and climbing are all topics for future study.
Get out and go on a caving or abseiling
adventure but make sure that you always
receive qualified instruction or work under
the supervision of an experienced roper as
there is a very real risk of death or injury
when climbing and roping.

Until next time stay safe and get out there.