Knots
There are three knots you should know:
- Figure eight (and figure nine)
- Tape knot
- Joining two ropes by threading
Use the rethreaded figure eight
Also useful are
- Italian hitch
- Double Fishermans
- Clove hitch
- Prusik knot
Make your own Prusiks
Decide on the length you require, e.g. 30cm and 60cm are a useful size for a pair of prusiks. Length is measured as the internal length of a prusik lying flat with cord parallel. Material required for a 30cm prusik is 30cm + 30cm + 40cm for the knots, i.e. a total of 100cm. Similarly for a 60cm prusik, 60 + 60 + 40 = 160cm.
6mm cord is used, occasionally cavers use 7mm cord for wet and dirty conditions.
- cut the cord to length
- melt or otherwise protect then ends from fraying
- follow the Fishermans Knot diagram above to complete your prusik
Make your own Sling
Decide on the length you require, e.g. 1m and 1.5m are a useful sizes. Length is measured as the internal length of a sling lying flat with tape parallel. Material required for a 1m sling is 1m + 1m + 40cm for the knots, i.e. a total of 2.4m. Similarly for a 1.5m sling, 1.5 + 1.5 + 0.4 = 3.4m.
26mm tubular tape is used.
- cut the tape to length
- melt or otherwise protect then ends from fraying
- follow the Tape Knot diagram above to complete your sling
- ensure there is at least a 5cm tail
- use a permanent marker to mark the length, and your name, on the sling
See also
- NZSS knots
- Caving Knots
- Rigging knots from Manchester University Speleology Club