View Full Version : Prusik Knot
Does anyone have a link to a site with a moving animation on how to tie a prusik knot or a set of photos and description going through the stages? I can't seem to figure it out with just a picture of the knot.
Cheers
This is the knot
http://fmg-www.cs.ucla.edu/geoff/prusik_knot.html
Here is a set of photos
http://www.ozultimate.com/canyoning/knots/prusik/
and another set
http://members.aol.com/goodheavens/prusik.html
Very easy to do ;-)
Ed
Does it have to be a knotted loop?
http://members.aol.com/goodheavens/prusik001.JPG
You could do it with 2 free ends.... why? what are you using it for?
Ed
TheViking
24-09-2004, 20:28
My guess would be that it's a reinforced cow hitch (lanyard hitch). :roll: :wink:
"The Prusik Knot is a variation of the rolling hitch."
My guess would be that it's a reinforced cow hitch (lanyard hitch). :roll: :wink:
Exactly, or a double larks head hitch ;)
Jason
TheViking
24-09-2004, 20:38
Exactly, or a double larks head hitch ;)
Jason
Yes, it has actually got 3 names. :wink: But I thought 2 had to be enough. :o):
keeping my basha taut
If you need some sort of sliding knot to keep you guy lines taut try a midshipmans hitch
http://www.troop7.org/Knots/Midshipman.html
:biggthump
Ed
not using it for the guylines, using it to keep the actual basha straight and not sagging. It goes on the ridgeline either side of the end loops
Also have a look at a Kleimheist, it is shown next to a french prusik in this document (http://www.thebmc.co.uk/safety/advice/articles/issue26_pulling.pdf) :o):
...and to add yet another small variation, the taunt line hitch (http://www.douglasbsa.com/knots/taunt.html).
is that the knot you can use to climb up a roap?
is that the knot you can use to climb up a roap?
Yep! Prussick knot is quite often used as a general term for all rope grab type knots when in fact it's only one knot. The actual prussik will grab the rope in both directions so can be a pain to slide at times, whereas most others don't.
I would second what Leon-1 says and use the Klemheist!
Interesting stuff! I havent done any rope work for years but when I was into that kinda thing I practiced crevasse rescue ascending a rope with three prussik loops and it is bloody hard work and they do tend to jam!
Ive just tried out the French Prussik and the Klemheist and neither of them are as neat or as confidence inspiring as a standard Prussik IMO! But if the BMC says theyre ok I guess they must be. As long as youre not using very thin lines I would have thought a Prussik would be fine for your Basha and its a nice clean looking hitch, in fact you might even get away with a larks head, dead simple and easy to release.
Jason
isnt there a more specialised knot.. witch only slides up (or in what ever direction you want to go in)
Tomtom
Most people would use an ascender of some sort if they know theyre going to be going up a fixed rope, as demonstrated by RM in last weeks show, when he climbed to the forest canopy. Doing it with loops is just a simple emergency method but it takes more effort!
Jason
isnt there a more specialised knot.. witch only slides up (or in what ever direction you want to go in)
The Klemheist only works in one direction and the french might snag a bit when you slide it.
Ive just tried out the French Prussik and the Klemheist and neither of them are as neat or as confidence inspiring as a standard Prussik IMO! But if the BMC says theyre ok I guess they must be.
I've prussiked using the Klemheist but wrapped around the spine of a Krab as well as the rope (Bachman?) and that is by far the best I've tried. Too much hassle for your basha though.
Stu Mac990
25-09-2004, 18:04
I'd say a clove hitch would be the simplest and best knot for your basha, if your refering to keeping the ridge line tight.
Im trying to set up my basha in the garden but am having problems with the prussik knot, do you tie the prusik knot either side of the loop with one piece of cordage or do you tie two seperate prusik knots either side then tie them together in the middle? If you tie them in the middle then hat knot do you use.
I have been trying to do it either side with one piece of cord but when i do the second one it all goes in a big mess>
:?:
I have used the prusik knot for years as a safety knot while hunting from a tree stand. It slides up and down so I am always covered while climbing into or out of a tree stand. But the knot I use above all else for tarps is the tautline hitch. Much more practical in that application than the prusik.
Im trying to set up my basha in the garden but am having problems with the prussik knot, do you tie the prusik knot either side of the loop with one piece of cordage or do you tie two seperate prusik knots either side then tie them together in the middle? If you tie them in the middle then hat knot do you use.
I have been trying to do it either side with one piece of cord but when i do the second one it all goes in a big mess>
:?:
I'm a little confused as I'm not sure how you're trying to do this.
Do you have your ridgeline then another line that you're tying the prussics in that attaches to the basha as well?
Don't worry i've sorted it now i was trying to tie a prussik knot either side of the end loops but then i thought that i should just have one prussik knot and tie the free ends to the end loop and now it's ok.
Don't worry i've sorted it now i was trying to tie a prussik knot either side of the end loops but then i thought that i should just have one prussik knot and tie the free ends to the end loop and now it's ok.
Oh I get you now.
Glad you got it sorted! :-)
Although the knot i used to tie the free ends to the loop isn't very secure so i would be grateful for any knot suggestions.
Hey Scott - there's dozens of ways you might do this but why not try this method and see if it works for you. Sorry that it's very step-by-step, but it's easier for me to explain this way :
First, I assume you have a nylon tape loop sewn at each end of the "ridge" of your basha. Maybe one in the middle of the tarp too - to stop the middle of the ridge sagging. If you don't, then read on anyway and see my comments at the end.
1. Thread your ridge cord through each tape loop in turn so that the basha hangs underneath the ridge cord from the 2 or 3 tape loops.
2. Hanging the tarp underneath will help to stop the ridge cord rubbing any proofing or coating off the tarp fabric.
3. Tie the ridge cord between 2 trees or whatever to rig the tarp - it'll be fine, just not taught along the ridge.
4. Get yourself 2 bits of cord to make the prussik loops - I'd guess 12 to 18 inches long will be ample. Use 2mm or 3mm cord for this depending on your ridge cord, the prussic loop has to be much thinner than the ridge.
5. Use some simple overhand knot to make each thin cord into a loop. Don't do this too tight because you're going to undo them again in a minute.
6. Fasten the thin loops around the ridge with a prussik knot. One at each end of the tarp, between the tarp and the tree.
7. Get the prussiks just right.
8. Then doing one end at a time, undo the simple knot that closes your prussik loop, pass one end through the tape loop at that end of the tarp's ridge and knot the loop closed properly this time.
9. As soon as you've done this, you can pull the prussik knots outward to tension the basha along the ridge.
The trick is, once you've set all this up, you don't undo it. You leave the ridge cord threaded through the loops on the tarp and the prussik loops tied around the ridge cord. Just unfasten from the trees and roll it all up. This makes pitching really quick.
If you want to get fancy, put a short loop of strong shockcord between one prussik loop and the end of the tarp, then once tightened, the elastic will take up any slack if the tarp gets wet and stretches.
If your tarp doesn't have tape loops stitched on and uses eyelets instead, you should tie very short loops into the eyes so the tarp can be slung under the ridge cord as described. The pussiks loops are set up the same way but tied directly into the eyelets instead.
If you don't already know it, learn the double fishermans knot. This is the best knot of all to join two rope ends together into a permanent loop. This is what I'd use to close the prussik loops permenantly once they''re threaded onto the tarp.
Lastly, this approach tackles hanging the tarp from the ridge and tightening it as two separate jobs. This is essentially the way hennessy approach it with their hammocks. You could use the prussik loops to suspend as well as tension the tarp but I like my way best. Have fun experimenting and you decide for yourself. :wink:
All the best,
Double fisherman's (or single fisherman's if you're running out of line).
Re-adjust the prussic so that the knot isn't on the basha loop.
Ok will make the adjustments, thanks guys!
dchinell
18-10-2004, 15:32
Here's how I rig my tarp (basha) when hammock camping. I use three knots: bowline, tautline, and lark's head. I use standard 7-strand paracord for everything.
I start with the ridge line. At each end, I loop the line around the tree, then tie it with a tautline. (The free end of the rope gets tied onto the standing part.) The tautlines make it possible to tighten the ridgeline to almost any tension desired. Looping the line around the trunk makes it simple to slide the ridgeline up and down the trunk, so I can pitch everything high in fair weather, but lower it quickly if it starts to rain.
I drape the tarp over the ridgeline. I use a square tarp, 8 x 8 ft, and pitch it on the diagonal. That is to say, two corners of the tarp are attached to the ridge line, and two are tied to tent pegs.
I tie the tree corners to 12-ft lengths of paracord using a bowline. I do this to create a loop that I'll need later. I wrap the line once around the tree, just above the ridgeline, pass the running end through the loop made by the bowline, and tie the running end to the ridgeline, again with a tautline hitch.
I can still slide the whole deal up and down the tree trunks, and I can tighten the tarp without going out from under it -- very convenient in light rains or winds at two in the morning.
Finally, I attach 12-ft lengths of paracord to the side corners of the tarp, using a tautline hitch, leaving about a foot of loop for adjustment purposes. I throw a lark's head around the tent peg, walk out to tension the line, and sink the peg into the ground.
Again, having the tautline hitches at the tarp end of these lines lets me tension the tarp by reaching out from underneath the tarp.
That's it.
I don't leave my lines tied to the tarp to ensure that I wear it evenly by alternating which corners do what, and to keep in practice with the knots.
Bear