Page Contents:
Overview
A “bend” is a type of knot which joins two ends, and is used to:
- Tie two lines together to make a longer line
- Tie two ends of the same line together to make a closed loop.
Favorite Bends
This section captures the bends that JRB uses most frequently and recommends that climbers have memorized.
Hunter’s Bend
The Hunter’s Bend (also known as the Rigger’s Bend) is strong, compact, easy to tie, easy to inspect and not impossible to untie when seeing normal load, such as those seen in low slack rope climbing applications.
Alpine Butterfly Bend
The Alpine Butterfly bend can be used instead of the Hunter’s Bend, and is preferred in some applications. Climbers are advised to know them both.
Other Useful Bends
This section captures other useful bends, although they might not be tied on as regular a basis as those listed above.
Water Knot
When working with webbing, a Water Knot is the standard. The water knot is very simple and is the same as a Flat Overhand Bend, just tied with webbing:
Sliding Double / Triple Fisherman’s Knot
JRB occasionally uses the Sliding Double or Triple Fisherman’s Knot in specific applications, including the “Best Friend” loop in the Garda Hitch Footloop. It can be untied by pulling one loop through, where the non-sliding version is basically impossible to untie after normal loading.
Slipped Overhand Bend
For trivial applications where the bend needs to be easily removed, a slipped overhand bend works great and can be locked to avoid unintentional removal.
Hunter’s, Zeppelin & Alpine Butterfly
This video shows some similarities, differences and mistakes that can be made in tying these three popular bends.
Triple Fisherman’s Knot
The Triple Fisherman’s knot is extremely strong and basically impossible to untie. It should only be used in applications where the knot does not need to be removed.