Four Knots You Need to Know for Camping
Knots solve problems in the wilderness. Knowing the right knot at the right time can make your trip more comfortable, bolster your morale, and even save a life. This is a list of the four most indispensable knots to know while camping, hiking, backpacking, or partaking in any wilderness activity.
These knots complement one another in function and form. With a bit of practice, these four knots can be committed to memory rather easily. Knowledge of these knots will get you through a variety of frequently encountered scenarios on a wilderness journey.
Materials
You are well-advised to carry some form of cordage on any wilderness expedition, or even on a simple camping trip. One of the most popular forms of cordage brought into the wilderness is 550 Paracord. It has good tensile strength, and is relatively inexpensive.
Another popular alternative (or supplement) to Paracord is the even-less-expensive Bank Line. This is a tarred nylon line that will sustain extended exposure to the elements. Its tensile strength is lower than that of Paracord, but it is nonetheless sufficient for most uses around camp. The most popular thickness among outdoor enthusiasts is #36 bank line.
Let's move onto the knots themselves!
1. The Slip Knot/Marlinespike Hitch
This simple knot is useful both on its own, and as a building block for other knots. We will use it later to tie the Bowline with the "Snap Bowline" method, as well as the Trucker's Hitch.
The Slip Knot forms a slipping loop that comes undone when tension is applied to the ends of the line. It can be tied in under two seconds with minimal practice.
To tie the Slip Knot, begin by crossing the line over itself to form a loop:
Next, take a bight of the line from beside the loop, and feed it through the loop as shown. Dress the knot by tightening any slack in the line, and the knot is complete.
The Marlinespike Hitch is identical to the slip knot, with the addition of a "spike" or toggle placed through the slipping loop.
To tie a Marlinespike Hitch, create a Slip Knot as shown above, then insert some form of handle into the slipping loop. In the wilderness, most often this handle will be a straight stick/toggle collected from the landscape.
The Marlinespike can be used as a handle to gain purchase on a line that needs tightening or pulling. A useful application of the Marlinespike Hitch is the creation of a Gear Hanger, which we will learn after we introduce the Bowline Knot.
2. The Bowline
The Bowline Knot is a loop of a fixed length at the end of a rope. It is a versatile and easy-to-tie knot.The "traditional" method of tying a Bowline uses a mnemonic involving a rabbit, a hole, and a tree. Instead, we'll use the "Snap Bowline" tying method since it is faster, allows you to better judge the size of the resulting loop, and uses the familiar Slip Knot from above.
To tie a Bowline using the "Snap Bowline" method, begin by creating a Slip Knot near the end of the line on which you want to create a loop. Leave the Slip Knot somewhat loose, as we will need the line to "snap" through it to complete the knot.
Once you've created a Slip Knot, feed the end of line through the Slip Knot loop as shown. You may feed the line through either side of the Slip Knot loop to create a Bowline, with the only difference being that one direction gives you a "Cowboy Bowline" or "Dutch Bowline", and the other direction gives you a standard Bowline.
To finish the knot, pull on the new loop you create by feeding the end of the line through the Slip Knot loop. This will form the Bowline loop. Pull until the line snaps through your Slip Knot, and the Bowline is complete.
One of the most useful variations of the Bowline is the Running Bowline. This is where you feed the end of the line around an object (such as a tree), and then through the Bowline loop. We will now employ a Running Bowline together with a Marlinespike Hitch to create a Gear Hanger.
Gear Hanger with Running Bowline & Marlinespike Hitch
To create a handy hanger for your backpack or other gear, get a piece of cordage about 6 feet in length. Tie a bowline to one end of the line. Tip: I recommend leaving small Bowline Knots tied at the end of every line you bring along on a trip. This allows for quick deployment of Running Bowlines, pot hangers, or loop-to-loop joins.
With a Bowline tied to one end of the line, wrap the line around a tree, and feed the free end of the line through the Bowline loop to create a Running Bowline, as shown below.
Grab the line coming out of the Bowline loop, and create a Slip Knot. When making the Slip Knot, using a bight from above the knot (as shown) tends to do a better job of holding your gear.
Feed a stick through the Slip Knot you just created. The stick should be large enough in diameter to bear the weight of the gear you wish to hang. You have now created a Marlinespike Hitch that can be used as a hanger.
Finally, insert the stick through the handle of the gear you wish to hang.
3. The Trucker's Hitch
The Trucker's Hitch allows you to create a line under tension, which can be used as a ridge line for a tarp, or a clothes line. By creating a pulley out of the line itself using a Slip Knot, we gain mechanical advantage on the line to pull it taut.
To tie the Trucker's Hitch, one end of your line must first be fixed (for instance, tied to a nearby tree using a Running Bowline as we did for the Gear Hanger).
Wrap the working end around a tree (or any fixed object), and pull the line taut. Then, about 2-3 feet from the tree, tie a Slip Knot into the taut line as shown.
Feed the working end of the line back through the Slip Knot you just created. The Slip Knot will act as a pulley to help bring the line under tension.
Pull back forcefully on the line until it is sufficiently taut.
You must "lock in" this tension by pinching the line with one hand while you finish the knot, as shown below.
We will secure the Trucker's Hitch using a quick-release Halter Hitch. Grab a bight from the working end, and bring it over the line to create a loop. Feed the bight back up through this loop, and pull the bight towards where your finger is pinching the line to keep it taut. It may take some practice to fasten the knot without losing tension.
The Trucker's Hitch is now complete.
To untie the Trucker's Hitch, simply pull on the free line dangling from the Halter Hitch, and disassemble the knot:
4. The Taut Line Hitch
Not only is the Taut Line Hitch the namesake of our website, it's also a useful tool around camp! This knot allows you to create a variable-tension line. It is most useful for securing guy lines on a tarp or tent, so that you can adjust the tension of each guy line as needed.
To tie the Taut Line Hitch, the standing end of the line must be fixed to another object so that the line can be brought under tension (as with the Trucker's Hitch).
Wrap the working end around a tree or fixed object. Loop the working end around the line towards the "inside" (i.e. towards the tree), then loop it again towards the inside.
After the two "inside" loops are created, we will finish the knot with an "outside" loop. A mnemonic to help remember this knot's structure is "inside, inside, outside."
Cross the working end over the knot towards the outside (the side away from the tree), and loop it under and around the line as shown.
Dress the knot by pulling tight any remaining slack. The Taut Line Hitch is now complete. To tighten, slide the knot away from the tree so that there is more doubled line, and thus a tighter line. To loosen, slide the knot towards the tree.
Further Reading
This set of knots will cover many of your needs in the wild. There exist plenty of other knots that may also serve you well, for instance: the Prusik Knot, Lashing knots, the Canadian Jam, the Reef Knot, the Clove Hitch, and the Constrictor Knot, to name a few.
Those wishing to further broaden their repertoire of knots should consider the following materials:
The Ashley Book of Knots
The de facto reference book on knots. A classic that belongs in the library of any knot enthusiast.
SAS Survival Guide: How to Survive in the Wild, on Land or Sea
Not only does this book provide information on useful knots in the context of wilderness survival, it contains a plethora of other useful information about survival techniques.
POCKET FIELD GUIDE: Survival Knots: Volume I
A pocket-sized field guide you can carry on a wilderness trek.
As an Amazon Affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.