Useful knots for tarp shelters?

[Taurinor]

Or any knots you folks have found useful a-rangering, really.

The reason I ask is that I got a oilskin tarp over the holidays, and when I was messing around with setting it up, I realized that I didn't know knots suitable for some of the tie-off configurations that I wanted to use.

Here's the set-up I was using:


I found this video demonstrating it, and thought it was very cool!


Anyways, once I realized I didn't know enough knots, I went to the internet to do some research (animatedknots.com is awesome, btw). The knots I ended up using were:

the Constrictor knot (at the top of the pole)


the Alpine Butterfly loop (in the center of the pole guyline to form a trucker hitch knot to adjust the tension)


and (of course) the Square knot (in the back to give more height to the shelter).


This got me wondering, are there any simple knots that you all use often that you would recommend knowing? I know that there's a knot (or hitch or bend) for just about everything, but what are some tried-and-true favorites?

[Ursus]

Great looking set up! Knots have always been one of my weak points, thanks for sharing!

[Greg]

The "Constrictor", as it's called there, is known in the mountaineering/climbing/challenge course world as a half-fisherman's knot, or commonly a "finisher". It's used to tie off the tailing end of a knot that's going to be life-supporting (ie. you tie a figure eight knot that's going to be attached directly to your harness via carabiner, and then tie the tag end to the rope itself with a finisher to support it and prevent untying. It's a useful knot, but it doesn't have to be that complicated, if it's being used to simply secure the tarp to the top of your pole. I'd start with several wraps, and then finish it off with a clove hitch over the top.

The butterfly is VERY useful, as it adds a loop into your line without adding a bend in the rope...the rope stays completely in-line with itself, and the weight stays where it should be. I fully support the butterfly...

BUT: using it as part of a trucker's hitch is fine and dandy if you have really secure stakes on the other end to crank down on. The 2-to-1 ratio that it provides to help you cinch down your line can rip a stake right out of the ground. We're trying to get our tarp taut...not trying to secure a christmas tree to the top of a station wagon. I'd recommend instead learning the taut-line hitch...it's an adjustable slip hitch that lets you change tension on your line without having to tie yet another knot to secure it after you've got it snug.

Square knot for the win. Gotta know it, gotta love it. Just make sure it's dressed properly (looks just like that picture)...it's VERY common to twist it halfway through tying.

Cool stuff! Though it doesn't pertain to tarp shelters all the time, you can't go wrong with knowing the bowline...that'd be worth looking up.

[Taurinor]

I'd recommend instead learning the taut-line hitch...it's an adjustable slip hitch that lets you change tension on your line without having to tie yet another knot to secure it after you've got it snug.

I just looked that one up and tried it. It's so cool! Here's a diagram of it that was helpful for me - I had a hard time understanding some other ones:

[ineffableone]

Prusik knot is a highly useful knot for securing tarps to the ridge line


Animated how to can be found here http://www.netknots.com/rope_knots/prusik-knot/



Trucker's hitch is also a very useful one (often used to tension a tarp ridge line around a tree trunk)

A good animated explanation at this site http://www.netknots.com/rope_knots/truckers-hitch/
This site actually is a great resource for knots, and I have their little key chain knot guide for field reference for how to tie knots. http://www.netknots.com/rope_knots/

This is a good video with 8 useful bushcraft knots

Knot 1 : Overhand Knot or Thumb Knot
Knot 2 : Figure of 8
Knot 3 : Reef Knot
Knot 4 : Sheet Bend
Knot 5 : Clove Hitch
Knot 6 : Bowline
Knot 7 : Timber Hitch
Knot 8 : Sheep Shank

This is a good 3 part video series on useful knots. One of my favorite bushcraft video makers BTW.

[Greg]

The prussik is a very useful knot (and tool), but I'd find it a bit redundant/excessive for a tarp/tent setup, main problem being that you have to have a dedicated length of rope just for the prussik loop shown there (which, incidentally, is tied using two of those "finishers", or half-fisherman's knots), plus another length of rope to tie to it, extendig it to an anchor, etc. That's a lot of material for an application that could easily use a lark's-head-knot with a free-hanging end tied off or something similar.

Also, the diagram of the prussik shown there is a bit excessive...only two wraps around the pole are really needed to achieve the desired results...a triple-wrapped prussik might well be used for towing heavier cables, etc. in a challenge course format, but I've used a twice-wrapped prussik as a live-holding belay device countless times, so for what it's worth, you needn't over-wrap.

Sorry if it seems like I'm ganging up on you here...didn't mean to. Just trying to help with efficiency...knots are kind-of a specialty of mine.

[ineffableone]

The prussik is a very useful knot (and tool), but I'd find it a bit redundant/excessive for a tarp/tent setup, main problem being that you have to have a dedicated length of rope just for the prussik loop shown there (which, incidentally, is tied using two of those "finishers", or half-fisherman's knots), plus another length of rope to tie to it, extendig it to an anchor, etc. That's a lot of material for an application that could easily use a lark's-head-knot with a free-hanging end tied off or something similar.

Also, the diagram of the prussik shown there is a bit excessive...only two wraps around the pole are really needed to achieve the desired results...a triple-wrapped prussik might well be used for towing heavier cables, etc. in a challenge course format, but I've used a twice-wrapped prussik as a live-holding belay device countless times, so for what it's worth, you needn't over-wrap.

Sorry if it seems like I'm ganging up on you here...didn't mean to. Just trying to help with efficiency...knots are kind-of a specialty of mine.

No worries. Most folks I know who use the prussik knot for tarps have them pre attached to the ridge line. They have a favorite tarp shelter set up they use time after time and have some basic lines set in tie down points and ready to go. This prep work makes setting the tarp up extremely fast and easy.