Nick O'Law

The Zeppelin Bend is the best, strongest survival knot one can possibly use for joining two lines of similar diameter. It is very unlikely to slip open or jam shut, and can be untied fairly easily having been loaded (though like most bends, not while loaded). Additional Information Step 1. Make a bight in the […]

Invented by bushcraft master Mors Kochanski, the Flip Flop Winch is an improvised winch for pulling large loads. It’s a wonderful piece of bush ingenuity, and easily powerful enough to pull a car out of a ditch. Well worth learning. The Flip Flop Winch uses only a length of strong line and two stout sticks,

The Figure of Eight on a bight is a very strong mid loop, where the two ends come out of the knot parallel, so it is best used when the direction of the load from the knot towards the ends is similar for both ends, and the knot is loaded away from them (see comparison

This is a method for tying a bowline, good if you want to make the loop itself up really fast, but have some time to prepare in advance: if you were setting some kind of snare or trap for example. If you leave a long working end after the slipknot, you can choose how big

This is probably the most useful hitch in the book, and one of the simplest too. It is used to secure the end of a rope to a strong point. Its strength is in the round turn (the two wraps around what it is tied to) and the two half hitches are there to keep

The Kalmyk loop is a great all-purpose quick-release loop knot. It will hold securely until the working end is pulled (when it will open up) and can be used more conveniently where one might otherwise use a bowline or other fixed loop. The Kalmyk Loop is technically a slipped Eskimo Bowline. The standard Bowline is

The Versatackle is a self-locking mechanical advantage system with line. It can be used wherever a very tight line, or system with variable tension might be useful: tying out tarps, setting up hammocks, building rope bridges, lashing down equipment etc. That it is self-locking is enough to recommend it, but it also provides much more

The Clove Hitch is a simple hitch for securing a line to a post or pole or other round object, somewhat larger than the diameter of the line. In most situations the round turn and two half hitches will do just as well, and the clove hitch is known to fail when tied on square

Named for a nomadic ethnic group living in the Russian steppes, this knot is similar to the bowline, but is ‘quick release’, meaning a bight (instead of the working end) is put through the final step, and the working end can be pulled to immediately open the knot. This knot could also be referred to

“The Bowline is the king of knots, or if you like it, bends A Bowline on a bollard is the best of journey’s ends” –A. P. Herbert, British novelist The Bowline (pronounced ‘BO-lin’) is probably the most useful you could ever learn, hence the quoted poem. The Bowline is best for attaching a line securely