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Re: [herites] Bowline or figure eight?:
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mike-f
May 16, 2012, 4:19 PM
Views: 9434
Registered: May 13, 2012
Posts: 7
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Ever had déjà vu? :) Try this: www.trailspace.com/forums/climbing/topics/25044.html - that was nearly ten years ago! I'm not fussed which knot is used as long as it’s tied correctly. Knot strength is not an issue: if it was we'd be needing stronger ropes. In the UK most clubs will accept a bowline with a stopper (double overhand) tied into the loop, but a simple bowline is not a good climbing knot. It 'capsizes' far too easily and becomes a slip knot. A more important discussion might be 'Do we need a stopper knot?' My instructor friends always say 'leave enough end to tie a stopper - then you don't need one'. I would argue 'always tie a stopper'. It is a back-up, 'belt and braces', if the tie-in knot is mis-tied it may save your life, but the main reason is that if a novice sees you doing it they will do it - and it certainly might save their life. Rock climbing on a nice day is very different from mountaineering, possibly freezing cold, numb fingers, and taking a fall on a wet rope with light fading. Time can be critical to survival. The last thing you want is an iced up figure eight you can't undo. If you want to read some seriously well thought out advice on the topic, I'd recommend 'The Mountaineering Handbook' by Craig Connally. It's a great book to dip into, especially when it's raining and the climbing's cancelled! :). My preference is usually a yosemite bowline with a stopper. It's easy to tie, easy to untie, easy to inspect and it's protected: you can even tie it quickly one-handed. However, I sometimes climb with an Australian who always uses a re-threaded bowline plus stopper. That ends up like a bowline on a bight, a bit like re-threading a figure eight but with two loops through the harness (some say that two loops reduces wear and strain on the harness). It won't capsize but it does use more rope and that has been an issue more than once! It's bad form to clip in to the belayer's loop, but in an emergency it's better than dying! This will 'ringload' the knot and a figure eight may fail, they should never be ringloaded (not a problem for the modified bowline). Finally, which way do you thread your harness? It's something that's rarely mentioned, but good practice suggests 'ALWAYS thread from the top'. When you're tired it's easy to make mistakes, if you're stressed as well you can do things you just don't believe you did. It's surprisingly easy to miss a loop: I've seen people do it, I've done it myself. If you do, it's far safer to be hanging from the waistband than upside down from the leg loops....
(This post was edited by mike-f on May 16, 2012, 4:42 PM)
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Post edited by mike-f
() on May 16, 2012, 4:42 PM
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