Know what my two favorite hitches are?

R

Ron

Location
Chattanooga
EDIT:
I think I'd better be more specific: I'm talking in reference to arborist type ropes and cordage - i.e. very supple ropes and cordage. If you try the hitches I'm about to disclose on stiff rope, you're probably gonna wind up on the ground prematurely!

With any rope that is characteristically stiffer, I only use a figure 8 on a bight or a double figure 8 (bunny knot - B8). ------ end edit

And now, back to the originally scheduled programming:

I.e. a non-friction hitch that would be used to attach rope or cordage to say a ring or something.

I know lots of knots, hitches, and bends, but these two have come to be, by far, my favorites and I use them more than any other knot.

For example, I use one of them to attach my climbing rope to a delta screw link to cinch a limb for SRT. I typically use one of them to attach footloops to ascenders because it is so easy to adjust the length of the footloop to a specific climber.

Any idea yet? Well, the number one is the anchor hitch. That's the one I use to attach my climbing rope to a delta for limb cinching (choking). It's also the one I use to connect footloops to ascenders or screwlinks - it makes adjustment so easy.

The other is the Buntline hitch. I don't use it as much as I use the anchor hitch but it's number two. As far as I'm concerned, all other hitches are a distant third to these two. They both are very compact and take a minimum amount of rope/cordage to tie.

Ironically, both of these hitches are very simple hitches, but it is also quite easy to tie them incorrectly. Even as much as I use them, I still focus on tying them and inspect them carefully to be sure I've tied them correctly.

The anchor hitch takes up some space on the connector due to its two wraps, but if I have the room I use the anchor. If I don't have room for the two wraps of the anchor, then I go to the Buntline.

If you decide to try these, it's up to you to evaluate the security of the hitch for your application and keep in mind an inproperly tied knot is, well, an improperly tied knot.
 
I like the anchor also. Quick and easy. No roll out that I have ever seen and compact. But it has been a while since I have tied one. Spliced eye or SRT for me. The anchor also seems easier to teach people to tie compared to say a bowline.
 
Actually the anchor and Buntline are pretty equal to me. The big thing with the anchor is it is very easy to adjust. If the application doesn't need adjustment, that asset kinda goes away

But it lays really fair with the ring it's tied to - and the Buntline is pretty close in size, amount of rope required to tie, it just doesn't lay quite as tight to the ring. But, understand, that's really, really nit pickin'.

I'll try to post some pics tomorrow.
 
So I youtubed it, and watched an ISA vid. And they was showing it as a good termination knot. So this is good for life support also? (if tied correctly)
 
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So I youtubed it, and watched an ISA vid. And they was showing it as a good termination knot. So this is good for life support also? (if tied correctly)

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Not sure which 'it' you meant, but I personally use both for life support, but I can't say it does or does not have some kind of 'approval'.

I use the anchor hitch and the Buntline and lot and sometimes I tie an overhand knot, not an F8, in the tail, NOT as a backup, but as a way to determine if the knot is 'moving' or creeping. I have yet to see any indication of creep after the initial set from loading.

Since I do SRT pitches because they're fun and interesting, I keep an anchor hitch tied to a delta on each end of my rope. Hence I get to see a lot of load-unload-reload cycles on the anchor hitch and I see no creep, slippage, or loosening whatsoever.

But to add perspective, or perhaps confusion, I would not use an anchor hitch in rescue applications, but the reason may be surprising. I would mostly use F8s on a bight or double F8s (bunny knot or B8). Here's why:

First, the loading in rescue endeavors can be considerably higher than non-rescue activities, but that's not why I wouldn't use an anchor hitch in a rescue application. There are actually two reasons. One, generally, rescue ropes are static ropes and hence stiffer in nature. I just don't like the anchor hitch with stiffer ropes. Although, having said that, I have used it and seen it used with 10mm HTP and it didn't budge - ONCE SET PROPERLY.

But the primary reason and the defining reason is that there is no history of performance of the anchor hitch, esp. in rescue. One of the tenants of rescue work is to use what is time tested and proven IN RESCUE SITUATIONS.

Well, we're dealing with tree climbing etc. rather than rescue, but it doesn't hurt to understand principles outside our disipline.

I'm not recommending the anchor or Buntline hitches; I'm just saying that I personally like them and use them. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean they're safe for everyone to use. I trust my life to them, and have put others on them, and know others that use them for life support.

I guess what I'm saying is, as in rescue work, we don't really have a history of performance with these two hitches that we do with say an F8 on a bight. But then an F8 doesn't cinch the biner which introduces the distinct possibility of cross-loading a gate.

And it's bound to come up - I use it some, but I just don't like the scaffold knot.
 
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And it's bound to come up - I use it some, but I just don't like the scaffold knot.

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Is this something you can put into words or is it just a personal quirk.
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Dave
 
Ummmm, what I have to say now
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. First, the links do show the correct knots - but I don't put the half hitch on the anchor hitch. I now expect all he** to break loose
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about backups and such. I do use a long tail on my climbing line but that's a convenience thing.

I'm not recommending anything here; just telling what I use and how I use it.

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And it's bound to come up - I use it some, but I just don't like the scaffold knot.

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Is this something you can put into words or is it just a personal quirk.
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Dave

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See! I knew someone would bring it up!
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I just don't like them. Make no mistake, they are good hitches and widely used; I just don't have much use for them. They are nothing more than a slip knot with an extra turn - I mean when you think about that.
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Anchors are more compact, lay better on the biner and you can control which side the tail exits on for your convenience.

I've seen a scaffold knot trying to 'swallow' a sharp bend on a biner, such as an Attache. I've never seen any problems come from that - it just doesn't look right.

Then, I won't say they jam, but they do work themselves tight and can be difficult to untie. The typical "slide-it-off-the-biner-to-gain-some-slack" solves the problem pretty well, but that doesn't work on deltas because the threads are bigger in diameter than the body of the delta. So why use a knot that can be cantankerous?

So now I can answer your question: it's a personal thing!
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Two reasons, I don't like poly running on poly, especially day after day, and second, I don't have to untie and retie a knot every time I do a pitch. I just open the biner or screw lock.
 
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If you're cinching a rope around a limb why bother with hardware at all? A running bowline seems like a good choice for that.

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Good luck getting a strait answer on this question. Ive argued this with Ron and friends on another board about this very topic. Its all "personal pref."
I have used the anchor a little with a micro mouse pulley and closed split tail. But not on a reg basis. Whoever said the buntline looked like a clove on the standing end of the rope is right. Thats all it be. I havent got deserpate enough to use it yet. I prefer the fishermans as my termination if I need one (due to splice).
 
flyingsquirrel25,

I gave a 'straight' answer. I was specific and made no criticism of banjo's post.

Of course it's personal, that's why I titled the thread "...My favorite hitches...".

But then, this thead is about hitches; specifically hitches used to attach rope/cordage to rings and things - it's not about how to cinch a limb.
 
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