The Hitch Hiker

OK so after Moss's question of what stopper knot I use I have to admit Im not sure.....

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/a8MwbvOyPXU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
I could be wrong but I thought I remember Phil Kelley from NATS calling that hitch a regular "French Prussik".I just so happen to use that same hitch with every setup I use with the hitch climber whether it be Drt or SRT with the Wrench.As for the stopper not I'm stumped.
 
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Guess the embeding doesnt work

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8MwbvOyPXU&feature=youtu.be

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I'm pretty sure that's a french prussik for the hitch and the stopper knot is a double overhand knot just not dressed right. If you where to take the turn and pull it up and re-seat the knot it should look like a double overhand knot. It's tied the same just dressed up differently.

Yup, looked at it a second time definitely a double overhand knot just not tied correctly. It might be another knot but nothing I'm familiar with. I do see a lot of people tie this knot wrong.
 
The prussik tied is a variation of a french prussik,I thought it was just a Valdotain.I think the Valdptain Tresse had the 3 cross overs after 4 wraps and the Valdotain was just 6 consecutive wraps.
 
I wouldn’t classify the stopper as any kind of “bend”, as it does not connect to anything. The knot is classified as a stopper or safety knot. This can be confusing to a new climber/rigger.

An Anchor Bend is also formed by tucking the tail of the line one more time through the turns and around an object such as a carabiner.

I’m still leaning towards a Double Overhand Knot tied in a different manner.

If you guys haven’t read Mahk Adams article that is attached in one of his posts above, it is worthwhile to read it. Explains a lot about the knots that we’re talking about here.
 
Thanks for the PM Chris.

I agree with Jman on both counts.

--the friction hitch is a French prusik, specifically a Valdotain (not a Valdotain tresse) with six turns (aka wraps). pctree you call it five turns with a crossover (aka braid), but it's really six turns and the final (upper) turn 'cascades' down over the others. See this article:

http://www.treebuzz.com/pdf/climbing_hitches.pdf

for a description and photos of turns (wraps) vs crossovers (braids). The article is also in the Articles section here on TBzz.

--the stopper is tied as a double overhand, but it hasn't been dressed and set in the normal manner. I have seen it dressed and set like this before, but I don't know how secure it is compared to a properly dressed and set double overhand. I always make sure the turn is seated across the entire knot, as Jman described. See the article in my post above that Chris mentioned .
 
Also look at the photographs in Mahk's article.

Figure 7. (To me at least) Shows the stopper knot that Paul is tying on the HH and it is a Double Overhand Knot.

As Mahk says in the article, a double overhand knot can be started two different ways. In fig. 7 the end makes two turns around its own standing part. The knot is then tightened (see Fig. 3A), and the knot formed (see fig 3B).

In Paul's video, he shows making two turns around the standing part and then setting the knot, which makes it a double overhand knot IMO.
 
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Looks more like an anchor bend.The knots on the tree motion bridge are double over hand knots.

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Agree, it's essentially an Anchor Bend tied into itself, except it's reversed. Like Chris said if you loosen it a little and slip the upper turn over the lower turn it's converted into a double overhand.
-AJ
 
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I wouldn’t classify the stopper as any kind of “bend”, as it does not connect to anything. The knot is classified as a stopper or safety knot. This can be confusing to a new climber/rigger.

An Anchor Bend is also formed by tucking the tail of the line one more time through the turns and around an object such as a carabiner.

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Yep, it's not technically a bend but it is tied in the same manner as the Anchor Bend.
-AJ
 
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--the stopper is tied as a double overhand, but it hasn't been dressed and set in the normal manner. I have seen it dressed and set like this before, but I don't know how secure it is compared to a properly dressed and set double overhand. I always make sure the turn is seated across the entire knot, as Jman described. See the article in my post above that Chris mentioned .

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Fiddling around with Paul's stopper, I can't see it giving up under load. It could have the potential to loosen and fall apart if the tail is too short and it's not set properly. After it's set I don't think it's coming apart on its own.

Paul's stopper is very easy to break after loading, same as the Anchor Bend.

Double overhand has a kind of self-locking feature which is probably why it's become the default stopper for tree climbers.
-AJ
 
[/ QUOTE ]Fiddling around with Paul's stopper, I can't see it giving up under load. It could have the potential to loosen and fall apart if the tail is too short and it's not set properly. After it's set I don't think it's coming apart on its own.

Paul's stopper is very easy to break after loading, same as the Anchor Bend.

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Moss, I have climbed on Paul's stopper knot on the TVP cord that he sent with the HH and had absolutely no issues with it, either tying or untying it both with a short and long tail.

Mahk, thanks again for your attachment to your articles.
 
Paul, quick question.

Do you plan on selling the HH with a specific length cord with one end of your stopper knot tied through the dogbone and then that will allow the user to tie the Valdotain with either 5 or 6 turns and then adjust the length of the other stopper length to their own preference?
 
Chris, at present the plan is to sell them with 46" of 10mm beeline ,one end will be whipped to facilitate easy placement through the dog bone. Other end will just be taped. IMO the 5 wrap hitch should be fine for all users, if you weigh more the HH will apply more friction to compensate.

AS for the stopper knot, I pulled on it to 5400lbs with the 10mm beeline at which point it broke at the dog bone/ stopper knot but the knot didnt slip, couldnt remove the other knot. Interestingly I pulled the HH on a rope to see when it slipped and it did so at about 1300lbs and after that I was still able to get the stopper knot undone by hand........
 
I learned that stopper knot as a "barrel knot". It's tied the same but set dressed differently than a double overhand. Sailors use it for stuff.
 
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