Using the constrictor as a pull down - no fear!

R

Ron

Location
Chattanooga
This is almost the perfect application for a constrictor knot.

If there's any chance of tail whip wrapping or tangling my rope when I pull it out of a tree, I tie a throwline to the rope to avoid winding up with a stuck rope. I've used some of the conventional attachment methods and on several occasions had them drag off the rope as I pulled the line through the crotch. That of course releases the rope which comes falling down through the tree limbs with a higher risk of becoming stuck. So I started using a constrictor knot to attach the throwline to the rope and have never had it pull off.

If your rope has any kind of buldge at the end from melting, whipping, etc. that may prevent the throwline from pulling off in the first place. The problem is the rope is pulling the throwline and the throwline may only be lightly loaded going through the crotch and be more prone to wipe off. The constrictor is a self-securing knot that does not need loading to remain secure - it is self-loading.

Here's how easy it is to use:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4uNnT12tdg
 
Most of the time I tie a constrictor, it's a double constrictor with a quick-release tail. Give the quick release a try!

I prefer the pile hitch for throwline attachment. I find that by adding a half hitch or two afterwards it holds on just fine.

love
nick
 
Yes it is 100percent a clove hitch! Theres even a faster way to tie it....just cross your arms grab the rope and bring your hands together, like tieing a handcuff knot without pulling the loops threw. Handcuff knot, hobble knot or firemans chair, whatever you call it haha (leaving no room for chop busting!) I like using the clove with another half hitch for towing a line into a tree.
 
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I like using the clove with another half hitch for towing a line into a tree.

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not that it matters but i use a figure 8 slip knot to tie throwline to throwball
 
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I like using the clove with another half hitch for towing a line into a tree.

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not that it matters but i use a figure 8 slip knot to tie throwline to throwball

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Figure eight slipknot? I've never heard of that, do you mean a figure eight follow threw? I think that would be the only way to tie a figure eight around on object....if not post a pic so I can see.
 
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I like using the clove with another half hitch for towing a line into a tree.

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not that it matters but i use a figure 8 slip knot to tie throwline to throwball

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Figure eight slipknot? I've never heard of that, do you mean a figure eight follow threw? I think that would be the only way to tie a figure eight around on object....if not post a pic so I can see.

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Do you mean a "slippery" figure eight?
 
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I like using the clove with another half hitch for towing a line into a tree.

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not that it matters but i use a figure 8 slip knot to tie throwline to throwball

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Figure eight slipknot? I've never heard of that, do you mean a figure eight follow threw? I think that would be the only way to tie a figure eight around on object....if not post a pic so I can see.

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Do you mean a "slippery" figure eight?

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maybe idk there could be a lot of names for it
 
HAHAHAHAHAA OMG! You might just of created a new knot! Ive never seen it before or thought of it, cant find it anywhere on the web or in any one of my hundreds of books! Can you name it the boogie eight?
P.S. I love the pink throw weight!
 
nope thats different to many loops in it...and its not pink it is orange and green sherrills throw weight the cellphone camera does weird things
 
hahaha gotcha! Cellphone check! :) your right there is to many wraps! Your pic you just tuck the line under the half hitch( which thats all the top of it is) where as the buntline goes around then gets tucked under......I dont know maybe the boogie eight is still a go! Its gotta have a name like a half hitch slipknot or something.
 
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isnt that just a clove hitch?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clove_hitch

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No, it isn't a clove hitch. They may look similar, but they're tied differently and they perform differently.

Here is a clove hitch (left) beside the constrictor knot (right). It is clear they are distinctly different:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4069/4424074173_a1ced78d5d.jpg

Here's a still extracted from the video:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4013/4424078119_7c689cedb2.jpg

One thing that helps identify the constrictor and differentiate it from the clove hitch is it appears to be an overhand knot with a 'locking' strand over the overhand. The clove has no such feature.

Nick,
I always use a pile hitch to install the rope. Unless there's a clear need to, I don't even use the half hitches with the pile hitch and have never had a problem.

But I have used the pile hitch and a clove hitch (essentially two half hitches) at the end of the rope to pull the rope out of the tree and when I got the rope down, the pile hitch had been drug down to the clove hitch and both were barely holding. I've also had that release the rope when I drag the hitches over the limb in the process of removing the rope.

A slipped constrictor might be useful but no more trouble than the constrictor is to tie and remove, the slipped part may introduce a compromise to the security and does add a loop that can get caught.
 
Any knot/hitch can be tied in a 'slipped/slippery' fashion. That makes untieing easy. Not tieing constrictors using the slip makes them a knife knot in my experience dang!

Slipped F8 is the way I've tied throwbags for, um, decades, hardly new. Finding knots that can be tied and untied wearing gloves in a Minnesota winter is a challenge. Taking gloves off to tie tiny knots isn't an option.
 
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Any knot/hitch can be tied in a 'slipped/slippery' fashion. That makes untieing easy. Not tieing constrictors using the slip makes them a knife knot in my experience dang!

Slipped F8 is the way I've tied throwbags for, um, decades, hardly new. Finding knots that can be tied and untied wearing gloves in a Minnesota winter is a challenge. Taking gloves off to tie tiny knots isn't an option.

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Tom,
Your comments are a bit confusing to me. Did you watch the video? Did you notice I tied the constrictor two different ways with big gloves on - and quickly and easily I might add.

Also did you notice that I pulled the constrictor tightly before and after I pulled it through the tree and still easily and quickly untied it with big gloves on?

So what's with the 'knife knot'? Didn't I just demonstrate how easy it is to remove the constrictor with big gloves on without cutting the knot? I've used this many, many times have never had any problem tying or untying it, even with big gloves on.

The loop of a slippery hitch increases the risk of the loop snagging on a nub and hanging up. As easy as the constrictor is to tie and untie (even with big gloves on) the slippery just isn't unecessary.
 
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