In this week’s Knot of the Week we’ll show you how to coil a climbing rope so that you can easily carry it on your back. Not only is this method quick, but it will also allow you to easily deploy the rope for use.

While we use the term coiling, the real definition of this method is called flaking. Flaking allows the rope to be gathered in the natural way it lies and doesn’t add any unnecessary twists to the rope. Twists can kink over time reducing the life of the rope fibers, as well as lead to knotting when undoing the rope.

Carrying a rope in this configuration will allow a climber to move with the least amount of weight possible to reach their destination. Carrying the rope like this also helps a climber maintain a good center of gravity. Trying to free-climb with a backpack full of rope adds unnecessary risk to an already dangerous task.

Rope Coil » Misc.

(Strength: 2/Security: 2/Stability: 2/Difficulty: 2)

Please refer to our Knot of the Week introduction post for a description of what these ratings mean.

Make sure to leave at least six feet of rope on the working end to make the turns and have enough to tie around your body.

Uses:

• Carrying a rope while climbing
• Storing a rope in a natural configuration

Instructions:

1. Find the center of the rope
2. Lay the bight of the center across your left hand hanging down
3. Flake the rope forwards and backwards trying to reach the same low point each time
4. When you get to the last six feet or so, wrap a few turns around the upper part of the flakes
5. Pull the working end through the loop you’ve made with the flakes
6. *At this point you can tie off the working end for storage or continue for carry*
7. Separate the working ends across the base of your neck
8. Pull the working ends to the small of your back and cross them
9. Bring the working ends to your waist and tie off with a square knot
10. Go climb!

View The Full Gallery of Step-by-Step Photos on Flickr

On today’s latest Knot of the Week, I’ll be explaining a method I’ve found for not only storing paracord on a boonie hat, but to weave it using a Chain Sinnet. This will allow you to quickly remove it if and when you need it.

If you remember previous knots we’ve taught here on ITS, we’ve gone over a Paracord Storage Sinnet and a Chain Sinnet in the past. With the storage sinnet we created you wind up with a donut looking paracord spool that can quickly unravel as you need the cordage. While this is a great method for storage, the downside is the time it takes you to create it.

You’re certainly not saving yourself any time with the method below, but you’re also not spooling 50 or 100 feet into a storage sinnet either, which can take up to an hour and a half. With the Boonie Hat Paracord Storage Sinnet, you can take a 20-30 ft. section of paracord and weave it on in about 30-45 minutes.

This may seem like a long time, but think of it as an investment. If you wear a boonie hat and have seen other methods for storing paracord on one, you’ve probably seen it all like I have. My issue with other methods is that they may look great, or have an awesome pattern, but how long is it going to take you to untie that when you need it?

I feel that this method I’ll show you today will solve that issue. Again, investing the time now to weave in this sinnet fashion will save you time in the long run when you most need it.

Boonie Hat Paracord Storage Sinnet » Coils

(Strength: 4/Secure: 4/Stability: 4/Difficulty: 3)

For this project, you’ll need around 20-30 feet of paracord. It’s always better to start on the longer side so that you don’t run out along the way.

Tying Instructions

Please refer to the embedded video and detailed photos below for instructions.

We’re doing something different today with our Knot of the Week series and taking a look at five knots that you should know how to tie at all times. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been out with friends and had to tie something or someone down and everyone just looks at me.

No matter how often I remind them they need to read our KOTW articles and watch the videos here on ITS, I thought I’d put together an article on what I consider to be the knots I use the most on a regular basis and why you should have them at your disposal. Below you’ll find links to our original articles on ITS with tying instructions, as well as embedded videos that take you step-by-step through each of them.

Let’s face it, it’s hard to remember all the knots we teach here on ITS and knot tying is a depreciable skill that needs to be practiced. So let’s look at five, in no particular order, that you should know how to tie with your eyes closed or even underwater.

Bowline / One-Handed Bowline

A Bowline is one of those knots that useful for many applications, putting a loop into a knot that won’t seize up on you, or more importantly a One-Handed Bowline that could save your life one of these days.

It seems like I’m always tying a bowline to secure a line to a fixed point. It’s a great all-around knot and one you should definitely know both on its own and one-handed.

Taut-Line Hitch

I feel like the Taut-Line Hitch is one of the most underrated knots out there, it’s extremely versatile and great for applications where you can have varying tension, such as securing a load. It’s most common application is providing adjustable tension for guy lines on a tent or tarp.

Some interesting sliders and devices now appear on tents’ guy lines to adjust tension. Call me old fashioned, but I still prefer a Taut-Line Hitch.

Threaded Figure-Eight

Another knot that’s underrated in it’s ability to get you out of a jam is the Threaded Figure 8.

While the application I’m mentioning almost needs to be paired with a Swiss Seat at the least, nothing beats the Threaded Figure 8 to safely get you down from heights, whether on purpose or in an emergency situation.

Double Fisherman’s Knot

For joining rope together or making an adjustable loop out of two of these knots, the Double Fisherman’s Knot can’t be beat. Preferably the rope you’re joining together should be around the same diameter, as there’s better knots to join sections of different diameter rope such as a Beckett’s Bend or as it’s commonly known, a Sheet Bend.

Power Cinch Knot

Another little known and underrated knot is the Power Cinch. Another great way to add tension to a line without the possibility of it slipping loose like I’ve seen Taut-Line Hitches do, yet very easy to pull down in a hurry. This is what I use for any kind of trunk line while I’m camping or putting up a shelter. Tensioning knots are something you should know and the reason I’ve included two of them in these five. I always see people over-tying objects in the back of a truck or in many situations where all they’re doing is trying to secure a load. Regular half hitches work fine, but that extra effort both in tying and removing all those knots simply isn’t necessary if you know the right knots to use in the first place.

Honorable Mention – Chain Sinnet

One last knot I’d like to mention is the Chain Sinnet, I literally tie this multiple times a week into all my extension cords and I can’t tell you how much time and aggravation it’s saved me over the years. I was first taught this by an old employer who wanted their extension cords tied this way and I’ve always remembered it because of it’s efficiency. Mark this down as one to take a look at too if you’ve got the time for a bonus knot.

How many of you have either purchased or made your own Paracord Bracelet and ever had to unravel it to actually use the paracord? If so, you’ve probably realized how much of a pain it is to untie each part of the Solomon Bar Knot that’s used to tie these bracelets.

Today on our latest Knot of the Week, we’ll show you how to use a Chain Sinnet knot concept to tie a Paracord Bracelet that will allow you to quickly pull apart your bracelet for immediate access to your continuous 10 feet of paracord for emergency use.

This method will take a bit longer to tie than a normal Solomon Bar Paracord Bracelet, but if quick access is what you need out of your bracelet’s paracord, then this is the answer.

ITS now offers Mil-Spec Type III Paracord in our store!

Paracord Bracelet » Decorative

(Strength: 4/Secure: 4/Stability: 3/Difficulty: 4) **Ratings shown are for Solomon Bar Knot, not the Quick Release Paracord Bracelet**

Uses:

• Decorative Bracelet
• Carrying Paracord for Immediate Access in Emergencies

Tying Instructions:

Pay particular attention to the beginning steps of this instruction in the video, photos and description below. If the beginning doesn’t get started correctly, it won’t tie right as you progress through.

This method of tying was first discovered by a Dan, a reader who sent in this YouTube video of a Chain Sinnet Square Knot tied by Andy Smith. In Andy’s video he actually ties this so that the buckles fall off as the bracelet is pulled apart. We’ve chosen to tie this as shown below so that the buckle is retained as the paracord is unraveled.

Note: The buckle we show is a National Molding Weinerlock buckle. These contoured buckles are definitely nice to have when you’re wearing your bracelet all day. You also don’t have to use a buckle and this can be ended in this configuration shown on our Twisted Solomon Bar Paracord Bracelet.

ITS now offers Mil-Spec Type III Paracord in our store!

1. Find the middle of a 10-12 ft. section of Paracord and halve it
2. Take the middle and girth hitch it into the female portion of the buckle
3. Thread the two working ends through the bottom bar of the male portion of the buckle
4. Now place what you’ve created around your wrist and tighten the working ends until you have the desired size
5. *You’ll want it snug, but not tight, as the pattern we’ll be creating will add some girth to the bracelet
6. Once the size is determined, you’re ready to start the pattern.
7. Take the right side working end and create a bight (loop) and bring it over the standing center part
8. Take the left side working end, create a bight and loop it through the loop you just made with the right side working end
9. Ensure the new bight passes through your initial bight from the top, not the bottom
10. Pull on the standing right hand strand to tighten the loop that’s now holding your second bight
11. Take this secondary left side working end bight and take it under the standing center part
12. Repeating the same type of work you just did, you’re now going to create a new bight with the standing right side line
13. This bight now passes through the bottom, rather than the top as you just did with the last side
14. Now you’re just repeating those steps, alternating from the right side going over the standing part and the left side going around the back of the standing part
15. Remember to tighten and push the “knots” down as you go
16. As you pull through your last bight near the male buckle, you’ll actually pull this side all the way through and into the female buckle (see photos)
17. The opposite strand you’re left with will be also threaded into the male buckle
18. Now that both strands are out the backside of the male buckle simply tuck them behind the topmost loop of the solomon bar type wrapping
19. Tighten them up and trim to your desired length, in the video you can see that we’ve melted these ends together slightly so that they’ll stay together until pulled apart, but not so much that these ends won’t pull apart
20. To quick release your bracelet, simply untuck the ends from the loop and pass them back through the male buckle and unlock the side you pulled through the bight
21. You can now pull the two sides of paracord apart quickly to deploy your paracord!

View the gallery or YouTube video below and follow along with the steps above, be sure to let us know in the comments if you have any questions!

In our newest Knot of the Week, we’ll be taking a look at a way to add a leash to the lid from your Liberty Bottle so it doesn’t grow legs and walk away.

One thing that I felt was missing from the US made ITS Liberty Bottles that we sell in our store, was a way to lanyard in the lid so it didn’t get lost. As I started taking Liberty Bottles with me while hiking and climbing, I quickly missed the ability to drink one-handed after removing the lid; which can be done with Nalgenes.

With a couple of easy knots and some Type 1 Paracord or the guts from standard Type III Paracord, you’ll be able to create your own Liberty Bottle Leash in no time!

Liberty Bottle Leash » Loops/Bends

(Strength: 5/Security: 5/Stability: 4/Difficulty: 3)

Please refer to our Knot of the Week introduction post for a description of what these ratings mean.

We’ll be using the Double Fisherman’s Knot and the Bowline for this Liberty Bottle Leash. Both are knots we’ve already gone over in our Knot of the Week series and while we show them being tied in the photos and video below, for a detailed look at each knot’s tying instructions, please refer to the following articles on the Bowline and Double Fisherman’s Knot.

Tying Instructions

• Start with a 24″ section of Type 1 Paracord, or a strand from the guts of Type III Paracord and follow along with the video or photos below.
• For detailed instructions on tying either the Bowline or Double Fisherman’s Knot, please refer to our articles for more info.

Have you always wondered how to achieve the technique that Strider uses to wrap their knife handles with paracord? On Today’s Knot of the Week we’ll show you exactly how to do it with a detailed video in HD!

We’ve previously demonstrated this method on a County Comm Breacher Bar, but if left a lot of you asking further questions and if we could demonstrate it on a Strider Knife. Using a Strider/Triple Aught Design DUK we’ll show you how you can utilize this wrapping on anything that has at least two holes drilled and optionally a lanyard hole as well.

You can apply this wrapping principle to just about anything you want to and we hope you find something of your own to wrap!

Strider Knives / TAD Gear DUK Paracord Wrapping » Decorative

(Strength: 3/Secure: 3/Stability: 3/Difficulty: 3)

We’d highly recommend you have a vise to hold your knife while you wrap the outer layer of the pattern. In fact, its almost mandatory, as without a tight wrap on this section it may loosen up with use.

This paracord wrapping will require two separate lengths of 550. A gutted section being around five feet and another right around 15 feet. Another benefit to this wrapping is that you’ll have around 15 feet of paracord at your disposal should you need it.

If you’re wrapping a knife with this method, do yourself a favor and tape the blade up so you don’t get cut. It will also prevent your knife from getting scratched up in the vise if you don’t have rubber jaws.

Uses:

• Increase the grip of an object
• Storing Paracord
• Decorating an object

Tying Instructions:

1. To follow along with these instructions, your object will need to have at least two holes for paracord.
2. *Have your two sections of paracord ready (5 foot gutted section and 15 foot section)*
3. Starting with the longer of the two sections, find the midpoint of the paracord and double.
4. Insert the doubled end in and through the top most hole.
5. Pull the doubled end out through the bottom most hole (not the smaller lanyard hole).
6. Insert the remaining paracord ends through the loop, creating a girth hitch.
7. Tighten up the girth hitch and pull the paracord ends up and out of the way.
8. Take the small five foot section of gutted paracord and wrap it tightly, starting above the created girth hitch.
9. *The wrapping of the gutted paracord should lock around itself holding tightly*
10. Wrap the remaining paracord all the way down and tuck it into itself to lock it down.
11. Trim the excess and burn the end, pressing it into the wrapped paracord to bind it.
12. *Now return to your new working ends on the longer paracord*
13. Where these ends now exit the wrapping, pull them behind to the backside.
14. To make the weave/hook pattern, remember right over left then left over right.
15. Create the pattern on this side of the handle, ensuring its tightness.
16. Bring the paracord to the opposite side and repeat the same pattern *right over left, left over right, tighten*
17. Continue this pattern, alternating from one side of the handle to the other, until you’ve reached the bottom.
18. Once at the bottom, tie a tight square knot to hold your wrapping in place.
19. Feed the ends through the remaining lanyard hole in the handle, flip the handle over and tie a second square knot.
20. This effectively locks the wrapping completely and allows you to know work with the remaining paracord.
21. You can tie any kind of lanyard knot with the remaining paracord, or if desired, trim the paracord and forgo the lanyard.
22. Enjoy!