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.

Our newest Knot of the Week features an intermediary step in what we’ll be showing you next week, which is a method requested in the comments of our last KOTW to use four points to secure a load

While the intent is to show this knot used in that, The Artilleryman’s Loop is a quick method for tying a loop on a bight. Tying this loop on a bight requires your line to be free of tension, as tension would make it difficult to pull the slack needed for tying this.

The Artilleryman’s Loop can be used for creating a tie-in point on a line or dragline, securing a third climber on a line or simply making a quick drop loop for attachments or adding tension to a lashing.

Artilleryman’s Loop » Loops

(Strength: 3/Secure: 5/Stability: 4/Difficulty: 2)

Uses:

• Quick tie-in point on a line or dragline
• Secure a third climber in a string
• Trunk line or tether line attachment point
• Adding tension to a lashing

Tying Instructions:

1. Create an overhand loop in a bight in your line.
2. Flip the overhand loop on top on top of the standing part of the line.
3. Take the lower section of the overhand loop around the back and through the original overhand loop.
4. Pull on the created loop and the standing parts to tighten.

Video and Photos

In this week’s Knot of the Week we’ll teach you how to tie the Frost Knot and form a length of tubular webbing into an Etrier, which is a French word meaning stirrup. In climbing, an Etrier is often referred to as an aider or a climbing ladder.

While hard to pronounce, the Etrier is an easy to tie and very effective way of creating a ladder to reach heights when climbing or in an emergency situation.

With a little practice, you can trust in your skills and know that you too will be able to simply carry some tubular webbing into the field and create a field expedient climbing ladder if needed.

Etrier » Loops

What you’ll need to tie you own Etrier is simply a 20 ft. length of 1″ tubular webbing, which you can get from most outdoor shops like REI. You’ll also need paracord for the step we’ll show on whipping each rung of your Etrier for added support.

There are many commercially available Etriers out there, but can be much more expensive than making one yourself. The purpose of this KOTW isn’t to replace a commercial version for climbing, but to show the utility and ease of creating a ladder out of seemingly nothing.

While the original purpose of an Etrier is for big wall climbing, it really doesn’t have to be used for rock climbing at all, hence the reason we’re referring to it as field expedient ladder. In rock climbing you wouldn’t want a long ladder, but in an emergency situation you might.

(Strength: 5/Secure: 5/Stability: 5/Difficulty: 1)

Uses:

• Big Wall Climbing, Aider
• Field Expedient Ladder
• Join two Loops of Tubular Webbing (much like the Tape Knot)

Tying Instructions:

• The first step in creating an Etrier is to tie a Frost Knot so you’ll have a loop at the top for a tie-in/clip-in point.
• Find the mid point of your tubular webbing, then trace back to the ends.
• Form a bight in one end and slip the other end into the bight, like a sandwich.
• Tie an overhand knot using all three parts, creating a loop.
• From here you’ll simply tie a series of overhand knots to form the rungs or steps of the ladder.
• You also might want to offset the steps, as we show, or simply tie them all to one side (see video for details)
• To pull each step, simply pull one strand of webbing longer than the other and tie an overhand knot.
• A general guide for the length of each rung is to make them about 1-1.5 ft. in height.
• To further support the steps, you can whip each rung.
• Double the webbing by folding it over to create a channel to whip into (see video for details and this article on whipping).
• Note that after climbing this Etrier, it may be difficult to untie the tubular webbing.

Photos and Video

Today we’ll wrap up the last part in our Knot of the Week mini-series on rigging a tarp shelter.

I left off in part 2 with explaining how the tarp is attached to the trunk line with Prusik Loops and Prusik Knots, and introduced the guy-line system. We’ll get more in-depth into that system as well as demonstrating the Alpine Butterfly Loop and the Taut-Line Hitch.

To create the guy-line system you’ll need at least five attachment points on each side of the tarp and quite a bit of paracord. As mentioned previously you’ll also need four stakes, but those can be made with a knife and some sticks you can typically find wherever you’re setting up at.

Guy-line Requirements

Before we get into how to tie these knots for the guy-line system, let’s talk paracord. I like using paracord for everything on this tarp, because I know I’ve always got 100+ feet of it at all times.

For each primary guy-line, that will be hitched around one of the four stakes, you’ll need 8-feet of paracord. The secondary guy-lines, on the next closest attachment points, will each require 5-feet and the tertiary lines need 6.5-feet.

In the video below, I’ve tied in each of the guy-lines to their respective attachment points using two half-hitches. Lately though I’ve been considering retying them with bowlines or something similar. The two half-hitches hold just fine, but taking the tarp in and out of the stuff sack I’ve noticed that I occasionally have to re-tighten them.

Cutting all the necessary paracord for the entire tarp shelter will take some time, but once its in place you can set-up and tear-down the tarp in a matter of minutes. Practice makes perfect though, so throw the tarp up in your backyard on occasion to practice setting it up.

Alpine Butterfly Loop

(Strength: 5/Secure: 5/Stability: 3/Difficulty: 4)
The first step after tying in all of the guy-lines, is to tie your Alpine Butterfly Loop in each of the primary guy-lines. The Alpine Butterfly acts as a anchor for the pulley system that is created by the secondary and tertiary guy-lines on each corner of the tarp. That pulley system is what evenly distributes the tension on each of the respective attachment points to stabilize the tarp in windy conditions.

An Alpine Butterfly is used to put a loop in a line that has tension coming from both ends. This knot will not weaken the strength of the line and is used by climbers and mountaineers to tie in a climber for protection against a fall.

Tying Instructions: Please refer to the photos here and YouTube video below.

Taut-Line Hitch

(Strength: 3/Secure: 3/Stability: 3/Difficulty: 3)
After each primary guy line has the Alpine Butterfly integrated, it’s time to stake them down. The best way to tie off these guy-lines to that stake in the ground is with a Taut-Line Hitch, this will allow you to adjust the tension on the line if needed. While this is the optimal knot to use in this situation, be aware that under heavy loads the hitch can release.

Not only will the primary guy-line have a Taut-Line Hitch, but each secondary and tertiary guy-line will also use one after being routed through the Alpine Butterfly Loop. This will again allow you to individually adjust the tension on these guy-lines to mitigate the amount of flex the tarp has in windy conditions.

Tying Instructions: Please refer to the photos here and YouTube video below.

Closing Notes

I hope you’ve enjoyed the series and not only learning how to tie all these great knots, but also seeing how they all come together into a practical application.

Knot tying truly is a depreciable skill-set, and one that I hope everyone takes an interest in and passes along to friends, family and co-workers. With today’s generation of people that are completely dependent on all the fancy gadgets and electronics (guilty), developing skill-sets like these and retaining them is even more important.

Let me know if you have any questions about any of the knots used in this mini-series, and I hope you’ve enjoyed it. Now get a tarp and practice!

Oh, and before anyone asks, I don’t know why I said “happy tarping” at the end of the video, I know it’s absurd and I couldn’t edit it out!

Links to Part 1 and Part 2 of the series in case you missed them!

For this week’s Knot of the Week, we’ll be looking at a very important knot called the One Handed Bowline.

What separates this knot from a traditional Bowline is the ability to truly tie this knot one handed, and around your body in an emergency.

Say for instance you were hanging by a tree limb for dear life as raging rapids were attempting to sweep you downstream. Without letting go of the tree branch, you could grab a rope that was thrown to you, tie the One Handed Bowline, and be pulled to safety.

This use of the One Handed Bowline is more for water rescues, as attempting to pull someone up the side of a mountain with a line under their armpits could potentially asphyxiate them before they reach the top.

If you need to hang suspended from a rescue line, simply tie the One Handed Bowline and step onto it with you foot and hang on to the line. Be careful with the application of this knot in emergency situations.

One Handed Bowline » Loops

(Strength: 2/Secure: 2/Stability: 4/Difficulty: 4)

Uses:

• Tying in an emergency or rescue situation
• Tying on the waist to drag an object

Tying Instructions:

1. Wrap the line around your waist so that the working end is on the opposite side of the standing part
2. Ensure you have at least six inches of line past where you’re gripping the working end
3. Without ever releasing the line from your hand, bring the working end over the standing part
4. Now around the standing part and back into your chest, creating a loop on your wrist
5. Pass the line around the standing part and to yourself
6. You should now have made a wrap around the standing part and be holding the working end
7. Continuing to grab the working end, pull your hand towards you and out through the loop on your wrist
8. *If there is too much tension on the rope, this movement will be impossible*
9. Once through the rope, pull to tighten up the bowline
10. You can also back up this knot after it’s tied by simply adding an overhand knot with the working end.

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!

After a brief hiatus due to our Plank Owner Membership Launch, our Knot of the Week series continues today with the Handcuff Knot.

Much like it’s name implies, the Handcuff Knot is used to bind. This can be great for hunters hauling game, as it can easily slip over animal’s legs.

It can also be used as a temporary restraint tied with paracord, after you disable would-be burglars. You’ll just need to tie an extra security knot in the working ends after you adjust it.

The Handcuff Knot is a very simple knot to tie, and is tied much like the Sheepshank Knot.

Handcuff Knot » Loops

(Strength: 4/Secure: 4/Stability: 4/Difficulty: 2)

Uses:

• In Hunting to prevent animals from straying or to haul carcasses
• Temporary restraint

Tying Instructions:

1. Tie two opposing loops (one overhand, one underhand)
2. Stack the right loop on top of the left
3. Reach through the top loop and grab the right side of the lower loop
4. Reach through the lower loop and grab the left side of the upper loop
5. Holding the bitter ends, pull to create the Handcuff Knot
6. To adjust the loops of the knot, simply pull on the bitter ends

View the gallery or YouTube video below and follow along with the steps above!