Top 3 EASY friction hitches - Prusik hitch - Schwabisch hitch - Klemheist (Machard)

The Prusik hitch is the first of three simple friction hitches we are going to show you today. We are tying it with an eye to eye Prusik cord but it can also be tied with a Prusik loop. With an eye to eye you do need to make sure the eyes of the cord stay aligned else there will be an uneven loading on the prusik hitch. We start by taking a bight of rope and fold it around the climbing line. Then the end of the prusik cord goes through this bight. The prusik hitch is a friction hitch that can be loaded in both directions. This can be handy when you want to hang a tarp and adjust the tension. But it can also be used as a backup knot when rappelling. When climbing up the rope there is the disadvantage of the prusik hitch being bi directional. This makes it harder for you to advance the hitch up the line as you climb. To form the prusik hitch we keep forming wraps around the climbing line working from the outside in. Each new wrap is made on the inside. The most common prusik hitch is the three wrap Prusik. Three wraps around the climbing line will give you six coils in total. Make sure that the coils stay in an orderly fashion. Sometimes they tend to get messed up a bit. This can easily be inspected and sorted when the Prusik hitch is being dressed. The Prusik hitch is considered the most easy Friction hitch but it comes with its own limitations. Next we show you an alternative for the Prusik hitch that is also very easy to tie. This one carries the strange name Schwabisch hitch. The Schwabisch hitch is a variation on the Prusik hitch but its not symmetric like the Prusik. That's why the Schwabisch hitch is sometimes called the asymmetric Prusik. The Schwabisch hitch is tied with an eye to eye prusik cord. It is a good base friction hitch to learn because you can change it later to more advanced friction hitches. We start tying the Schwabisch hitch by forming four wraps around the climbing line. A basic Schwabisch hitch is tied with four coils around the climbing line and one final coil at the bottom. But if you need more friction or less friction you can either add or remove a coil. When the hitch doesn't grab well then you can try to add an extra coil or the combination of the prusik cord and the climbing line doesn't work well together. In that case the Prusik cord is usually to thick or to stiff. Now that we have formed four wraps around the climbing line we have arrived at the more difficult part of the Schwabisch hitch. We take the top end and lay it over the bottom strand. Then we take this top end, or working end then go around the climbing line from behind. To finalize the Schwabisch hitch take the working end then put it through the loop. If you do this the other way around then you have actually tied a Distel hitch instead of the Schwabisch hitch which is also very safe to climb on. As you can see the result is similar to the Prusik hitch but its not symmetric, but almost as easy as the Prusik hitch. Now the final friction hitch of the three easy friction hitches. The Klemheist. The Klemheist also known as the Machard hitch is a simple and reliable friction hitch that can be tied with either an eye to eye prusik cord or with a Prusik loop. The Klemheist exists of a series of coils around the climbing line. We start with a bight on top then work our way down. Because I use an eye to eye prusik cord I prefer to start from the top so I can get rid of any weird twists in the prusik cord If you work with a Prusik loop you can also start at the bottom and work your way up. We form three wraps around the climbing line so we end up six coils in total. The Klemheist is a friction hitch that releases more easily compared to the Schwabisch and the Prusik hitch. It is often used when climbing rope with the secured footlock technique because it is easy to advance the knot and you don't want to waste energy on fighting your friction hitch on the way up. Especially not during a climbing competition. Now that we have formed the coils we can finalize the Klemheist by taking the working end then putting it through the bight on top. This bight shouldn't be to small so make sure it's roughly long enough to cover the length of the stacked coils. To finalize the Klemheist dress the hitch then tighten it. Always verify you friction hitches before fully committing to them.

Channel: Wooden Shoes Knots and Climbing

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Keywords: tree climbing, knot, climbing, friction hitch, slide and grip hitch, klemheist knot, klemheist hitch, machard hitch, machard knot, top 3 climbing hitches, easiest climbing hitches, schwabisch hitch, schwabsich knot, schwabisch friction hitch, prusik, prusik loop, prusik hitch, prusik climbing, prusik knot, friction hitches and how to tie them, arborist, knotsandclimbing.com, friction htiches step by step, climbing hitches step by step, climbing hitches compared, climbing hitches

Id: 8Nk8ZHOvAbE

Length: 5min 22sec (322 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 18 2022