How to Tie the Safety Knot

After tying in to your climbing harness with the figure-eight retrace knot, you must tie a back-up or safety knot to ensure the figure-eight does not unravel. There are several options for this knot, but within the climbing community the double overhand knot is the standard.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Climbing harness
• Climbing rope

1. Align the short end or “tail” of the rope with the long end, so they are parallel.
2. Wrap the tail around the rope for a 360 degree revolution.
3. Wrap the tail another 360 degrees so that the new wrap is positioned beneath the first wrap closer to the figure-eight knot. Positioning the rope in this manner enables the first wrap to cinch down on the second, preventing the knot from coming undone. This feature makes the double overhand knot a safer choice than just a single overhand.
4. Push the end of the tail up through the two coils away from the figure-eight knot.
5. Pull the tail tight on the other side.

Tips & Warnings

• When you are allotting rope for the figure-right retrace, be sure to allow enough rope but not too much for the safety knot.