How to Tie Camping Knots

There are four basic knots used when camping.

Knowing a few basic knots will make your tent more secure and your campsite will look neater. There are three different types of knots: the basic knot is when a rope is tied to itself; a hitch knot is when the rope is tied to another object; and a bend knot is when you tie two ropes together. The knots most often used in camping are the two-half hitches, the bowline, taut line, and the sheet bend knot.

Instructions

Two Half-Hitches Knot

1. Run the end of the rope around the item to which you want it secured. Loop the end around the rope and through the loop you have formed.

2. Pull the rope to get enough slack for the next hitch. This completes the first half hitch.

3. Complete the knot by moving the working end over the standing line. Pull the line back down through the resulting loop. This knot is useful for tying a clothesline to a tree or hanging a bag of food from a tree to keep bears away from it.

Bowline Knot

1. Create another hitch knot by tying a bowline. This knot can replace the two-half hitches knot but is a good additional knot to know as it is often referred to as a "rescuer's knot" as it is a stronger knot, because if someone had fallen into a ravine you would lower down one end of the rope and he would tie this knot around himself and under his arms.

2. Pass the end of the rope around the object you wish to secure. Make a loose half hitch, as described in the two-half hitches knot instructions, around the main part of the rope.

3. Place your thumb underneath the rope and your fingers on top and grab the rope where it crosses itself. Flip your hand over. Your fingers and the end of the rope should go inside the loop.

Taut Line Knot

1. Form an adjustable loop in the guy-line of a dining tarp or tent with the taut line knot. Since it is adjustable, it is easy to change when dampness causes the lines to sag. Do not use nylon rope for this knot, as it is too slippery.

2. Pass the working end of the rope around the object to which you wish to anchor the line. Bring it back alongside the standing part of the rope and make a half hitch, as described in the two-half hitches knot section.

3. Create another wrap inside the loop. This creates a round turn around the standing part.

4. Complete with another half hitch outside the loop. This half hitch should be in the opposite direction from the first two wraps. Snug the hitch firmly around the standing part.

Sheet Bend Knot

1. Create a sheet bend knot when you want to connect two ropes together. This knot works even if the ropes are different sizes.

2. Form one end of the rope in the shape of a "U." Put the other rope up through the center of the "U." Wrap that rope around the "U."

3. Send the loose end under the rope where it went up through the "U". Snug up the knot until it is tight.

References

• Trail Meister: Knots for the Outdoors: How to tie a Half Hitch Knot
• Lay Hands: Knots: Single-Loop Knots
• Kansas 4H: Venturers: Knot-Taut Line
• Barry Miller; Committee Member; Boy Scouts of America Troop 1053; Muskegon, MI