Dumb Question - How Do You Tie Your Hitch?

[lxskllr]

I've given up on my prusik loop as my main hitch. I like everything about it aside from the release. It doesn't like to. I've been working with the michoacan, and I like it a lot, but I'm having a little difficulty trying to make it as short as possible. If I preknot it, I can't get get the last tuck through the coil. If I leave enough room to tuck it, it's longer than I'd like. If I tuck it untied, it's tricky tying it close to the coil, and tends to unwrap as I'm tying. I can put the knot back, but then think "Wait, what?", and I have the nagging uncertainty I tied it wrong. I can be certain after a close inspection, but it takes longer than I want to spend on it. I want to tie and go.

Any tips?

 

[TINYHULK]

I climb on the Michoacán as well. I use 8mm ocean poly on my tachyon line and only do a 4 wrap hitch. Once I got it to my desired length (under load it would sit about an inch from my hitch climber pulley) I cut the tails of the line to about 3-4in. Guess my only tips would be to keep it pre tied and to ignore that there is a tail there in the first place, after you wrap the top coil down and tuck it up, I just push the eye through first, then I can get my fingers on the tail and pull it through. Sometimes after just tying it the first time and it’s a little harder I’ll leave absolutely no tail on the lower eye (one that wouldn’t get tucked) so that I have more to work with on the upper eye, once the tail is tucked through it’s pretty easy to milk the tails where they are the same length again

 

[Altissimus]

Four wraps with HH ...

 

[lxskllr]

Yea, I like the looks of the hitchhiker. If I got a big $ device, that would be my first choice. It would make tying a short hitch easy too.

 

[pantheraba]

I am using the Rope Runner Pro these days...and HH. When I do tie a hitch (and I used this knut a lot of years) this is where I learned to tie it. The Knut did well for me.

 

[cory]

I used the knut for years as well. Now i'm on the Zig Zag

 

[lxskllr]

I have those pages! Can't remember where I found them. I'll give the knut a try at some point. I got stuck for awhile chasing my tail trying to incorporate a hitchclimber into my mrs setup, and I took a working system, and broke it. Now I have various cords of various lengths and materials. I'm trying to eliminate variables, and figure out exactly what I need so I can standardize. I have a piece of Flex that's too short for a michoacan. I think I made it to use in a vt, which I don't care for. There's enough for a schwabisch. Might be enough for knut also. I'll have to try it when I get to work tomorrow.

 

[greengreer]

Michoacan is my favorite hitch, or just a Blake's. You can adapt wraps as needed to suit your hitch cord and rope. I like 3over 2 on Yale 11.7 and epicord 9mm.

 

[flushcut]

HitchHiker

 

[lxskllr]

I'm 5 over 1 if I understand the terminology right. Taking a wrap off causes it not to grab. Works smooth. I'm just trying to make everything as small as possible. Trying to get near mechanical performance out of a cord.

 

[ruel]

If you fight all the slack out of one side you can get the last tuck in. Then re- dress the knot to even legs. If that doesn't work you can tie it first with only one eye, then tie the scaffold knot and tighten with pliers, should be able to end up with basically no legs that way(not actually ideal but possible)

 

[lxskllr]

The ideal hitch in my mind would have no legs as tied, but once it's fully weighted and set, you'd have short legs without too much hitch sprawl.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

I was able to do that more with a VT than anything else. Better with spliced eyes. I think Nick made mine 24 or 26 center of each eye. 160# with out gear. don't remember wraps and cross. Can be done with double fisherman instead of the spliced eye. But the spliced eyes are the bomb.
All depends on your cord and rope combo as well. And I don't mind a little set back.

 

[Jonny]

Splice yourself up a couple hitch cords to be the exact length you need. Even if you haven’t spliced before, naked eyes are pretty easy. BeeLine, HRC, UltraTech, and ones of same construction are easy, under the jacket it’s just a hollow 12 strand. I got a little set of the cheap plastic fids, and they’re great for stuff like that.

 

[lxskllr]

By "naked eye", you mean no cover? I'll have to read into it a bit. See what it takes to do. I kinda like knots, but splices aren't off the table.

 

[pantheraba]

When I said I "tied" a knut that is kind of ambiguous. I used spliced hitches...eye-eye...I did not just use cord. I am pretty sure the hitch was 28" overall and it was just right for the knut.

 

[Jonny]

Yes, just the core is spliced. End product is plenty strong enough, though I imagine sewn eyes that are using the core and cover will probably have a higher breaking strength.

Also consider Icetail which is just a heat resistant hollow 12 strand, no cover. I found it to grab too hard and not releaseeasy enough, but some folks love it. @Bermy might climb with Icetail cord, if I remember correctly.

 

[lxskllr]

I think Scott does also. I have 10mm ocean, 10mm beeline, 10mm flex, 9.x(?)mm rit, and 9.x(?)mm epicord. The beeline and ocean are the leaders so far, and I think the epicord has been deleted. Still have to use rit, and give the flex a good workout.

 

[pantheraba]

I have used Icetail and it did fine with my Poison Ivy rope.

 

[ruel]

What's your climb line?

 

[lxskllr]

KMIII 1/2". I also have some brand new XTC I lost my enthusiasm for. Haven't climbed on that yet.

 

[biggun]

VT served me well for years. I dabbled a bit with a Knut but found that wore out a heat resistant (OP) cord quickly.

I will add that I don’t like spliced eyes in the hitch cord. The throat of the splice (DB) is too stiff IMO and keeps the legs from allowing the knot to set correctly. I found stitched eyes worked great.

I will add that I never climbed on spliced beelibe, that method of just splicing the core and milking the cover back might give it different characteristics to a standard DB spliced hitch cord.

I used to use a 3 wrap 2 braid VT with a hitch climber for years.

 

[Mellow]

Two under, one over.

 

[lxskllr]

Just tried a four wrap knut with my short piece of flex, and it just squeaks by for length. I think it'll be almost perfect once it's fully weighted. That'll be next up to try.

 

[Mike Davis]

Mello: Isn't that called the suicide knot?