Next Previous

Ascender Knots

The lightest ascenders are the ones that (almost) don't weigh anything: knots. Originally "everyone" used knots, but they were eventually supplanted by mechanical ascenders that work better in the most common situations. I still think people should learn knots for several reasons. First, they are less forgiving, and when someone learns the proper balance to make knots work well, this will improve their form and efficiency with mechanical ascenders. Second, knots can be improvised when the mechanical gear is not available. Third, knots can "always" be made to hold. Finally, they are fun in their own right.

Bob Thrun is the published expert on ascender knots, and his book Prusiking is excellent reading if you can find a copy.

Gallery

The Gallery shows the following knots:

Image

Knot

--

Image

Knot

--

Image

Knot

Autoblock (a.k.a. Machard) Autoblock
(a.k.a. Machard)
  Icicle Icicle Schwab Schwab
Bellunese Bellunese   Israeli French Prusik Israeli French Prusik   Schwabich Schwabich
Blake's Hitch (a.k.a. Prohaska) Blake’s Hitch
(a.k.a. Prohaska)
  Klemheist Klemheist   Simple Buttonhole Simple Buttonhole
Buttonhole (a.k.a. Asola) Buttonhole
(a.k.a. Asola)
  Knut Knut   Spong Spong 
Distel Distel   Martin Martin   Taut-line Hitch Taut-line Hitch
French Prusik French Prusik   OPC (Olivier Peron Caillet)  OPC
(Olivier Peron Caillet)
  TK (Todd Kramer) TK
(Todd Kramer)
Hedden (a.k.a. Kreutzklem) Hedden
(a.k.a. Kreutzklem)
  Penberthy / Penberthy-Pierson / Valdôtain Penberthy &
Penberthy-Pierson
(a.k.a. Valdôtain)
  VT (Valdôtain Tress) VT
(Valdôtain Tress)
Helical HelicalStar   Prohaska 1 Prohaska 2 Prohaska Knots  
Hitch Series Hitch Series   Prusik Prusik 6 PrusikStar  

For far more content, use a larger monitor and a full-width window.

Hundreds of cell phone users complained and asked me to for a simpler, mobile friendly site. In particular, they wanted me to limit each page to a small number of pictures and minimize my use of text. This new site provides what they asked for.