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The
French Prusik is not one of my favorite knots, for several reasons.
Although it can be made to hold well, the amount of slack in the
knot is critical. The knot in the photo has too much slack (note
the gap shown), which will cause it to slip. It takes a while
to tie the knot and then set the proper amount of slack, then
as one climbs, the bowline tends to tighten and the slack increases
- decreasing the holding power of the knot. As the knot is loaded
the coils tend to spread, so the climber loses ground with each
step. Although this occurs to some degree with any knot (or ascender),
it seems to be a particular problem with this knot. Loosening
the knot by pushing up on the bottom is normally easy, and it
can usually be loosened under load by simply pushing down on the
top of the knot.
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Note: The performance of any ascending knot depends on the diameter, material, construction, and condition of both the main line and the ascender knot sling material. It may also depend on exactly how one ties the knot. Your knot’s performance can easily differ from mine. |
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