Use That Duct Tape to Survive Most Any Situation

Duct tape (or Duck Tape) is that tough sticky tape that will fix just about anything and everything. I never quite thought much of it, even when I saw the great designs, including the Hello Kitty Duck tape. However this article from the Art of Manliness has taken this sticky stuff and pasted it to a whole new level.

And when the author stuck the duck tape with a total favorite survival tool, paracord, well, I just had to share it. Perhaps you too should start to regularly carry some duct tape with you in both your urban and wilderness survival kit. If you have it, then you can use it, but if you don’t have it, you may only wish for it.

Useful Knots

Here we go with a the second in our series on the topic of knots and ropes.  In this post we want to take a look the three specific ways to make a loop in your rope.  We demonstrate how to do this on both the end of the rope and in the middle.  The first knot, the over hand knot, most everyone knows. Most people shun this one in regards to rope because it is incredibly hard to untie.  I personally like it for survival trapping because of that reason.  I do not want my trap lines to get untied  after they have been set by off by an animal.  Watch the video to see the overhand knot and continue watching, and reading below, to see some details for the figure 8 and the bowline.

Those are fun and easy to do.  The diagrams below will help you with the  figure 8 and bowline as well.

Figure 8

The figure 8 is a great loop to utilize on the working end of a rope.  It is fun and easy to make and can be made by utilizing only one hand if the need arises.  This can be done for the end of a climbing rope, at to to create a drag, to make a cinch piece as well.  It is easy to untie,  however after it has been put under stress it becomes more difficult to untie.

The last knot we wanted to show you is the grand daddy of all knots, the bowline.  This knot is an incredibly cool knot to know and is very useful.  The coolest part is that is does not slip along the rope once it is tied, it is VERY easy to untie even after lots of stress have been put on it, and it has great stories that go along with it.  If you have not heard the stories, you must watch the video!  One of them is about Mick Jagger.

So that is is it for some basic knots on the end of a rope that create a loop.  Again, this is the second in this series of knots and ropes.  (The next is coiling rope).  With the feedback I am getting, you all must like these vids.  I am glad they are proving to be useful.

Until next time, I hope to see you on, or off the trail!

Bowline

Quick and Dirty Knot Tying

One of the most useful skill sets to own in any outdoor situation is knowing how to use rope.  Most of us are doing good if we know how to tie a “bow knot” on our shoes.  We thought it would make for a good series of videos if we showed you the basics of using, and storing rope.  We will also include some incredibly useful knots in this series.

Our first video on the subject includes three useful ways of tying off to a tree, post or other vertical apparatus.

Timber Hitch

The first method is what most folks refer to as a timber hitch.  This is incredibly easy to put on and to untie.  However, if you pull the rope at the wrong angle you will untie your knot, so make sure you watch how I demonstrate that in the video.

Half Hitches (with round turn on the bottom)

The second method that is use to tie off to the tree is by using two half-hitches.  These are really easy to complete and if you watch later in the video, you will notice that I also show you how to do this with a slip-knot to make it an easy release.  I also show you how to do this with a little more strength by wrapping the rope around the tree twice as well.  This is referred to as round turn with two half-hitches.

The last method that I show is a clove hitch and it too easy with practice and is incredibly secure.  I use this one alot when setting triggers on snare traps.

So with these drawings and the video, I hope we have you off to a good start with ropes and knots.  Until next time, I hope to see you on, or off, the trail!

Paracord: the un-sticky Duct tape

Cordage is one of the most useful items ever invented! Man’s use of cordage spans every age and every location. From the earliest hand twisted, natural fiber cords to the latest high-tech, high-dollar synthetic climbing ropes, cordage enables us to do things that otherwise are impossible.

In this blog post I would like to focus on one particular type of cordage, Paracord.

Paracord was and is used as riser material in the construction of parachutes.

It connected the actual parachute to the harness worn by the skydiver, paratrooper, or unlucky pilot. Due to the requirements of parachute construction (light weight, high strength, compactness, and reliability) Paracord is ideal for all kinds of outdoor activity.

Paracord is usually made from nylon material; however other materials, such as Kevlar, have also been used. Paracord is constructed in a kernmantel configuration that is, it has an outer sheath and seven inner strands. You will find that some cordage advertised as paracord, in fact does not meet this description.

My opinion is “Buyer Beware”! Paracord is also referred to as 550 cord, this comes from its, generally accepted, breaking strength of 550 lbs. That said the accepted standard when it comes to breaking strength vs. working load is 5/1. This means that in a situation where you need a rope to lift 500lbs it needs to have a breaking strength of 2500 lbs.

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