Introducing the Longhorn Hitch and Soft Shackle

[@nunniabidnets2471]

Hownot2 is a great channel and Ryan knows a lot about soft shackles. Thanks for your videos as well!

[@williamhicks7544]

Definitely get ahold of Hownot2! The other guy to contact would be First Class Amateur

[@stevesaldivar1316]

Thank you sir John. J. R. Berz.

[@jrbtc]

@@stevesaldivar1316 glad to assist ya!

[@HuckFTW]

Freaking awesome. Maybe hit up the guy at How Knot To? He’s always break testing stuff and has done lots with soft shackles

[@bradbishop-atfulldraw7491]

Love soft shackles. Will be making a few of these up, thanks for sharing!

[@TheRopeAccessChannel]

Very clear video! I don’t use soft shackles and am only sort of aware they exist. I hav no real in person experience with them. That being said, this looks really good. Easy to tie and multifunctional. You can basically take a piece of cord on the job and tie it as needed. So that cord could serve multiple purposes. Inventing a new knot! How cool is that🤩

[@jrbtc]

Thank you. I had a similar journey with soft shackles. I devised this first and then realized it's called a soft shackle and backfilled my knowledge by researching existing designs. If you want to see a list of my innovations, they are listed on the website, with video links back to the channel. jrbtreeclimbing.com/content/innovations/

[@TheRopeAccessChannel]

@@jrbtc Cool I will have a look thank you!

[@bjornolsen3465]

Nice in Kevlar 18KN Norm 564,, Tanks for all youre youtube Video love them..🤩

[@gunterbecker8528]

Never ending ideas 👍👍👍

[@ChrisTietjen_00]

I hate to say it but if you had used another soft shackle (heavier guage line than the one being tested) in place of that monster wrecking ball steel shackle your scale would probably have survived the test. Wrapping the guage with a dish towel or some bubble wrap would help too. Excellent knots, excellent videos!

[@jrbtc]

After the event, I realized that the way I rigged it in the cradle for this test was slightly different than when I designed the cradle initially. But I hear ya. Thx!

[@pdloder]

Where I there during your testing, I would have suggested using a come-along with your vehicle in park

[@jrbtc]

Thx. I agree. I have used a come along in prior videos but mine is not strong enough to break this and I don't want to break it either. I have had a come along break on me when attempting to stand up a spruce that had gone sideways in a storm and let's just say I learned that ya never wanna push em til they break.

[@craighamilton4732]

John, there is a KZbin channel named HowNot2.they have a break test machine and test the mbs of all kinds of climbing gear. You might be able to get ahold of Ryan from the Chanel to see if he would do a video with your soft shackles.

[@2hands_and_a_brain917]

Thats a great new resource! I have just made up a climbing system using your compact ascender hitches a on both ends using 8mm on 11 mm abseil line. Would you add the dimensions to the resources list on your website for the various lengths to tie this into the compact and other variants of the ascender hitch? Too bad about your testing unit, I hope its not too dear to repair...

[@jrbtc]

I added a note to the table to give the information you need. Make sure you load and tune it on a hunters before attempting a Longhorn. The JRB Ascender wants to see an even load on both strands which requires some tuning after we tie it.

[@matthewbrown7475]

Can you do a video showing how to tie the compact JRB 523 ascender hitch with the longhorn like you have at the end of this video?

[@jrbtc]

We will get to all of that in time. For now, i am awaiting feedback as to whether or not this knot has already been devised or published under another name. But basically I tied it exactly the same way, just that it was upside down relative to the position demonstrated in this video.

[@oddjob66]

Man, that’s really neat! Can you share how long the length of 6mm cord that you used to build the distal hitch with the longhorn tender?

[@jrbtc]

That particular yellow cord was 5ft long, 6mm, tied on 10mm rope. You might be using different diameters and need more. Always cut more than you need and reduce after you tune it.

[@rdrx4]

good job👍

[@jhuntley575]

I never made a solft shackle because the button knot seemed hard to tie. I like this a lot. It even looks like a long horn

[@jrbtc]

The Diamond knot is also a chore. This design is different. The tails are the horns are the toggles.

[@14guitars67]

Tying a soft shackle is soooo easy. Just review a few of the step by step KZbin videos. Really just a few minutes of practice works wonders. You don't need to memorize; just slow the video and follow along.

[@MabelTyingTuts]

The diamond knot was one of the first knots I learned in my knottying (then paracord) journey. I learned it from ITS Tactical then. The soft shackle button that I find better is a 2-stranded ABOK #880 which is also called Brion Toss knot after the late famous rigger. I like that knot a lot as you don't have ends sticking out the end to deal with. I think howtoknot2 shows it a bit more detailed and slower. But your application is somewhat different. I love looking at knots to tie differently or used differently although I predominantly do fancywork. I have subscribed.

[@lancegovreau1440]

Hey John, you ever reach out to Hownot2? He has machine to break test all sorts of climbing equipment.

[@jrbtc]

I did reach out to them when I introduced the JRB Hitch but never heard back.

[@BB-xq6rj]

Can you give me recommendations on 8mm and 6mm ropes I can buy online. I don’t have any available in my area. I would like to make a lineman’s rope and tree tether for saddle hunting. Thanks!! Love the channel!!

[@jrbtc]

Be sure you understand the difference between rope and cord. We generally build a climbing rope or rappel rope or tether out of rope and tie our friction hitches with cord. Typically, the cord is smaller, about 75% the diameter of the rope. Products are always changing but there's some great choices at RockNArbor and its all 10% off with coupon code JRB10. www.rocknarbor.com/product-category/outdoors/saddle-hunting/rope-webbing-cord/

[@BB-xq6rj]

@@jrbtc yes of course on combining the different dimensions and types to fashion a tether and climbing rope for saddle hunting should have included that in my first comment my bad. Hopefully the company you listed has smaller quantities for my applications thank you!!

[@jayfranklin14]

Thoughts on this as a Quick link replacement on SRT/rappel rope?

[@jrbtc]

Those kinds of applications are on the table. For canopy anchor applications, I prefer using a carabiner as both the toggle and the rigging connector. But we have to discuss the details and ensure pulling on the carabiner with our retrieval line doesn't cinch it. We have plenty of time to explore the details but for now, wanted to introduce it and make sure its a unique contraption.

[@jayfranklin14]

@@jrbtc looking forward to it!

[@teddyruxpin3811]

That's really interesting. But can it be easily reused once it has already been used with significant tension?

[@jrbtc]

We tested a bunch of them to the point of breaking last week. The short answer is that somewhere between the (reasonably minimal) weight of our bodies and the extreme force necessary to break it, it became jammed. In comparison to a Scaffold knot ( used in life safety systems frequently), the jamming was less. And so, we need to consider the nature of where we apply it. I wouldn't use it to tow a vehicle... I am using it in an application like non-slack, static climbing. I will paste a link to a rigging application here on the channel.

[@jrbtc]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/fne8pYCMqtyXiK8

[@teddyruxpin3811]

@@jrbtc interesting. thanks for the info

[@alexstarr1589]

Would definitely love to see a JRB collab with Ryan from HowNot2! Edit: he also has lots of experience with breaking Line Scales so can probably offer advice in that regard! For his drop tower he has a setup with the Line Scale in a padded Pelican case that has some cutouts to run the connectors to.

[@jrbtc]

I actually did reach out to those guys at one point but did not hear back. And I did get a protective case after this mishap. Obviously, I am not equipped to do this type of testing and am simply doing the best I can with my time and available resources. There is a another video on strength testing where I got a chance to get some formal tests done on a test rig. I appreciate your comments and support. If this is good information, we won't be able to stop it from spreading and finding the people who it can benefit.

[@alexstarr1589]

@@jrbtc Bummer, I do know that they get a lot of requests. I'm glad you found a place to do some controlled tests! Just watched that video, all very good stuff. Thanks for all the work you put in, it's great to see some formal strength numbers!