Knot of the Week - Swiss Seat

[@gregiep]

This is the only set of instructions I found online that made clear that you make half hitches to secure the leg loops. Well done. Even though I prefer other improvised harnesses to over the Swiss Seat, the more ways you know, the more options you have.

[@jasonmarriott6271]

This is how we used to rappel with my dad and it works great. Any loose harness will hurt the nuts so make sure to wrap it tight and shift the junk! Thanks for the refresher.

[@ITStactical]

John, we all sincerely appreciate your comment, and are glad you're finding the information worthwhile! Thank you for supporting ITS, and we'd love to see that patch!

[@markstrong1013]

Tightening down both sides before tying off with your square knot is incredibly important, not just for comfort but to ensure you don't "fall out" of the seat, which can happen if you go vertical on your rappel.

[@ITStactical]

Yes and no... It is uncomfortable, but it serves it's purpose in an emergency situation. Thanks for the comment, and glad you enjoyed the video!

[@rynod2271]

excellent video. However, you forgot the part about adjusting your sack. That looks incredibly painful.

[@truejarhead]

You should never have to be told to adjust your sack 👍

[@ImGumbyDangit]

You only forget to adjust your sack the first time, second nature there after.

[@JPG23]

Our drill sergeants made us do squats to pull the slack lol

[@nobody-ly9ef]

To be fair, that is like telling someone they forgot to mention blinking when describing how to be awake. (I'm just fukcnig with you brother)

[@dragan3290]

Even a commercial harness has to have a few fingers in between the harness and body. This method is well away from private parts.

[@angelasnider8670]

We tied our own swiss seats at Girl Scout camp and rappelled in the early 90s. One of the only cool memories from camp.Thanks for the refresher!

[@stevehammel2535]

Thanks, a Swiss seat was the standard harness for repelling 30-40 years ago for elite forces

[@Metal1USMC]

Great tutorial video. As mentioned, I was always taught to squat when fitting. Not so tight as to restrict movement but tight enough to remain in the seat on an invert.

[@Rebekahdavignon]

When I learned it in ROTC Rangers, we used 6 ft of line - although your 12 ft seems to have fit you. We were also taught to squat when tying it....if you could stand after, it was way too loose; you had to "duck walk". We also locked the carabineer differently, but the ones we had didn't screw-lock, they were simply spring loaded.

[@jonmen25]

same here

[@badazzboxer]

Rebekah Davignon how did you use 6ft, I just got back from Lowe's and mines 7ft and there is not enough slack, I have a skimmer waste than him!

[@TheLordReverend]

badazzboxer pull harder! haha

[@badazzboxer]

Nun Ya ha! Bullshit!

[@TheLordReverend]

badazzboxer hahaha yeah hurts like hell!

[@ITStactical]

T10, Yes, those are overhand knots. Thank you for pointing that out :) Thank you for your comment, and the kind words!

[@greencertifiedweb]

Very well done. Your instructions make it really easy to remember. I'm taking some beginners up about 15' of class 3 in a few weeks. This is a perfect solution in case someone gets stuck.

[@Tangaroa1dollarway]

Not many handy clever friends like you sir, thanks for the helpful tip.

[@MontanaBallistics]

Awesome! Works great! I don't have a harness and needed to tie off today to paint the peak of a 2 story house. Watched this video and was tied off and painting in no time!!!

[@Tysca_]

Jeez, sounds uncomfortable.. But substantially more comfortable than a 30 foot ladder!

[@usarmyfl1]

Sweet thanks for this video. This is exactly what we used in basic for rappelling off of Eagle tower, I had just forgotten how to tie it.

[@Tysca_]

Excellent video! I've been climbing for a while and never needed to make a harness out of rope, but I'm sure if I'd already known how to do it, it would have made an appearance already. I'll grab some rope and practice this one and try rappelling it.

[@Stan_in_Shelton_WA]

I think your lock offs and initial half hitches were tied as overhand knots. You might want to review that.

[@Z0MbeeZz]

those were not half hitches at all

[@ITStactical]

Glad you found it useful! Thanks for the comment!

[@Bongsmokerton]

Can you do a video on proper hook in for us who may be rusty or don’t know how to proper insert the ropes into the carabiner awesome video by the way completely refreshed everything I forgot over the years

[@ITStactical]

We definitely will, just waiting until it warms up here in TX again to get out and climb.

[@cgsai2008]

Thank you for the video. Very simple and dead on!

[@ITStactical]

A Swiss Seat, in my opinion is more comfortable than a riggers belt because there's leg support. However, it's much more convenient to wear a riggers belt than to carry 12 feet of rope. Both will do the job in an emergency situation though.

[@brianpollstergaard7143]

Cool straightforward vid. I was looking for a demo on how to make a simple inprov harness. This is exactly it. Thanks a lot.

[@ITStactical]

PompousFlea, It's great to get feedback like this, thank you for your support!

[@hudman2012]

video should be called how to get Swiss blue balls

[@depitesenate8247]

hudman2012 😂 i was watching the video and I kept thinking about my guys (balls) and how painful it would be if the rope kinda went sideways and meets the guys

[@grsimpson3957]

@@depitesenate8247 My dad was a firefighter, he warned me about this

[@November81Whiskey]

Great tutorial, thanks for your time and effort

[@masonmills8140]

Thanks pal! I hung off of my roof to set up christmas lights with this harness

[@rene8564]

This is great and brings back a lot of memories. When we rappelled off a tower in the US Army, an instructor did all of this for us. They then proceeded to sweet talk us down. What the hell? We were Infantry. What they should have done was make each of us do this part at least ten times prior the wussy descent. Thanks for correcting that. By the way, 15 people would have done this differently, but instead offered no help at all

[@jacobcalderon510]

The squat man, The squat. if you are doing this tighten before use.

[@barrygoodman509]

Very interesting. I can't wait to try the "Swiss Seat" harness up on my roof (roof shingle repair).

[@yasersharifeh2313]

Have to learn this for Raider competitions. Let's just hope I can remember this.

[@TheMadman61]

Me to bro I have been doing it wrong the whole time

[@RobThorntonSoloClimber]

Great little instructional vid!? Used to use this seat in Aussie Army,superb(had forgotten how!)Many thanks,Rob.:-)

[@RupderDucky]

Hey thanks for the vid; I made a swiss seat during Basic for the Army but forgot to over the last 2 years, thanks.

[@arthurg2916]

Thanks, I used this to put my Christmas lights on my house. Can't be too careful. ✌

[@shelby67gt5]

i was actually taught to make the half hitches differently to where the rope runs all the way around and back to your hip

[@erikjohnson2976]

Great instructions and nice technique. Thanks very much.

[@airheadrockedpsiko5353]

I'm using this method today... Tq for the tutorial... really helpful...

[@michiwonderoutdoors2282]

Thanks ! It's been many , many years .

[@mightymj1095]

thank you so much, I was having a hard time with this at Jrotc for raiders

[@zezaekrael]

One thing the poster neglected is that for a proper fit (with reduced risk to the groin for males) you should, after passing the rope up behind you, between your back and the pre-harness, lift the ropes up over your shoulders from behind, then while grasping them firmly squat down. After you do this, keep the grip on your ropes tight, pulling up as you stand. Obviously you need to keep the rope between your inseam and testicles as you do this. When you finish it will seat the rope better.

[@ImGumbyDangit]

This is EXACTLY how I was taught when I was in the infantry in the early 80's

[@ImGumbyDangit]

@Edward Garcia B Company North Saskatchewan Regiment (Primary Resevers) 1980 - 1983, 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry (Regular Forces) 1983 - 1989.,

[@1oag]

Learned first by Rangers in HAAF Savannah Ga and then again at Ft. Campbell

[@Steven-gb1sr]

Screw down so you don’t screw up. I like it

[@GruntProof]

the military seat!

[@capedmarauder]

Great video thanks! Nice and short too! 🙌🏼

[@ITStactical]

@grbroussard Yes, always remember to "Screw Down, So You Don't Screw Up." If Gravity starts to pull on the locking portion of the biner, you want Mr. Gravity to tighten it, not loosen it.

[@jsmith5443]

That makes it a lot easier to understand. Thank you.

[@nemesisfaust]

dark side finance disabled vet w air assault specialist, not master level3 but level 2. did the heli course ect. but got called away from the grad ceremony, so even tho i qualified i never got the coin + master award. 10 years + since doing any of this stuff, watched a few videos to help my memory seeing people doing swiss seats wrong. just would like to confirm to those who are watching... this is the correct way to do a swiss seat! malo mori quam feodari

[@grbroussard]

Cool video. Just how I remember to tie the Swiss. One thing, are you sure you put the biner on correctly? Again, nice video.

[@zezaekrael]

If you know how to do it, and with practice, you can rappel or use this as a safety harness with no damage to your groin/testicles/etc. We used these in Air Assault constantly with no pain or discomfort.

[@woopsme]

We use 12 feat of 7/16 inch nylon rope, it fits everyone, even the biggest guys, the smaller guys just tuck the excess in their pockets. That was Air Assault school instructor taught by the way.

[@grbroussard]

LOVE IT!!! Good ol' Mr. Gravity!!!

[@zezaekrael]

Glad I could be of help. Just keep in mind that (and I'm only guessing!) if you haven't had some practical experience, or don't have anyone for "live training" you'll want to start slow and easy with rappelling. I'm not trying to insult you and I'm sure you are intelligent and have common sense, but I have seen people get seriously injured trying to start too big. Hang from something by your rig only a few feet off the ground to get a feel for it before trying anything high! :)

[@rainmechanic]

What kind of belt are you wearing in this video..... Some guy on ebay sells custom made belts like this for smokejumpers..... Where did you get yours?... I dig it.

[@28Missgooey]

this is so much fun to do. can 't wait for JROTC Summer Camp.

[@attention_shopping]

great efficient video instructional

[@jolllyroger1]

Military training the taught to tie above the hips below the ribs this locks it into the body and is safer than if you go where you did

[@lancerudy9934]

Great video 😊

[@BigTVideos]

I'm taking my group out tomorrow or rappelling class good job thanks a lot hope you don't mind us using you to demo before we go out CSM Southern California state militia thank you

[@MajicLaMa]

saved my friend's unncle's life oonce. he had a rope and he was at the top of an unstable cliff after he fell from a hike. ten minutes later it collapesed but he made himself a swiss seat and got down.

[@dragan3290]

I bought 5 metres of Elderid webbing to do this but I had to extend it. Frost knot on my side but the last knot is right where it should not be. Above my crotch, above my belly button. I've been wearing construction harness for 20 plus years. This is still more comfy .its secure because I tied in with a figure eight descender on my chin up bar.is there way to tidy up the ends on webbing? Thanks for your vids dude! Awesome info! Hi from Australia 🙂👍👍👍

[@bradbasham]

I had a Dominatrix named Helga use this on me yesterday.

[@CipherNameRaVeN]

Thank you so much for such a great instructional video. I learned how to tie this when I was in ROTC. It's been 15 years ago. I completely forgot. I think in survival situation this is very important to know. Do you think 550 would hurt too much? That is what usually people have in their BOBs.

[@theoldleafybeard]

It can even hurt with a thick one, so... I wouldn't risk it, personally. Better try first, and see if it tightens circulation too much or not.

[@Tysca_]

I would guess it'd work in a pinch, but an actual harness will always be much better than improv.

[@jankrissPOMV]

Super vidéo. Testé et approuvé !

[@icebergmike27]

Wow, lots of people whining about what is correct and incorrect. At one point in time this was the correct way. This is what I was taught in Army JROTC from 1992-1996 and then in the Marine Corps in 1997. Things change over time. Knot tying incorporates a lot of tradition and colloquial attributes so yea, you might not do it this way but it doesn't mean this guy is wrong.

[@KevinStumpf2010]

I am in Air Assault school right now. We are using a 7/8'' rope.

[@mac5520]

Theres a squat and tug missing hear that saves the boys from destruction if you know what i mean.

[@scwyldspirit]

I’ve always used flat webbing. Seems to work out better

[@centurionisback5798]

Im in JROTC raider team, and when we do rope bridges, I always forget what the hell im doing, and everyone has to wait on me, so I've gotta watch this video OVER AND OVERRR

[@NikySportsPromotion]

@eriktrudelle A square knot is a perfectly capable knot. It will work with a double fish, a water knot, take your pick, but simple as it is the square is a stong, self-locking knot. Take a short section of rope, tie the ends in a square knot and try to pull it apart, you'll see that putting pressure on both load strands just tightens the knot.

[@HanaDubs]

Hello from Chamblee Raiders

[@TheSurviver72]

Cool demo! Keep up the great work.

[@icjinu]

very nice video, thanks... are those crye precision pants?

[@nathanatramp]

Thanks so much for making this video. I figured this out once when I was young, but couldn't replicate it now. I guess I just needed to re-learn it. :-)

[@jankrissPOMV]

Great, thanks ! Not as uncomfortable with a doubled rope 😊

[@loynation]

fish with tiny spinners all downstream of the bridge, that thing is LOADED with trout! I caught 27 rainbows and 3 brown trout in one afternoon, lost one HUGE rainbow in some heavy current (5 lb. fish!) Fish the shallows and areas where current dumps into slack water, below falls and in the eddies behind rocks...but the water has to be clear, a few days later I went back after it rained and didn't get jack..muddy water=no trout. That was the best part of air assault!

[@rationalbushcraft]

I learned a different way but it is pretty close to the same results. Small triangle in front is what you are looking for. I would add get 25 feet or so of tubular webbing. It has multiple purposes and is much more comfortable than rope. Just spent yesterday doing SAR exercises using a expedient swiss seat.

[@blakemiller1965]

ya this really helped our JROTC raiders

[@ep1417]

That's pretty much how we did it in Infantry Training.

[@chucklotro8749]

I only did this once, a looooooong loooong long time ago. Isn't there a seat variation where you loop around the quads?

[@Rook098]

Being the Marine I am I had to teach others how to tie this and not just play with myself like some other branches. Never had all those half hitches. Way I was taught the straps came through the legs and then up over the waist and roped around to the inside and finally out to your waist side. Tie your square knot and add some over hand knots that are flat against the square and tuck the loose ends in your pocket. I know words can be hard to visualize but there are vids with this done right.

[@hemanthadayarathna7835]

❤nice video

[@BucketListBadass]

Thanks for teaching.

[@dice9050]

I (a female) tried this and it's actually not bad. Hell, when ever I go to the park a make a Swiss seat and just swing around

[@TheLondonCyclist]

1:23 will scar me for life!

[@mazidtheraider]

Methinks the gentleman doth protest too much...

[@BlastGrip]

Nobody gives af, guy. If you want to rappel without killing yourself then this is how you tie up a swiss seat, same way I was taught at BCT and none of us paid attention to each others junk getting bunch up.

[@TheLondonCyclist]

BlastGrip Bro, I know you looked at other dudes bits. It's natural for males to see how big other males are. You can't help it, you're an animal.

[@gman171]

Thats what i thought as well! im checking to see if we used something else because this was too easy! lol!

[@llllll-ux2lz]

I remember doing this in BCT... wearing that for 8 hours waiting to repel down the tower

[@Dingus22]

you should walk around town like that !! or better yet have your wife pull you around town like that !! lol

[@kingstoncowboy01]

Thank you may come in handy for me one day :)

[@spencerdonaldson6023]

Yea I had to learn how to tie this on the fly it's fun if you are making a rope bridge

[@victorpapaavp]

I know this is pretty vintage but Bryan, was wondering if you would recommend clipping the 'Biner into a quality riggers belt like your setup? or should you leave it attached only to the harness?

[@nevaehparks4991]

My pleasure

[@yahikopain6437]

This helped a lot thanks.

[@davidarmstrong1624]

Nice vid, good skills, thanks for this.

[@PathlessRogue]

That's how I remember it too Z. What's next drill sgt's do everyones zero for them at the range...'cuz that'll work. lol. Nice vid. Thanks for the quick refresher.

[@silentsniper441]

@NatureGuyProductions yes it does but if you dont have a strap type harness then yeah

[@RandallSteen]

I have used a Portuguese Bowline. does this tighten up under a load even with the two hitches?

[@Montyfiable]

Coll video. Could you make a video showing how to use it?

[@asstchief48]

After the square knot, you tied an overhand safety knot, NOT a half hitch which is part of a clove hitch. A half hitch is used in conjunction with either a clove hitch or a figure eight on a bight to help secure a tool being raised or lowered . All knots and hitches should be secured with an overhand safety knot.

[@adrolab27]

I'm sorry but the first step is to use webbing, and start with the center piont resting on your neck. Bring the two leads through your legs and outward, then around. Feed the trailing ends through the large loop created by the webbing around your neck in corisponding opposit directions. Then take the webbing loop off of your neck and pull both tags tight to where they are comfortable. The next step is to take both leads and guide them through the triangle and then wrap them around your waist

[@RebelSapper]

Hmmm... Army taught me to screw up!? Our carabiners where tapered though with the wider bell on the crew side of the gate, wander if that makes a difference in the proper method...

[@marine4gaming721]

I learned this in rotc but we haven’t practiced it in a while