Why I don't trust the Clove Hitch

[@gaphoogys]

I am a tower climber/tech/welder. And your videos are so helpful that I keep a small pick rope in my suitcase and practice these knots when I'm at the hotel. Thank you!!

[@pedroleitaoazevedo9932]

Trigonolo😊gia esferica

[@utoob624]

I know others have left the same comment but here's one more: there are a million videos out there on knots but you have a great presentation. Really appreciate the great insight about the usefulness - or un-usefulness - of knots in certain situations. Nice job!

[@txtoolcrib]

Thank you, that is very much appreciated.

[@eduardoargenton7047]

Totally agree with @utoob624. Thank you very much @txtoolcrib for this very didactic and well explained video!

[@groussac]

0:00 Intro-Clove Hitch not reliable 1:04 Clove Hitch 1:37 Groundline or Picketline Hitch 2:25 Spar Hitch 2:56 Constrictor Knot 4:02 Clove Hitch + Half Hitch 4:55 Clove Hitch + 2 Half Hitches on standing end 5:48 Clove Hitch w/2 crossing lines 6:47 Spar Hitch in slip form: my favorite

[@djSmokeShow]

One of the best knot videos I've seen, and I've seen a bunch. Some people also use a stopper knot on the working end of a clove hitch to keep it from slipping apart. I found a new favorite with your Spar Hitch with a slip. Just went out and tied my hammock to a tree branch using that. What really surprised me is how well it handles side load, and of course super easy to untie with the slip. Thanks!

[@txtoolcrib]

It’s one of my favorites too! Simple, effective, and easy to release. Glad I could help.

[@ridermak4111]

Great video ! I’ve never trusted the clove hitch either. I’m amazed that it is included at all in many different safety of life applications. Constrictor hitch is my favorite. Maybe because I learned as a kid how to complete it lightning fast for tossing over an open ended dock post. A weird thing to remember is don’t use any of the above hitches around a square post / rail. The flat areas can reduce or even almost eliminate the pressure points needed where the rope crosses itself.

[@glinskyc]

Thank you so much for this. The Spar Hitch in slip form is exactly what I needed. I also add an extra half hitch to the "slip" bite, making it even less prone to coming loose while maintaining its ease of untying.

[@davidlee6461]

I love your spar hitch in slip form. Quick, secure and easy to undone. Thank you 😄

[@andabien3]

Nice clear explanation with no nonsense included. Much appreciated.

[@draniknikdra]

I was thinking about securing clove hitch for a few months now and today I decided to search for it. Thankfully, it was a good timing with youre video. Good one, give us more.

[@txtoolcrib]

Hope you can find these methods useful.

[@LaurenceBrown-rx7hx]

I'm finding other sources have different names for what you called a "Spar Hitch" knot. The most common names I see for what you tied at 2:25 are "Miller" and "Bag." When I look up references for a "Spar Hitch" knot, most sources seem to show it as an alternative name to the "Groundline Hitch" you demoed at 1:37. I'm not sure how standardized the naming conventions for knots are, but I'll leave this comment here on the off chance its helpful information. Great video, thank you @TX Tool Crib

[@txtoolcrib]

You are correct. The Spar Hitch is also referred to as the Miller Knot when tying around a bag, I have also heard it referred to as the Bag Knot.

[@keithdubose2150]

Great video ...and sensible analysis I used the clove hitch for a quick way to make a line fast to piling for temporary mooring .. but add half hitches if leaving the boat for any length of time .. but these other options such as spar are well worth learning.. thanks!

[@caramelzappa]

We use them for tying off our swing stage davits and they have never failed. The key is that they need to be under tension. We have two lines from the davit end opposing each other, keeping each other in tension.

[@coldspring624]

Clove the very first knot I learned as a kid for short term docking.....fast and so simple to flip the second loop over the piling.

[@platonicmetal]

I adopted the spar or bag hitch from one of your other videos. I use a constrictor knot when I really mean it - lol. They’re easy and strong. The sailor’s knot is more or less in this same family, but it’s harder to tie.

[@Teemzsaerialmedia]

Spar hitch is really handy !

[@DirkHoffmann]

Love the Spar Hitch as Cable Binder (or perfect "in between" Clove Hitch and Constrictor knot. thanx!

[@tonyb83]

Very clear and useful, thanks.

[@gordonray528]

Excellent! Great instruction!!!

[@christophervela5447]

You did a very great job

[@realynnmicutuan4642]

3 ways for me. • Double the clove hitch. like double or triple the turn on the inside then lock with an overhand. • overhand after the clove hitch • Double overhand to be more secure. Anyways nice video 👍

[@nonokodog622]

perfect...1/2 speed really helps too ! Subbed

[@jaewok5G]

at some point I was practicing a marlin spike and accidentally found a fast way to make a constrictor knot to place over the end of a pole - and with a very slippy line, it held insanely tight. fyi. i did a finger twist [for a loop under] n flip [the loop over the standing end] for the marlin and then twisted the top half of the loop [making an '8' over the standing line a bit like a '%'] and folded the 2 loops down over the line n slid over the pole. this may be common practice, but I was excited.

[@mingshey]

I tried to follow your instruction but I couldn’t figure out the right direction of twisting. So I reverse engineered it, that is, I tied a loose constrictor knot around a round stick and slipped it out and figured out what part of loop is most ready to untwist. And there was the finger twist you seemed to have mentioned. Thanks for sharing your discovery.

[@mingshey]

I find it useful for making a constrictor knot in the middle of a long line, although the material to be tied on should have an open end.

[@ateamfan42]

I think the reason the clove hitch remains so widely used, despite its limitations, is that it can be tied with the standing end under tension, using the first wrap to hold that tension while the knot is finished. The other hitches that trap the working end under the first wrap are going to be really hard (if not impossible) to tie with tension in the standing end.

[@JBullock54]

Excellent video sir. Very useful tips. Quick question on the variants though - How well would tying a stopper knot on the tail work, such as an overhand or figure 8? Could the locking point open up enough where the stopper could slip through?

[@mtkoslowski]

Very interesting. I will use your suggestions. Thank you.

[@otowncolby]

It all depends on diameter of the rope and object you are putting it on. It is one of the most widely used "knots" (hitch, I know) for anchors in rock climbing - super strong and super reliable with 9-10mm rope on a carabiner. A thin piece of cord on a pipe that thick in diameter... no.

[@REDrhynoArt]

Hey man, just found your channel, and I am really enjoying your content. Very informative, and the knots are well presented. You explain what you are doing and why you are doing it well. Great work, thank you for sharing your knowledge with the world. Go Texas!

[@EiderJChavesC2]

Awesome!. 👏 👏 👏 Thank you for sharing!

[@thomasf.5768]

Very nice variations

[@LoneRiderz]

The clove hitch plus two half-hitch is my go to when I was in the coast guard. In fact, I'll usually do a round turn and two half hitches as it is quick and self tightening.

[@JW...1]

If you're slow like me and have trouble keeping up, you can watch this instructional video at .5x playback speed😊

[@MatthewBendyna]

What is better than the clove hitch? What knot would you use for a tripod lash? I'm trying to make a tripod for lean to shelter.

[@txtoolcrib]

Clove hitch is perfectly fine when used at the start of a lashing.

[@SuperMarkito1]

Best video, thanks!

[@duggydugg3937]

i use the slippped clove to keep the 2 recycling bins from windy days.. a killer perrmanent hitch is the double figure 8 hitch.. two more yurns and bars than the clove wp over objec around and up on right side of sp left bar over original turn around and up on left of sp tuck tip under the left bar..a clove hitch.. wp right bar over original turn around and up on the right of sp tuck tip under the right bar wp left bar over original turn around left of original turn but right of left hand turn up to the left of sp tuck tip under right bar tip under both left bars dress knot ..tug wp and sp

[@Jennings24]

Yes, brother! Commercial fisherman looking for a way better way to start hangings on leadline. Constrictor hitch is perfect. Like and sub!

[@jirivorobel942]

The whole point of a clove hitch is that it is easy to remove or adjust. That's why it's used for temporary mooring, hanging theater backdrops and just about anything temporary that needs fine-tuning. When everything is set up, just add a half-hitch or two. Tying something to a vehicle requires a completely different knot, preferably a figure-of-9 loop for a fixed loop or a Sailor's hitch for a self-tightening hitch.

[@kevola5739]

Could you show the constrictor knot with the quick release?

[@kman2220]

I think you missed or failed to mention one point, the clove hitch can be tied under load without the risk of losing your fingers! Otherwise I really like the variations that you demonstrated! Ty!

[@xisigma]

It is self locking too. Round turn is almost as good.

[@tonyc4776]

Im really good at this one knot with my gym shorts and my wife does the laundry and can't get the knot out.

[@larrybaxter7771]

Great tips! Is it possible to tie the ground line/spar hitch using the bight method like you can with a Clove/constrictor?

[@txtoolcrib]

Absolutely, it’s actually preferable.

[@berk7138]

thanks a lot!

[@jesseshort8]

What's your favorite knot to tie to a hitch tow ball that comes undone easily? Thanks.

[@txtoolcrib]

A Bowline with Yosemite finish, then a Clove Hitch turned in the center of the Bowline to hold tight around the ball. The other side can be tied in a Portuguese Bowline if towing a vehicle short distances.

[@seafoodsofalaska]

Hi I'm new to knots, what is a slip form of a knot? ie when you discuss the slip form of the constrictor knot?

[@ateamfan42]

The slip form means to pull through a bight of the working end, rather than the entire working end. This leaves a tail free that can be pulled to slip the bight back out and release the knot.

[@bryantreacher5793]

There is a nother way that I use to tie the clove hitch which makes it more secure and also stopes it being unwound by an animal that might be tied up with it and that is to tie a clockwise overhand knot but instead of putting an end in pull a bight through using this bight rap it around your object then in-between the two parts of the knot which makes a slipped clove hitch or if you pull it right the way through makes a clove hitch but the knot crosses it self and holds better

[@DoomRater]

It seems to me a good place to use a clove hitch is when there's a load on both ends. The question is, is there a way to tie the clove hitch in the middle of a line?

[@JBullock54]

Yes there is. You have to tie it on the bight though. Make two overhand loops and pass the second one under the first then throw it onto the carabiner, object, etc. and then tighten it

[@chrisoconnor3119]

Why not a overhand on top of the clove hitch?

[@annshaw6426]

Brill. Many thanks 😊

[@duggydugg3937]

cross the working end over the original turn .. the one from the standig part.. then tuck the working end under the original turn.. constrictor knot...

[@Xeonomy]

I don't understand the point of clove hitch. Basically the constrictor hitch behaves like i imagined the clove hitch to behave, and clove hitch in some cases seems even less secure than properly dressed half hitch. why not just use the bowline or mooring hitch or slipped buntlune hitch?

[@sabadabigarage1595]

Agree 100%

[@Perktube1]

But does the clove hitch trust 'you'?

[@grumpy_cat1337]

I wasted many hours trying to make clove hitch more secure and eventually abandoned the knot.

[@justinatest9456]

I wasn't aware that the constrictor was capable of tightening so much it won't release, so I appreciate the heads up there. I have two variants I'd like your thoughts on... At 4:10 you tie the clove with an extra half-hitch working to the right. I tie my extra half-hitch to the left. Is it less reliable than tying to the right? Another variant that I've seen is the rolling hitch, where the first wrap is doubled, then tie the clove hitch as usual from there.

[@TJB270]

Pretty sure that’s the rolling hitch at 6:17. And no it doesn’t matter what direction you tie you’re clove hitch/half hitch. I’d tie the half hitch around the bar though instead of the standing end like he mentioned

[@zrig1]

You need to make a distinction. A hitch is not a knot ... It is a hitch. like any hitch once the item it is formed around is removed it falls apart.

[@txtoolcrib]

A Hitch is most definitely a Knot my friend.

[@AjayMandyal0557]

Without safety Knot clove hitch not safe

[@name5949]

👍

[@jcee2259]

I'm not using Bull or Clove hitches.

[@AKhan0372]

If clove hitch is so bad, how come it's so used by climbers? Seems to be most common hitch among climbers.

[@txtoolcrib]

It depends on the application,also where it is tied on the line. If the Clove Hitch is loaded on both sides of the line then it is a very good knot, not unlike the Cow Hitch becoming a Girth Hitch. Second, if it left with an extremely long tail it is highly unlikely that it can slip out. Lastly, when cinched in a static load the knot doesn’t come undone. The problem arises whenever it is used under variant load or high vibration without a backup half hitch. As to your question directly, I don’t know why climbers would continue to use this hitch when there are better options. Might be because it is easy to tie.

[@christophercraig3907]

I realize I'm super late to this party, but for anyone seeing this it's because there aren't clearly better options. The places climbers use clove hitches either they're working with pre-tied/sewn loops or both ends of the line are already holding critical loads, so the hitch must be tiable in the bight (which none of your other options are). The class of things you are describing in the video Ashley would have called "hitches to spar, rail, or mast" and the class of things that are valid for the climbing use of a clove are only the tiable-in-bight subset of "hitches to stake or post". On top of that, though, the thing that makes the hitch "better" for a climber is an unusual set of things. The most common place cloves are used is setting anchor at the top of a pitch, which means you just finished climbing a pitch and you may still be holding yourself stable on the rock with one of your hands. The optimal hitch needs to be tiable in-the-bight, one handed, with as few options for failure in the tying process as possible because the climber is exhausted and the thing they're going to do immediately after tying is transferring their weight to it. A clove hitch on a carabiner is the exact same twisting motion twice, which is about as simple as a knot can get.

[@TJB270]

Climbers use it in the midline, so that’s different

[@williamraven7376]

Just put a half hitch in it and it won't loosen