Modern Monticello
Knots & Rope
Knots (5)
12 Most Useful Knots
Twelve everyday knots and hitches: what each is for, what you can do with it, and the rope rules that keep a knot from failing on you.
Bowline: A Fixed Loop That Does Not Slip
A loop in the end of a rope that holds its size, does not jam, and unties easily after a heavy load. The security catch you need to know about.
Trucker's Hitch: A Tie-Down With a Built-In Pulley
A way to pull a rope tight and lock it with a knot, so a load stays down. Better than it sounds on paper and weaker than it sounds in practice.
Taut-Line Hitch: An Adjustable Hitch for Guy Lines
A hitch that slides along the line to tighten or loosen when it is unloaded and grips tight when it is loaded. The standard for tent and tarp lines.
Lashings: Square, Diagonal and Shear
How to tie poles together with rope: at a right angle, where they cross at a slant, and side by side to make an A-frame.
Rope Basics (4)
Rope Types and Materials
How rope is built, what each common material is good and bad at, and why static and dynamic rope are not interchangeable.
Rope Strength, Working Loads and Care
Breaking strength is not a load you use. How much of it you actually get, how to inspect rope, and how to care for and finish it.
Paracord: What It Is and What It's Good For
Lightweight nylon cord with a woven sheath and inner strands. What the 550 number means, what it does not mean, and how to spot cord that is not what it says.
Rope or Ratchet Strap? Choosing a Tie-Down
When a rope and a knot will do, when a rated ratchet strap is the right call, and the working-load rule that decides it.