"Webbing knotcraft" video from canyoneer Rich Carlson
Connect with canyoneering expert Rich Carlson on his website, Canyons & Crags, and his great Youtube Channel
Sure, you know how to tie a water knot. But there's a lot more you can do with webbing, and canyoneering folks are experts at webbing related Crafty Rope Tricks (CRTs).
Webbing tends to be 1” for canyoneering, but climbers who favor the lighter 11/16” can do all the same rigging. See more climbing gear strength ratings here.
1” webbing = about 18kN
11/16” webbing = about 13kN
Alpine climbers often find that having a few 9 foot long tied runners with tubular webbing can be handy. You can use them as a standard double length runner, or use them for many of the “knot craft” techniques shown below. Read more on that here.
Some crafty rigging you can do with tubular webbing (all shown in the video below:)
When tying a water knot, what's the minimum recommended length of the tails? What's a quick way to check this when you’re tying it?
Do you know how to tie a re-threaded overhand knot in webbing around an object like a tree trunk?
If you basket hitch webbing around a tree, what are the downsides of tying an overhand knot at the master point?
Tying a knot in webbing may weaken the webbing by about 1/3. If you wanted to retain more strength, how can you position a knot (on say a tree) to do this?
What’s a “wrap 2, pull 1” anchor? What are some cases when you might want to use this?
Is a “wrap 2, pull 1” anchor redundant? (Answer, no.) How can you tie it to make it redundant?
How do you use a Frost knot to set up a courtesy anchor?
You get the idea. There’s lots of Crafty Rope Tricks beyond the water knot!
