Prusik knot with Zing It

[Rigger94]

Then I make sure the thin half is the bit that gets wrapped.

+1 for the position of the bury. 5 wraps of 1.75 zing-it and it held great and was easy to adjust.

[jwright]

If you are worried about the prussik size thing, you can try the 1.2mm techline from DIYGS. To be honest, I can't tell it from the the 1.75. It should work better in theory.

[WestCoastWhale]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

It was not an issue of having it hold though. It was an issue of once it held I could not move the knot to tighten it enough, it was just too hard to move, could only loosen it after a point.

I'll try again.

And it's the yellow 1.75 line, the loop is the same line.

[slugbait]

Like Martyn said, the line you make your prussik out of should be smaller in diameter than the line the prussik will slide on. I was taught this in climbing class.

[pgibson]

Like Martyn said, the line you make your prussik out of should be smaller in diameter than the line the prussik will slide on. I was taught this in climbing class.

In climbing ropes it is critical for you to use a different size. The reason why is that if you were to use 10mm rope and try to get it to wrap around 10mm rope it would not grip well, it just can't be bent around that tight of a radius. The rope will not make the turn around and get a secure grip in the prussic knot. However as you go down in size and use ropes that are softer....the lash it for example that we use for tarp lines, being a single braid rathe than a kern mantle rope have a much softer structure....they are able to make the turns tight enough to get a grip. However many of the ropes are are using are built for different purposes and have a polyurethane coating on them to help reduce friction....counter functional to our needs. Getting that coating to wear a little so that the rope can grip...and then getting the correct number of turns added to have grip but not excess is the trick.

For the past 6 years I have been stringing my tarps up with prussic set ups and have made thousands of ridge lines and guy lines with prussic knots on them. All of them made with 1.75 line prussic loops tied on 1.75 line. It works. You just have to wear in the line and use the correct number of wraps in the prussic......4 works very well and still adjusts easily. Because of the coating though you might need to work the prussic loose to adjust it if it has been under heavy load. To do that simply use your thumb and finger to roll the prussic loop loose, then be sure to dress the prussic so that all of the wraps are nice and flat.

[gargoyle]

Relieve the tension on the tarp by instaking it.
Under tension the prussik is stubborn/impossible to move.
Pinching the prussik from the opposite side ( ie pinch from left and slide towards the right) will allow it to move easier. Do not pull the open loop, as it will increase tension on the prussik.
Make sure your wraps are evenly spaced and the main line isn't kinked in the wraps.

[GreatBigDave]

Have you tried a Kleimheist? Perhaps it's uni-directional nature would help.

[WestCoastWhale]

I'll set up the ridge line and try again tonight if I have time. Maybe it just needs to be worn in as mentioned.

[dtp2c111]

I get the same issue as WestCoastWhale, where sometimes the prussic is so tight that i can not move it once it has bitten into the ridgeline. I think I was using 5 wraps. It was also on semi-new cord so maybe it was just a "line not worn in yet" issue. But I have also experienced this.

[DrPhun]

I am only using 3 wraps and it works fine even when the zing it is new, but it is important to dress the knot so it is snugged up good. Perhaps too many loose knots makes it difficult to get a grip, but then when it tightens down it gets too tight?