a line end soft shackle/soft binner (uni-shackle?)

[KingMob]

hey KingMob. which one in particular? the one the thread is about, or the one in the video above (the uni shackle or the VT tensioner).

i didn't make any video of how to tie either yet, but i can if somebody finds it useful

The knot combo in the OP.

[nanok]

The knot combo in the OP.

alright, i'll try to get to it when i find some time. but if you want to play with it, let me try to write the instructions (perhaps it's simple enough you won't have to wait for my video production house :P )

the knots are:

- ashley stopper
- butterfly loop

the two knots are very well documented at animated knots. the only "trick" i add is i twist the part of the rope which makes up the butterfly loop, before i tie the butterfly, so that it curls up on itself when it is bent in two; this is not critical, just nice to keep things tidy.

the alpine butterfly: https://www.animatedknots.com/alpine...rfly-loop-knot
the ashley stopper: https://www.animatedknots.com/ashley-stopper-knot

once the two knots are made, you pass the stopper through the butterfly loop formed, and now you have the shackle ready to use. the distance between the stopper and the butterfly is up to you (longer allows you to go around larger objects), but i wouldn't make it shorter than about two palm widths, for most purposes, as it would make it unconfortable to use.

[KingMob]

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Thank you, nanok!

My partner and I were hitting the gym recently, and she was saying she wants to improve her grip strength. I just used this knot system to make an adjustable weight tool. Most of the systems like this I had as a teenager were static - a closed knot holding the weight in place. Here I 4x the stopper knot to make a huge mass, to be extra sure it doesn’t drop the weight on our feet, and voila.

Thanks so much for posting this system. It was very timely and helpful.

[KingMob]

So I’ve been playing with ideas related to this all afternoon.

I’ve finally gone back to prusiks, and now I’ve started using overhand knots instead of butterfly knots.

What is the benefit of the butterfly knot over two overhand knots?

Is it a function of “if you loop it and prusiks, use overhand knots; if you Blake hitch a single line of cordage, use butterfly knot”?

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[nanok]

hey KingMob, nice to see your experiments

the first pics (with the weights): the stopper knot should go through the butterfly loop first before going to the weight, then it goes through the weight and back to be captured between the two strands of the loop on one side, and the single tensioned line on the other side. in other words, the butterfly loop you formed will be sliding on the main line, but only free too slide along the line, not flop around whichever way. this way the size of the loop is not critical, and it makes it also possible to release under load. the way it is now in the pics it is a bit unsafe imho, and it's easy to make it much better (you already are 99% of the way there).

the second set of pics with the prusik: that's actually my first attempt at such inline soft shackle (there's another thread in this forum about it here), and it works just fine, it is not so easy to release it under tension, and it's basically two strand (so not so suitable for the end of a line), but it is indeed great for integrating with a prusik. as you said, if you want a prusik this works great, if you want a blake hitch the single strand works better (i do recommend to play with the blake btw, i see you have a handle on the prusik, so you're familiar with the jamming issues of the prusik, the blake is much better in that way).

it's really cool to see not only people putting ideas to good use, but discovering similar solutions in the process of exploring how to do things, thanks for sharing.

[Bob-W]

Valdotain Tresse
A hitch climbers and arborists use while inching their way up or down their main support rope. Valdotain Tresse acts as a slip and grip hitch.

Dunno about arborists but as a very keen climber for over thirty years I'd never heard of the Valdotain Tresse and having looked it up I cannot remember ever seeing it, maybe it's a North American thing. Generally we'd use a French Prusik or Klemheist (they are very similar) or if there was a lot of rope climbing to be done a pair of mechanical ascendeurs.

[cmoulder]

Dunno about arborists but as a very keen climber for over thirty years I'd never heard of the Valdotain Tresse and having looked it up I cannot remember ever seeing it, maybe it's a North American thing. Generally we'd use a French Prusik or Klemheist (they are very similar) or if there was a lot of rope climbing to be done a pair of mechanical ascendeurs.

Just had some tree guys on our condo property the other day and they were using Petzl ascenders.

I only used Prusiks one time in my life to actually climb up a rope—while doing a crevasse rescue course with AAI in the Cascades—and while it can be done it is not easy by any means. 11mm climbing rope with 6mm utility cord.

[nanok]

Dunno about arborists but as a very keen climber for over thirty years I'd never heard of the Valdotain Tresse and having looked it up I cannot remember ever seeing it, maybe it's a North American thing. Generally we'd use a French Prusik or Klemheist (they are very similar) or if there was a lot of rope climbing to be done a pair of mechanical ascendeurs.

it's actually french, as luck would have it, so definitely more british than north american. and now, i run, not looking back. :P

i had not heard of it as a climber or speleologist, and i always was a bit keen on knots, so tend to have a broader collection than most climbers or speleologists, it is a "tree climbers and arborists" thing, and blimey* i'm thankful to them for inventing it and popularizing it, because it's blooming brilliant. it makes mechanical ascenders look like "an optional nice to have" rather than the usual "must have beyond 2m". the similarity between the VT and the prusik is best described as akin to a ford model t compared to a honda civic: same basic concept, but, ahem. (do try it, you'll enjoy it)

*seriously

[KingMob]

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This is what you’re describing, when it comes to the weight system? It does look much more fail safe.

[nanok]

yes, exactly. this way, when loaded, the stopper knot will hang against the loop of the butterfly, and the tensioned strand of rope, and make them both tight and unwilling to let it release. on the other hand, in applications where that might be possible/desireable, if you grab the stopper knot while under load, and pull on it (effectively lifting your weight a few centimeters), now the loop of the butterfly is unloaded, and can be convinced to make room for the stopper to go through, so you can, while still supporting the weight by the stopper knot, put the stopper out under tension this way, with no sudden jerk or loss of tension. this of course if and only if you can handle the wieght by hand (otherwise you would not be able to release it, and that's how it should be)

the only thing to be careful of is to make sure the stopper knot is not pulling out of the capture loop perpendicularly to the capture loop, but rather inline with it (in other words, avoid ring loading), pulling perpendicular is a quick method to release this thing (again, if you can handle the load by hand). this means, among other things, that you need to make sure the whole thing is significantly longer that it is required to go around the object you have, to avoid ring loading.