I’ve assembled a new bed roll for camping that uses 3 inch thick foam rubber. I can roll it up just fine, but I need to tie it up with just one hand so it doesn’t unroll while I try to tie it up.
So I was thinking of a bowline on one end of the rope, then I would feed the rope around the roll with one hand and feed the opposite end through the loop. I could then hold the tension and remove my other hand.
Now, what would be the best knot to tie it off? I want something that will be fairly easy to untie but hold tight enough that I can throw it in my trunk with the rest of my gear and not come untied.
BTW, I would use two ropes, one on each side, to keep the bedroll rolled. I would also have a 3rd rope to act as a handle between those two first ropes.
i knot know.
you can tie a double half hitch in a loop larger than the roll. when you have the roll then place the loop around it with the knot under the thumb of the hand on the roll, then pull tight.
you could also use a short strap with velcro closures (think the pants strap for bicyclist’s pants legs and do bigger) to hold the roll tight. use other cord to make a handle or carry loop.
I start by twisting the cord over itself a few times – how to describe this? – like spiralling the loose end around the taut cord three or four times. It isn’t a knot, but it exhibits a lot of friction, so it doesn’t loosen on its own. That lets me take my hand away, and with two hands, I pull both ends to tighten it. Then I can finish it off with a half-bow.
I’m a fan of straps for this sort of thing myself. A flat strap which has either a velcro or nylon clasp, possibly with a loose end to cinch tight after fastening the clip. My own experience with foam bedroll mats had made me leery of ropes or other thin fasteners. They end up cutting through the foam over time because of the small surface area. Getting the strap in place on the ground before rolling up the bedroll is the only tricky part. Once it’s rolled up you can hold it down with a knee to fasten the straps.
I like flat dog collars. They have good quality straps, robust nylon closures, and d-rings I can clip a carabiner on to hang from a pack. Adjust to the size you’re comfortable rolling your bedroll up to and you should be able to use them forever. My foam pads aren’t nearly as thick as yours though, so you may need to find a strap instead of a dog collar. REI has a pretty good selection including pull-tight and clip-based straps. Something like this might be perfect if you don’t mind a little more weight over rope.
Enjoy,
Steven
Bungee cords would work. You should be able to exert enough pressure on the roll to keep it from unrolling while you hook the ends. Or stradle the roll and use both hands.
Flat straps with ladder-loc buckles were made for this type of task. Stay away from rope which will cut into the pads. Something like this will be much better than fussing with knots, and it’s much more useful for making splints in an emergency.
Instead of starting a new thread, can I piggyback here?
I want to know the best knot that can be cinched. I’m trying to tension two straps, and the cheap plastic backpack-type cincher/clasp broke. So I want to tie rope to each strap and pull them toward each other tight.
a sheet bend can attach a piece of rope to strap.
double half loops on the ropes can intertwine and be tightened.
You could do a turn and two half-hitches around one side with one end, then the same thing around the other side with the other end, leaving the rope in between to be used as a handle. It should be easy to keep enough tension after a couple turns to keep the roll from unraveling for the first knot, and it’s an easy knot to do one-handed, especially if you can keep tension on the standing end with your teeth (you don’t have to pull hard, just enough to keep the standing end taught).
Cardinal, the knot you want is the trucker’s hitch. It’s one of the most useful knots, relatively simple to tie, and one of the few knots that actually give you a mechanical advantage - it’s almost a pulley made of rope.
In my opinion, all you really need to know is a bowline, a good bend (there are many to choose from), a turn and half hitches, and a trucker’s hitch. Anything else, and you’re just being fancy/showing off. There’s also what I’ve heard called an oceanographer’s knot, whose motto is simply “if you can’t tie a knot, tie a lot!”
Thanks for that. For confirmation, I called my ex-army-officer brother, and he recommended the trucker’s hitch too. I surprised that I’m surprised that there’s a web site all about knots like that, but I appreciate it.
