I spent allot of time in an oak today, playing with the Knut. I have some mixed feelings about the hitch.

The problem I had was the dang thing would not grab the rope unless I bumped the top coils, or set back in the saddle really fast. I even turned the hitch around so the legs were going around the rope from behind with no improvement. Tied, dress and set several times. I tried different lengths of hitch cord, (8mm bee line) and a minding pulley, both on the biner between the hitch legs and then tied to the up rope. I thought for sure it was because some of my slit tails are almost new so I tried a well.... used one, and still no difference.

I am gonna use it on my lanyard though because it's really compact and does not need a minding pulley to advance especially if you route the tail through the carabiner so the biner it self acts like a pulley. I did like how the hitch didn't get tight on descent like the Distel. It does hold great with no creep and releases real smooth.
Has anyone else had any real experience with the Knut?

Dan

Hey Dantiff2, I use the Knut and like how it functions. I use it with the Ice hitch cord on Poision Ivey and Ive not experienced this slippying. How much tail do you have left over after you have made your knot? I think less is better with this particular knot in it functioning properly. I also use it on my lanyard.

I tried three different lengths of bee line, which made the legs of the hitch something like 2, 4, and 6 inches long. I will agree that the shorter the hitch legs the better it grabbed but with double fisherman's loops as the hitch cord termination, I could not go any shorter with the legs.

Dan

I suggest that all that will try this advanced friction hitch will admire the ease and response of the Michoacán. The man named Martin named in honor of his homesite in Mexico. I call it the Mexican Prussik.

If you rig it on a length of webbing away from your delta with your up rope in the same biner it will self-advance with each down pull.

All the others share the same issues- too hard to make fool-proof; to easy to release and scream down; etc.

I like the Knut. It's my go-to when the cord seems a bit too stiff for the hitch to grab easily. I prefer the legs to be as short as possible, while still allowing the hitch to be tied.

Dan, that looks like an interesting hitch there, but isn't the Michoacan essentially a 4/1 Blake's hitch with both ends of the cord attached? I never really liked it very much for the rope/cord combos I use, but that hitch you show looks worth trying for sure. It looks like an XT with one twist and no braids! Do you use it with a single cord, too, or just a doubled one like that shown?

Rope Wrench Hitch for near frictionless hitching

You are correct; it is not the Michoacán since I left out the last tuck under the last leg.

Now that two hitch experts have correctly identified this hitch as not being the Michoacán would the name “Rope Wrench” be ok?

While wrapping the legs I tried both ways and found little improvement if you tuck the last leg. You do get more grab if you add wraps above from four to as many as six.

With Maxim Tech cord you should always use a triple wrap Fisherman’s knot but with those on each end they get in the way of the motion. So I made a doubled-ended cord to form a tight loop at the biner end so it could stay affixed.

What I really like about this is that it is positioned with a loop of webbing long enough to easily grab the ball to descend but high enough to allow both hands and a foot loop at a point of my maximum power stroke. The wooden ball just fell into place as I was using it as a leader before my rope sleeve to pass over the branch while installing the sleeve. It makes sleeve installation so easy and if you are trying to pull thru a tight fork you have to flip your rope anyway. The ball gives a most pleasing grip to hold while applying downward force on any hitch and keep bare fingers free from rope burn.

At the recent Rendezvous I had two climbers each with shoulder injuries or less upper body strength that commented how easy it was to tie; easy to climb and easy to descend. By having the up rope attached at the same biner it works just like a split-tail also.

See you at the top,
Dan

Cool. I must give that a try. I might have to get me one of those balls, too!