Page 50 - Backpacker Magazine's Outdoor Knots
P. 50
BuTTerFLY
The figure-8 loop is an excellent choice when the
direction of pull is directly opposite the loop. Yet
when the loop is in the middle of the rope and the
strands are pulled apart, it can lock up permanently,
and untying becomes a fantasy. For these situations,
we use the butterfly knot.
The butterfly is an underappreciated knot that
most people and books teach the hard way. Once
you learn the simple method, you will find it both use-
ful and easy to remember.
1. start by making a
bight in the rope that is
roughly the size of the
desired loop. Then give
the loop two twists.
2. Flip the tip of the
loop backward.
38 Outdoor Knots
BPM_OutdoorKnots_4pp.indd 38 8/30/10 2:39 PM
