Page 86 - Nate Fitch, Ron Funderburke "Climbing Knots"

The Classic Friction Hitch:
The Prusik

We’d be remiss not to mention the Prusik, but its
ideal applications involve rescue/assistance procedures
that are both rare and difficult to describe in this text.
However, there are clearly instances where the Prusik
survives the application heuristic ahead of its peers. In
an ascension system, in a haul system, in a belay escape,
and in a load transfer, a Prusik grips the rope tightly
and predictably. In some tests the Prusik grips the rope
so tightly that high loads actually strip the sheath off
of the rope. However, in the most common applica-
tions of a friction hitch in climbing (backing up rap-
pels and lowers), the Prusik is overly tedious to tie/
untie and its great strength is not needed.

Still a mainstay in climbing, the Prusik is best applied
when maximum grabbing power is needed.

Using the Rope to Manage Risk 73