Let's see who can figure out what knot this is. I saw this on the Petzl Roc Trip video on youtube and posted the question to the comments on it. A guy just responded naming the knot a "double pal steak"... of which, a Google search returns nothing. Here is the knot:

Ahhhhaa.... a slightly different spelling (palstek) yeilds this; which looks an awful lot like a bowline to me:

looks like a triple bowline to me, with the tail of the rope fed back through 2 of the wraps

Maybe i'm putting too much effort into this but i just went and snapped a pic of how i tie a bowline for comparison:

So i know nothing about this knot, is it as boomer as the 8? Why would I use it?

I was using the bowline "with a yosemite finish" for a while while topropping and sportclimbing. I loved the fact that I could untie it easily. Then the people at the local gym started getting ancy and said that the "turn" ir "angle" could possibly cause a break [in the rope] in a large fall due to stress at the bend. I would love to prove them wrong (I only (only!?) weigh 165#). I've been back on the figure 8 for ten years.
signed: missin' the bowline

Yes, the fact that you simply can't get this knot too tight to undo makes it a huge plus for leading and anyone of large size. But like mcarizona stated, most gyms won't let you tie in with it. I don't like showing it to folks when i'm outdoors b/c i hate to think of them tying it wrong after i've showed it to them. It's just not as visually solid as the 8 follow-thru. iow, you can spot an 8 tied wrong from 40 feet away in most cases... not so much the case with the bowline. I use it but recommend anyone using an 8 to stick with it.

I've been looking at that knot for a couple hours and trying to figure out what it could be...most likely it's still some version (family) of a figure 8 with a single overhand safety...and "dressed" really poorly. If it's in the bowline family (not ruling that out) it could be some reversed Yosemite finish.

A little personal background:

I've been climbing for a while, 17 years working on antenna towers/rope access, only rock climbing for about 6 or so months 3x/week (it's addictive as y'all know); I can't seem to figure out why some folks don't stick with what works...or at least make sure their knots are easily identifiable for their belayer to verify.

Hmmm... i think you're on the right track. I just snapped this from around 1:56 and zoomed it in. It shows the double loop through the harness much better:

Figure 10 retrace with the retrace going back through the harness?

That's the closest thing I've been able to come up with/tie/attempt to replicate that comes close to what's in that pic...?

In reality it looks like a "hitch", something tied with a "bight"...

Think I'll stick with well dressed common knot...no reason to get fancy or sloppy...besides it's quicker and well proven.

Yeah, i went and pulled my rope back out [again] too. At the risk of sounding completely ignorant here, could you post a pic of a figure 10 knot? I've searched unsuccessfully for one. thanks

I don't know how to do images on here yet, here's a link to a pic of an8 a 9 and a 10:
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f267/MJC_Cowboy/Climbing/k>>>>>

Ahhh, yeah - could be that fig 10. What a mess... I'm with you... stick with my tried/true dbl loop bowline or fig 8. I'm all about having something that my belayer can see from 20ft away is wrong and correct me if i ever futz it up.

The knot in the picture is a very well tied bowline on a bight backed up with a double fishermans... It's a great way to tie-in.

Edit for clarification:
Yes you can tie a bowline on a bight around something...

James, didn't you try tying in with something like a "Russian Bowline" for a while? I remember you having a knot book with this in it.

I think it was more "campfire smack talk" in the Valley than anything. And it was a Spanish Bowline.

Glasnost...

Jay,

Glasnost

Wikipedia brings the game to a whole new level.

Old English 800

I got from one to the other in 8 steps...

Wow James. I had completely forgotten about that. I feel like I've forgotten a lot about that time in Camp 4.




Sorry for the hijack....

• **edit, just re-read the quoted post..."bowline ON a bight" thought it was "with a bight" maybe I needed to read it better...

• **re-edit...Yes, I agree it's a "bowline ON a bight, tied around an object with a double fisherman's safety"; actually not that difficult either for a knot guru...(one of the terms Reed Thorne used to refer to me...he's my hero when it comes to high angle rope access work)

I still haven't figured out how to add an image...however, I did tie the combination, and take a picture of it tied around an object, in this case a BD grip ring...used some accessory cord*

• I keep a couple 10' sections of it handy (on a shelf in the living room) for times like this: when I need to figure out a knot. :-)

Here's another i'm stuck on. Could be a bowline or just a timber hitch with a doubled start.
<<< Invalid image id: 106163390 >>>
(But ***wow*** at any rate)