How do YOU tie in?

Please, Mason, one Aleks is more than enough. 

rethreaded bowline for single rope. fig 8 for twins

safely.....

In gyms: figure 8 follow through w/ Yosemite finish. Gyms require it, and at gyms that don't require it, the gym workers often think the gym requires it.

Outdoor TR/sport: double bowline with a barrel knot backup.

Outdoor trad: I've been doing the double bowline with barrel knot backup, but recently I'm switching back to the figure 8 for this. On trad I'm mostly doing onsights where falls would be bad, so I'm climbing well within my ability and not falling on the knot, so it doesn't tighten up. I think being able to have my partners check my knot is more valuable.

r m wrote: Figure of 8, commonly finished with a mostly pointless double overhand.

If you have enough tail to tie a double overhand, the point is to get the tail out of the way. :)

Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't see the point in utilizing knots other than the bowline or figure 8. Using a knot that's "easier to untie" is making an incredibly important part of climbing unnecessarily complicated. If someone has documented evidence of a bowline or figure 8 failing, in any kind of weird cross-loaded rolling scenario, please feel free to correct me and I'll consider changing my ways. I'm fully aware that life is full of grey areas, but the human need for reinventing the wheel seems to be going in full force nowadays. I will continue to tie in with my figure 8/Yosemite finish until it kills me.

DavisMeschke Guillotine wrote:

 Using a knot that's "easier to untie" is making an incredibly important part of climbing unnecessarily complicated.

Why is it complicated?

I can tie my knot as easily and simply as anyone tying a figure 8 and easier than a bowline.

And can untie, after it's been weighted by one of my frequent falls, much more easily than an 8.

I still remember the blowback my wife and I received as early adopters of the EDK.

The comp/bro knot is better than the alternatives, but I don't care how anyone else ties in and have no desire to proselytize.  

Use whatever suits you.

Mason Stone wrote:

Agreed Marc801 C, couldn't help myself, Aleks does that to me.

climbing friend,

ho ho ho! ha ha! I am tickled like your Santa tickling the children at the mall by your kind words and happy heart a lifting!

MYAH!

Mark E Dixon wrote:

The comp/bro knot is better than the alternatives, but I don't care how anyone else ties in and have no desire to proselytize.  

I'm curious about this. I know you don't care to proselytize, but do you care to elaborate why you think it's better since I'm asking?

No, I don’t particularly want to debate the knot. 

I will say that it needs to be tied neatly, with no crossed strands, or it will be just as hard to untie as an 8. Maybe harder. 

Also, you will often need to verify your own knot during buddy checks. But that’s probably not a bad idea anyway. 

Mark E Dixon wrote:

Also, you will often need to verify your own knot during buddy checks. But that’s probably not a bad idea anyway. 

if i was climbing with you and couldn't positively identify that your knot was tied correctly, i would ask you to use a different knot. sorry man, but this is how partner checks work...

Guess we won’t climb together then. 

Alternatively, you could take the 15 seconds required to learn what the knot looks like when correctly tied. But if that’s too much effort, I understand  

Do you insist that partners use a specific belay device too?

I have my own deal breakers. 

I won’t climb single pitch sport with people who want to rap instead of lowering. 

couldn't those who say "partners can't check that knot" simply learn to check those knots? how hard is it to learn one or two more? bowline is pretty important to know anyway, and comp knot it literally an overhand, if you don't know how to check it, that's a much more worrying fact about a partner.

Mark E Dixon wrote:

Guess we won’t climb together then. 

Alternatively, you could take the 15 seconds required to learn what the knot looks like when correctly tied. But if that’s too much effort, I understand  

Do you insist that partners use a specific belay device too?

I have my own deal breakers. 

I won’t climb single pitch sport with people who want to rap instead of lowering. 

im not arguing for or against your knot.  i don't care what you use to tie in with.  my point is, you are negating a very important safety aspect of climbing if your partner cannot positively identify that you are tied in correctly... don't believe me?  let's ask lynn hill...

and i hope you are being sarcastic about your quoted deal breaker...

curt86iroc wrote:

im not arguing for or against your knot.  i don't care what you use to tie in with.  my point is, you are negating a very important safety aspect of climbing if your partner cannot positively identify that you are tied in correctly... don't believe me?  let's ask lynn hill...

and i hope you are being sarcastic about your quoted deal breaker...

Wasn't Lynn tying in with an 8?

Not being sarcastic at all. 

I will climb with old friends who occasionally rappel, since I figure that if they are going to kill me, well, that's what friends are for. Thick or thin.

But I prefer not to take that kind of chance with a random partner.

Mark E Dixon wrote:

Wasn't Lynn tying in with an 8?

she sure was...and her partner failed to check her, hence her accident.  had they done a simple partner check, he likely would have caught her improperly tied knot.

again, that's all im advocating for.  i like partner checks...they saves lives :)

curt86iroc wrote:

again, that's all im advocating for.  i like partner checks...they saves lives :)

Agreed.

I'll sometimes climb with people who refuse to do a check. 

On those days I'll do all the checks myself, look at my knot/look at their belay device, look at their knot/my grigri. 

Likewise tying a knot in the end of the rope. I'll just do it myself if my partner doesn't feel like it's worth the bother.

But I'm not in a hurry to climb with any of them again.