Offset figure-eight bend

The offset figure-eight bend is a poor knot that has been implicated in the deaths of several rock climbers.[1] If not well dressed, the knot may invert itself under load, as shown in the figure, and this can happen repeatedly. Each inversion reduces the lengths of the tails. If the tails are used up completely, the knot comes undone.

An offset figure-eight knot inverting itself

More secure knots for this purpose are the Flemish bend, offset overhand knot, or double fisherman's knot.

References

  1. ↑ T. Moyer, 'Pull Tests of the "Euro Death-Knot,"' 2011, http://user.xmission.com/~tmoyer/testing/EDK.html


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, October 17, 2014. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.