It is not actually necessary to know any 'special' knots to use with
tarps. If you like you can just go and buy some normal tent guy-rope
adjusters and use them instead. Most of the time that will work just
fine.
However, if you want to have more flexibility and maybe want to tie
your tarp to a tree (instead of using poles) then you are going to want
to use some knots. Likewise, if you are using a flat tarp then you will
be very interested in the variation of the Prussik.
These are the most popular knots to use with tarps.
| Single Loop |
 |
Used wherever you want to tie around something such
as a pole or a tent peg which you can loop over. You can also feed
the end of the rope back through the loop to create a noose. |
| Single Loop Noose |
 |
Ideal for a quick loop around something that can be
easily undone. |
| Single Inline Loop |
 |
This is an inline loop that is used to hook onto something that
will be under tension. I use it with the loop on the top of a
tent-pole. When the rope is tensioned it will grip the tent-pole
with a death-like grip. When you have finished with it the knot
will pull out.
|
| Bowline |
 |
Used to tie onto a solid object - such as a tree when you have
to tie around the object and do not need to tension it.
|
| TaughtLine Hitch |
 |
This is used to provide a tensioned rope tied onto an object.
It is a fantastic knot for tying your main tarp centre cord to
a tree.
Once the knot has been tensioned up you can keep increasing the
tension by feeding more rope around the tree or pole to increase
the loop size. This is one knot that very rarely will slip regardless
of the cord or rope used.
|
| Prussik Variant |
|
1. Start with a long single loop.
2. Wrap the single loop 2-3 times around your main guyline.
3. Feed the tail end of your single loop cord through the remains
of the loop and tension up so that a nice neat spiral of cord
grips the main chord.
[On a Tarp you can use this secondary chord to tie onto the tarp
so that the tarp can be tensioned onto the main cord without actually
being attached to the cord]
A Prussik is a very grippy knot that is used extensively in climbing
|
| Clove Hitch |
|
Useful for tying onto tent pegs and poles. If there
is a classic knot then this is probably it. |
| Two Half-Hitches |
 |
A quick-and-easy knot for tying on to something. It
can be difficult to tie when the rope is under tension and is hard
to untie once it has been tensioned. |
| Round Turn with two half hitches |
 |
As above but with one or more extra loops around the
pole. This makes it much easier |
