I (Think/Hope) I Developed A New Hitch Design

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My educational video about the differences between a Valdotain (sometimes called an Autobloc) and the French Prusik...



I welcome anyone to share their insights and comments!
 
Introducing the "PRETZEL" Cinching Loop Knot, created by yours truly, @Knotorious!

I have been developing this knot for about two weeks now. It is designed to have an adjustable loop that will actually cinch down and hold its position under weight. I only tested it on my own body weight (220lbs) and I believe that, if too heavily loaded beyond this point, the loop could slide closed. So this function has a weight limitation.

I'm not sure what applications this might have for any future climbers, but it's an interesting knot to be certain. Please note that this knot should not be used for life support. I haven't done the testing to assess this knots safeness as a termination knot. However, if anyone is bold enough to try it out this way, please use a stopper knot on the working end exiting the finished knot. That will ensure that the tail will not pull out and allow the overall knot to maintain its structure. Theoretically, it is safe to be used this way, but please heed my warnings.

Also, this knot is very unique in the sense that its tying method begins the same way that a classic bowline does, with a loop. In order to tie this knot, you must first create another knot and then collapse it. Proper dressing and setting of this knot is important and I cover everything you need to know about the tying method in this video.

As always, I've shared this video with the Tree House community prior to sharing it with YouTube. Enjoy!

 
Take the free end (longer) and tie a couple or three bends-both-ropes half hitches right about where the youtube red play triangle/symbol is and you've got a knot I've used since I was a kid. Double cinches - first around the object, second the grabby-slide part cinches down on itself so it won't loosen back off unless you untie/undress it. Good security pull knot. :)

edit - the grabby-slide part is a 1 coil classic prussic on further thought - explains the behaviour
 
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Here's my Short/short form video for my "Pretzel" Cinching Loop Knot! I filmed and edited this just last night.

If you didn't want to watch the long form video above, this video is less than 60 seconds long and it will demonstrate to you this unique and interesting knot!

 
I watched your first video. I was gonna comment, put it off for a bit, then forgot :^D I'm not sure what to make of it. It's a pretty cool knot, but I'm not sure how I'd use it. I like the form, and it's interesting how it has moving parts in it's formation. I feel like it would be most useful where you'd use a tautline, but then you have the tautline, so I dunno. Cool knot though.
 
lxskllr said:
I watched your first video. I was gonna comment, put it off for a bit, then forgot :^D I'm not sure what to make of it. It's a pretty cool knot, but I'm not sure how I'd use it. I like the form, and it's interesting how it has moving parts in it's formation. I feel like it would be most useful where you'd use a tautline, but then you have the tautline, so I dunno. Cool knot though.
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I also have no clue as to what specific applications this knot might be useful for in the future, but it's nice that such a knot exists. I imagine there might be future applications where someone needs easy adjustability of the loop but also wants it to lock in place when weighted. Again, I can't think of any real world uses right now, but I'm proud that I created such a unique and interesting knot. Thanks for your comment.

SeanKroll said:
I liked the scene change effect.
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Thanks so much! I call those my "clapping jump cuts." They aren't too difficult to create, but they look phenomenal and adds a bit of professionalism to my videos. I use such cuts in almost all of my videos for that very reason. They are fun to edit, too. Thanks for commenting!
 
Just release this video a moment ago entitled: "Retrievable Redirect Using A PINTO Pulley, A REVOLVER RIG, And A DYNEEMA SLING for Tree Climbers!"

I shared this video privately in the SRT Techniques For Beginners thread a few days ago, but this is the video's actual public release.

 
Not the most flattering shot of your ass, Knoto. Also, heels and knees apart. You want a powerful stance, it'll help instill confidence in the viewers.

How do you like having spectators? Lolz
 
Kaveman said:
Not the most flattering shot of your ass, Knoto. Also, heels and knees apart. You want a powerful stance, it'll help instill confidence in the viewers.

How do you like having spectators? Lolz
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I was hanging from my lanyard, so there wasn't much a real opportunity to present any "stance." When you hang from your lower D's, it compresses your hips together, hence why my stance was so closed. But you're not wrong about presenting a wider stance.

I hated having those people there. They kept talking to me and asking questions and slowed me down. It was very distracting. After I set everything up, I had to tell them to stop talking so that I could film my bit. They were really impresed, though. They are both my neighbors in my apartment complex and the girl claimed to know a lot about rock climbing. She had no idea what I was doing because rock climbing is obviously very different.

I just went out an hour ago and filmed two new videos for my channel with my phone on the ground and my GoPro in the air. They came out great. Editing them now. I demonstrated two new redirects. One with a Figure 8 descender and one with an anchor ring.
 
No excuses, present yourself from a position of power, always. You are the master of the universe that you present in your videos. Own it.

Get used to spectators, especially if you plan to enter the industry, and especially if you plan to work solo. They will be there, wrapped in worried excitement, watching. Own that too. It's your jobsite. Your climb. Your tree. In that moment you are All.

Thus it must follow, you are your mistakes.
 
Put Danger or Caution tape up around the dripline of the tree where you are filming. Hang info tags citing danger of falling items be it gear or deadwood. Probably won't keep the really stupid ignorant people out but it's a start and gives you grounds if someone needs a verbal blast for being in the dropzone.
 
Ryan said:
Put Danger or Caution tape up around the dripline of the tree where you are filming. Hang info tags citing danger of falling items be it gear or deadwood. Probably won't keep the really stupid ignorant people out but it's a start and gives you grounds if someone needs a verbal blast for being in the dropzone.
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I usually will borrow cones from maintenance and place one at each of the four corners of the perimeter surrounding where I'm climbing. While I've never had anyone walk around below me, it's probably a wise decision to use the cones every time. The people that were standing around in this video had been watching me before I even left the ground, so they already knew to keep a good distance and to stay quiet while I filmed. From my experience, the cones have a way of drawing more attention than if I were climbing without them -- usually. It's definitely more safety conscious, though, to use them. I might just buy four cones of my own so that I'll always have them available. Caution tape would draw way too much attention to what I'm doing and I don't think my apartment complex would appreciate my climb sites always looking like construction is going on. I have to balance eye sores with safety, I suppose.
 
Part of what I'm learning to do with my editing software (Adobe Premiere Pro) is turn long form videos into Shorts that are no longer than 60 seconds.

For every longer form video I create and post, I always try to create a Short that will compliment that video and draw attention to it. By far, the majority of my subscriptions and views come from my Shorts, but the majority of my revenue comes from my long form content because they garner more watch time hours.

Here's a short I just created today to hopefully bring attention to my channel and to the long form video I just posted above about the retrievable redirect. I successfully took the essence of a 5 minute video and displayed it over 60 seconds.

 
SeanKroll said:
I agree with your Shorts/ long form idea.


People should get DO NOT ENTER tape, not CAUTION tape.


3" x 1000' Yellow, Barrier Tape "CAUTION CAUTION" | TAPECC | Traffic Safety Store

www.trafficsafetystore.com www.trafficsafetystore.com


Better yet, CRIME SCENE DO NOT ENTER. HAHAHA
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Random Onlooker: *walks up to where Knotorious is trying to shoot a video* Crime scene, eh? So, what're you doing up there?

Knotorious: I'm cleaning out pieces of brain from the canopy. We had a homicide this morning. Someone shot a guy point blank in the head with a sawed off shotgun.

Random Onlooker: Oh my, that's awful! Did you catch the guy who did it?

Knotorious: Not a guy, a hermaphrodite. So I guess it's an "it." No, it's still on the loose. Watch out, that piece of brain is about to fall on you.

Random Onlooker: *scurries ten feet away from me* Sheesh, I'm getting outta here! I'd better let my wife know about the murder.

Knotorious: Yeah, you should lock your door until we apprehend it. I'd give you a business card, but I don't want to contaminate the crime scene.

Random Onlooker: What's your name?

Knotorious: I'm just a CSI. My name doesn't matter. But detective Anita Hoare is on the case. You can reach her at the precinct at extension #6969.

Random Onlooker: Thanks, you've been extremely helpful.

Knotorious: Just doing my civic duty, sir. Now kick rocks. I've got skull fragments to label in jars. *carries on with his climb like he didn't just gaslight some random person into believing he was at a crime scene*
 
Troll alert on my latest Short about the retrievable redirect. I've stopped crossing people's usernames off because I really don't care anymore. If people want to say dumb shit, they ought to stick by it. I am thinking of making a fun episode where I read troll posts and point out some of the stupid shit people say to me on YouTube. Probably won't, though. I try to keep things pretty PG rated and I don't want to get demonetized.

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Got a reply from the first guy. Says he was trying to make me more health conscious. I'm sure, guy. We call this "back pedaling" in layman's terms.

I hate when people "like" their own comments. I never do it. I know he "liked" his own comment because I first saw his response 4 minutes after he posted it and just got around to responding now because I was at the hospital. I have really good friends of mine on YouTube who "like" their own comments as well. It just looks really desparate. Trying not to judge, though. I guess the option must exist for a reason, but I would never feel good about one extra "like" that came from myself.

Obviously I like my own content. I don't need a button to assert that to anyone. I simply wouldn't post any videos that I'm not proud of. Maybe I'm being petty and reading into it too much. It's just irksome to me because it's sort of misleading because other people have no idea whether or not that person's comment actually garnered approval from another viewer or whether they are merely supporting their own comment. If I hadn't viewed this comment four minutes after it was posted, I might actually believe someone supported his explanation of his useless comment.

And yet here I am, ranting on this forum about something equally as useless. But this is a soliloquy. This guy was actually responding and talking to someone: me. So he had a moral obligation to add to the discussion or to create an interesting discussion of his own. By contrast, this is my thread and talking about how I feel is relevant to conversation I initiated over a year ago. #GaslightingMyselfForFun

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Kaveman said:
Just to tickle your 'tism, Knoto...

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I reached out to Ryan at HowNot2 several months ago and I had asked him if he wanted to do a collaboration of some kind. He told me he would be unable to do anything for the next year because he had so much content lined up. Sort of sounded like an excuse to me, but then again, I have almost four months worth of content already finished an loaded onto YouTube, ready to be published at the right moment. So it's not entirely impossible that he has so much ready to go. He did say to reach out again in the future, so not all hope is lost. The thing about testing friction hitches is that they all are pretty much going to slip around the same amount of force and keep slipping and/or de-sheath the rope. But as you could seee, there were some large variations between the first two hitches and the Prusik. So it's not entirely predictable all the time. I would have wanted to do an educational video about the VT and Schwabisch, two popular rock climbing hitches, and demonstrate different way a hitch cord can be used besides for tying hitches. If he had actually wanted to collab, I would have further improved my ideas and lessons, but that was my basic thinking for a video.
 
Also, Ryan is very busy guy. Give him time, he's got quite a few irons in the fire.

I appreciate the sheer number of break tests he has on the channel. While I can say I've learned an awful lot, there's one main takeaway.

I break before most all of my gear, by orders of magnitude.
 
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