On today’s Knot of the Week I’ll be covering the Bachmann Knot, a relative of the Prusik Knot that can be utilized as an autoblock or friction hitch. The biggest differences between the Bachman and the Prusik Knot lies in its usage of a carabiner. Additionally, unlike the omni-directional Prusik Knot, the Bachmann is uni-directional, meaning it can only be loaded from one direction and that’s down.
It’s advisable to use a locking carabiner for the Bachmann, considering you’ll be grabbing it to move the hitch. Just make sure it’s locked by screwing down so you don’t screw up. That’s my mnemonic device to remember to have the gate on the carabiner screw in a downward direction, so that if gravity decides to stick its nose in your business, it will carry it further into the closed position and not open it.
Using a carabiner with the Bachmann Knot allows your autoblock/friction hitch to move much easier, especially when wearing gloves. The carabiner gives you a dedicated spot to hold during ascending as well. The Bachmann is also beneficial around wet ropes and in icy conditions.
As you’ll see in the video below, make sure not to clip the Double Fisherman’s Knot section of your loop in when you’re connecting to your harness.
(Strength: 4/Secure: 4/Stability: 4/Difficulty: 3) See below for what these ratings mean.
Strength/Security/Stability/Difficulty
Each knot will be assigned a rating from 1-5 (1 representing the lowest score) based on the following four properties:
Strength – All knots will weaken the strength of a rope, however, there are knots that are stronger than others. The scale here will reflect how strong the rope remains with the specified knot.
Security – The security scale refers to how well the knot will stay tied, and resist coming loose under a normal load.
Stability – Stability refers to how easily the knot will come untied under an abnormal load (i.e. the knot being pulled in a direction it was not intended to) A lower score here represents instability.
Difficulty – The lower the number, the easier a knot is to tie.
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