How to Butterfly Coil a Rope
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Carrying the least amount of necessities needed when going climbing is important. Traveling light and fast will make it easier to climb. Learning how to coil a rope into an easy-to-carry backpack will eliminate carrying a backpack with you as you climb or even hike. This coil is used predominantly by mountaineers and rock climbers, though it is also a very handy and quick way to carry any long rope.
Steps
- Double the rope. Find the half point of the rope and fold the entire thing evenly in half. This is done so that once the rope is coiled, you can use the two free ends as shoulder straps. It can be time consuming, but you won't spend as much time coiling later on. You can skip doubling the rope and still follow these steps, but in the end you will have only one strap and will need to improvise when securing it to your body.[1]
- Set aside a loose end. Grab both ends of the rope and measure 1 1/2 - 2 arms' length (the distance between your hands when you hold them out straight sideways). Let this section hang loose so far, as it will be used later to complete the coil.
- Measure another full arms' length and put it on your shoulders, with your neck in the center.
- Coil the rest of the rope behind your neck. When you are holding the rope up, one end will be the short loose end that you set aside earlier, and the other end will be the long one that needs to be coiled.
- Grab the long end with the opposite hand (without letting go of the rope you're already holding).
- Measure out your arm's length and put that length behind your neck, never letting go of the rope you grabbed.
- Repeat this process, alternating hands because every time you coil the rope, you'll be bringing the long end to the opposite side. You'll find more and more rope accumulating in each hand, which could make this task difficult if you have small hands and a long length of thick rope.
- Grab the long end with the opposite hand (without letting go of the rope you're already holding).
- Take the coiled rope off your shoulders. Fold it in half by putting your hand in the center and letting the ends hang loose.
- Wrap the folded rope just below your hand 4 or 5 times around with the two free ends of the rope set aside in the first step. Don't remove your hand from the fold because you will need it there for the next step.
- Pull the loose ends partially through the fold with your hand, making a loop. Pass the free ends through this loop and tighten.
- Hold the coiled rope by the loose ends and swing it to your back. Then bring one loose end over each shoulder as carrying straps.
- Bring the loose ends to your back again, where they will intersect over the coiled rope, preventing it from bouncing around as you're walking.
- Bring the free ends forward once again, this time around your waist, and tie a knot.
Tips
- If you're already wearing a backpack, you can tie the rope to your pack. Some packs have straps at the top specifically for this purpose.[2]
- Many people prefer the butterfly coil over the mountaineer's coil because it doesn't twist the rope.[3]
- If you have trouble figuring this out from the pictures and description, watch the video referenced below.
Things You'll Need
- Rope
Related wikiHows
- How to Coil Any Kind of Cord
- How to Repair a Tow Rope
- How to Make a Rope Harness
- How to Climb a Rope
- How to Untwist a Rope or Cable Coil
- How to Make a Rope Swing
Sources and Citations
- How to Butterfly Coil a Rope Video screenshots shared with permission. Originally created by Sam Noyoun.
- ↑ http://www.gunks.com/index.php?pageid=205&pagenum=2&smGroup=2&smID=4
- ↑ http://books.google.com/books?id=3hgJ0gvwIIIC
- ↑ http://books.google.com/books?id=3hgJ0gvwIIIC
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