Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Outdoors

Learn to tie the clove hitch for when you need a secure, adjustable knot

The clove hitch is one of the most useful knots to have at your disposal in the outdoors

Tom Kilpatrick
By

The clove hitch is among the most useful outdoor knots you can learn. This fully adjustable bind has endless uses and can be tied either freestanding or around an object. Being fully adjustable means you won't have to completely retie the knot in your system if you want to adjust the tension of your rope.

Recommended Videos

Difficulty

Easy

Duration

5 minutes

What You Need

  • Any type of rope

The clove hitch is also easy to untie after being under tension, and once you learn it, can be hitched quickly around a carabiner, or any other rounded object. Tying a clove hitch around a squared-off anchor — like a fence post — won't give the knot the friction it needs to work, and this can mean your clove hitch will come untied. For this situation, a bowline knot would be more appropriate. If you have a rounded anchor point and want an adjustable knot, though, there is no better knot than the clove hitch. Here's how to tie it, both ways.

Tying a clove hitch for a fixed point

Tying a clove hitch around an object is the way most people learn this hitch. This is useful for securing bear bags onto tree branches or tying to a fixed anchor position in the mountains.

Step 1: Place the working end of your rope over your chosen anchor. Ensure you have enough rope to go around the anchor three times and still leave several inches of tail.

Step one of tying a clove hitch, a rope draped over a branch

Step 2: Wrap the working end around your anchor again, crossing over the first wrap. You should now have two wraps and your rope should look like an X.

Rope crossed over itself on a branch as part of tying a clove hitch
Related

Step 3: With your final wrap, tuck the working end under the previous wrap. You should still be able to see the X on top of the whole hitch.

Feeding the working end of a rope through a clove hitch

Step 4: Pull both ends tight and make sure you have a few inches of tail on the standing end. This will stop your clove hitch from untying easily.

A clove hitch tied to a fixed point

Tying a freestanding clove hitch

If you need to tie a clove hitch in the middle of a length of rope, you don't want to have to pull meters and meters of rope around an anchor three times. Tying a freestanding clove hitch lets you attach your knot at the chosen point in your rope, and this method is best used for clipping a carabiner to your clove hitch.

Step 1: Make a loop in your rope, with the working end on top of the standing line.

Making a loop in rope to tie a clove hitch

Step 2: Make a second loop in the same fashion, with the working end on top of the standing line. You should have two identical loops next to one another. If you're over a certain age — looking at you, dads — this looks a little like the spool on a cassette tape.

Two loops in a rope as part of tying a clove hitch

Step 3: Hold one loop in either hand, keeping the working end of the rope on top. Move the loop in your right hand behind the loop in your left hand.

Two loops of a clove hitch being moved past one another

Step 4: Attach your carabiner through both loops and make sure you screw the gate shut.

A loose clove hitch tied onto a carabiner

Step 5: Pull your hitch tight by pulling both the standing and working ends of the rope.

A clove hitch tied to a carabiner

When can you use a clove hitch?

As we've already said, the clove hitch has almost endless uses. The most common historical uses are in rock climbing, where the clove hitch is the knot of choice for adjustable anchor systems and equalizing tension. But there are more uses that aren't so well known; here are a few.

  • Hanging a bear bag: we mentioned this earlier, but you can use the clove hitch to give you an easily adjustable knot for hanging a bear bag in the trees. You may struggle to adjust the knot if you have a heavy crate or bag suspended.
  • Hanging your hammock: I use the clove hitch to suspend my camping hammock between two fixed anchors fitted with karabiners. This allows me to easily adjust the tension of my system and get the perfect swing.
  • Securing guy lines on tents and tarps: This might seem an odd choice, but if I have a clean end of a guy line, I will use a clove hitch to tie it to my tent peg or to a tree or truck ball hitch. I know the knot will stay secure and that there will be no slippage, but I can also adjust the tension easily.
  • As part of a lashing: Whether it's a square lashing to tie two logs perpendicular to one another or a round lashing, as on items like survival spears,, you need a secure knot to start and end with. The clove hitch provides this without using up a large portion of your available rope or cord.

If you're leaving your clove hitch in place for a long time or loading it up with something important like your body weight, it's a good idea to back up the knot. Chances are, your clove hitch won't ever slip or roll through, but a couple of quick half-hitches will give you peace of mind and prevent your rope from sliding.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Tom Kilpatrick
Tom Kilpatrick
Contributor
A London-born outdoor enthusiast, Tom took the first ticket out of suburban life. What followed was a twelve-year career as…
The 5 best scary movies about hiking (and the lessons you can learn from them)
The best scary movies about being on the trail
A Haunted, scary trail

When a scary movie takes away all the trappings of modern life and places its characters in the woods, the stakes are higher. There are no police to call or cozy neighborhoods to hide in. It is man versus nature, even if nature is a scary monster or deranged murderer. An emergency on the trail is scary enough without supernatural or psychopathic terrors hiding in the trees.

However, many of the problems in the best horror movies about hiking, camping, and outdoor sports start long before the monsters hit the screen. When the most knowledgeable and experienced member of the group takes a risk, the entire group often winds up suffering, and the monsters are simply exacerbating a problem that could have been avoided.

Read more
These SOS signals could save your life
How to signal SOS: Learn these methods of attracting attention, just in case you ever need them
A man on a beach using a smoke signal.

Imagine yourself as the true Castaway, your very own Tom Hanks experience. You're stuck, and you're lost. Perhaps you're on a deserted island, or maybe you are stranded in the woods far from the trail. Either way, you need help, and to get help, you need to signal someone to come and rescue you. The best way to do that is with the old classic, 'SOS.'

Read more
What’s the difference between 2 and 3 layer Gore-Tex?
This guide will help you decide if you need 2L, 2.5L, or 3L Gore-Tex
Man with pack looks out over Yellowstone wilderness on overcast day

When it comes to buying the next waterproof jacket, there's no doubt in most people's minds that Gore-Tex is the gold standard for waterproof quality. Gore-Tex is renowned among outdoorsmen for being among the most breathable waterproof fabrics on the market. It's ideal for hiking, backcountry ski touring, and trail running while staying waterproof when you're not being highly active, unlike some other styles of waterproofing.

Of course, no matter how well you care for your waterproof gear, it will eventually need to be replaced. As with all outdoor technology, the use of Gore-Tex is constantly evolving as companies strive to make their products lighter, more reliable, harder wearing, and increasingly versatile. You'll notice when looking for your next outdoor waterproof jacket that Gore-Tex is currently labeled as 2L, 2.5L, or 3L — the L standing for layers. But what do these mean, and how do they apply to you?

Read more