Offset figure-eight bend

Offset figure-eight bend

Names	Offset figure-eight bend, flat figure-eight bend^[1], abnormal figure-eight bend^[2]

The offset figure-eight bend is a poor knot that has been implicated in the deaths of several rock climbers.^[1]^[3]^[4] The knot may capsize (invert) under load, as shown in the figure, and this can happen repeatedly.^[5] Each inversion reduces the lengths of the tails. Once the tails are used up completely, the knot comes undone.

More secure knots for this purpose are the Flemish bend (the "figure eight bend"), (doubled) offset overhand bend, or double fisherman's knot.

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b Moyer, Tom (1999-11-09). "Pull Tests of the "Euro Death-Knot"". Rope and Gear Testing. Retrieved 2018-07-10.
^ "Rock Climbing Tech Tips: Joining Two Ropes". Chockstone.org. Retrieved 2018-07-10.
^ "Rappel Knot Fails, Climber Falls to Death on the Goat Wall". Rock and Ice. Retrieved 2018-07-10.
^ "Fall on Rock, Failure of Rappel-Knot Came Undone, No Hard Hat, West Virginia, Seneca Rocks". Accidents in North American Mountaineering. The American Alpine Club. 1995.
^ Dahlberg, Robin. "Cross load test of common climbing knots". Vimeo. 0:08-0:35. Retrieved 2020-06-10.

Knots

By type

Bends	Adjustable Albright special Ashley's Alpine butterfly Basket weave Beer Blood Carrick Double fisherman's Fisherman's Flemish Grief Halyard Harness Heaving line Hunter's Nail One-sided overhand Racking Sheet Shoelace Shroud Simple Simon under Single carrick Surgeon's Surgeon's loop Triple fisherman's True lover's Water Zeppelin
Binding	Boa Bottle sling Constrictor Corned beef Granny Ground-line hitch Jamming Miller's Packer's Reef Strangle Thief Transom
Climbing	Autoblock Bachmann Beer Bowline on a bight Alpine butterfly Directional figure eight Double bowline Farmer's loop Figure-eight Figure-eight loop Figure-of-nine loop Friction hitch Klemheist Munter hitch Noose Overhand loop Prusik Trident loop Yosemite bowline
Coils & shanks	Chain sinnet Sheepshank
Decorative	Carrick mat Chinese button Celtic button Diamond Fiador Friendship Ghiordes & Senneh Matthew Walker Turk's head Wall and crown (triple crown knot)
Fishing (angling)	Angler's loop Arbor Bimini twist Blood Fisherman's Improved clinch Knotless Nail Palomar Snell Trilene Triple fisherman's Turle Uni
Hitches	Adjustable grip Anchor bend Axle Bachmann Bale sling Barrel Becket Blackwall Blake's Boom Buntline Cat's paw Clove Cow Distel Double overhand noose Falconer's Farrimond friction Friction hitch Garda Ground-line Half Halter Highpoint Highwayman's Hitching tie Icicle Improved clinch Killick Knute Lobster buoy Marlinespike Munter Ossel Pile Pipe Sailor's Snuggle Swing Taut-line Timber Trucker's Tumble
Loop	Angler's Artillery loop Bale sling hitch Bowline Bumper Carrick bend loop Cossack Cowboy bowline Diamond Double bowline Dropper loop Eskimo bowline Fiador Fireman's chair Friendship knot Halter hitch Handcuff Honda Jury mast Overhand Portuguese bowline Rigid double splayed loop in the bight Slippery eight Span Spanish bowline Tom fool's Trident Triple bowline Water bowline Yosemite bowline Zeppelin
Running (slip)	Hangman's Running bowline Running highwayman's hitch Tarbuck
Splices & splicing	Eye Fid Marlinspike Rat-tail T Western Union
Stopper	Ashley's stopper Button Double overhand Monkey's fist Overhand Stevedore
Whipping	Common Overhand knot with draw-loop Portuguese Sailmaker's West Country

Lists of knots
Related topics

Lists of knots	Bends Bindings Decorative knots Hitches (friction) Mathematical
Related topics	Chinese knotting Density History International Guild of Knot Tyers Macramé Mizuhiki Norigae Ropework Lashing Splicing Seizing Sennit

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