EStar Stopper
HMPE stopper. Extra tucks a figure-8 does not have. Stopper, never a join.
Advanced · Dyneema / HMPE / Polyester
Connection card
EStar Stopper
For stopper in the end.
This card does not say how strong the knot is. A retention figure comes from a bench, in one material, at one diameter, tied by somebody who ties it all day — and the line in your hand is none of those. What it does tell you is whether the thing you have just tied is the thing the record describes.
What this plate is telling you
HMPE stopper. Extra tucks a figure-8 does not have. Stopper, never a join.
Save this as a picture and it works with a dead signal and a nearly dead battery, which is when a joint is most often tied badly. The rest of this page — the steps, the seating sequence, the failure modes and the bench — is for the evening before.
Before you start
- ·Animated Knots reports that Evans Starzinger tested several stopper knots and this was the only one that did not slip in Dyneema.
- ·Expect to cut it off later. Animated Knots says it cannot be untied after heavy loading.
- ·It is a stopper only. To join two HMPE ropes, splice them.
- ·Check the finished knot against the opening it has to stop at. If it fits through, it is too small for that fitting.
Step 1 of 4. Wrap the tail around the standing part and on around itself, then around the standing part again and under itself to form a buntline hitch. Keep it loose.
No drawing of this exact knot yet. The written steps are the reference.
swipe to step
01
Wrap the tail around the standing part and on around itself, then around the standing part again and under itself to form a buntline hitch. Keep it loose.
A loose buntline hitch on the standing part, the tail coming out from under its last wrap, and two open loops made by the wraps.
Wrapping only around the standing part and not around the tail itself. There is then no buntline hitch to pass the tail through in the next step.
Fix: Undo the wraps and start again: around the standing part, around the tail, around the standing part again, then under.
Why: The buntline holds the tail and the standing part against each other. The harder the pull, the more tightly the two are forced together.
arrow keys work
Tying procedure — EStar Stopper
- Diagram in reviewA drawing of the EStar Stopper itself is being made. Until then, follow the written steps.
Step 01 / 4
Wrap the tail around the standing part and on around itself, then around the standing part again and under itself to form a buntline hitch. Keep it loose.
You should now see: A loose buntline hitch on the standing part, the tail coming out from under its last wrap, and two open loops made by the wraps.
If it goes wrong: Wrapping only around the standing part and not around the tail itself. There is then no buntline hitch to pass the tail through in the next step.
Fix: Undo the wraps and start again: around the standing part, around the tail, around the standing part again, then under.
Why: The buntline holds the tail and the standing part against each other. The harder the pull, the more tightly the two are forced together.
- Diagram in reviewA drawing of the EStar Stopper itself is being made. Until then, follow the written steps.
Step 02 / 4
Pass the tail back through the buntline hitch you have just formed.
You should now see: The tail running through the buntline hitch, with the two loops from the first wraps still open beside it.
If it goes wrong: Tying a figure-8 and calling it an EStar. A figure-8 has no buntline hitch, so there is nothing for the tail to pass through at this step.
Fix: Untie it and start again from the wraps in step 1.
Why: Evans Starzinger described this knot after testing several stoppers, and it was the only one of them that did not slip in Dyneema.
If wrong: Tied as a figure-8 and called Estar — Walks through the block in Dyneema.
- Diagram in reviewA drawing of the EStar Stopper itself is being made. Until then, follow the written steps.
Step 03 / 4
Carry the tail across the knot and through both of the loops made by the first wraps.
You should now see: The tail crossing the body of the knot and coming out through both loops, held by wraps on each side.
If it goes wrong: Threading the tail through only one loop. The body stays soft and can be worked open with your fingers.
Fix: Back the tail out and pass it through both loops.
Why: Those two loops grip the tail the way an EStar hitch grips, while the buntline presses the tail and the standing part together.
- Diagram in reviewA drawing of the EStar Stopper itself is being made. Until then, follow the written steps.
Step 04 / 4
Tighten in order: pull the buntline snug, then the standing part, and last the tail. Check the finished knot against the opening it has to stop at.
You should now see: A compact, slightly lopsided knot that stays firm when you squeeze it, does not move under a hard pull and will not fit through the opening.
If it goes wrong: Skipping the tightening order, so the buntline stays loose and the knot feels soft when squeezed. A soft knot can pull through the opening. Using it to join two ropes is also outside its job.
Fix: Loosen it and tighten again in order. If it still fits the opening, it is too small for that fitting. To join two HMPE ropes, splice them.
Why: Expect to cut it off later. Animated Knots notes it cannot be untied after heavy loading.
If wrong: Loose or undersized body — Pulls through the opening.
If wrong: Asked to join two ropes — A stopper is not a bend, and HMPE joins are splices.
Watch the tie
How to Tie the EStar Stopper KnotAnimatedKnots · Opens on YouTubeExternal video from a creator we follow — not produced by us. Nothing on this page loads from YouTube until you follow the link.
Seating sequence — where failures are born
The step list compresses the finish. Run these phases in order, one at a time.
01 Form
Build the structure loose enough to see every turn.
None. Shape first.
02 Dress
Nest every turn. Crossed parts will walk or jam.
Light — hold the shape.
03 Set
Load the standing part so the intended turns take the strain.
Working load, not a snatch.
04 Check
Confirm the lock still breaks or inspects as the job requires.
None extra.
05 Commit
Only load it after the structure reads correct. Wrong means remake.
Working load, not a snatch.
Finished structure — what correct looks like
No drawing of this exact knot yet. The written steps are the reference.
- ·Compact Estar body with the extra tucks a figure-8 does not have, larger than the opening after dress
- ·Dressed compact so the body cannot walk in HMPE
- ·Short tail. This is not loaded as a join
- ·Extra turns a figure-8 does not have — those tucks are the point
Verify before you load it
Every line is pass or fail. One fail means retie — do not load a knot you argued with.
- 01Compact Estar body with the extra tucks a figure-8 does not have, larger than the opening after dress
- 02Dressed compact so the body cannot walk in HMPE
- 03Short tail. This is not loaded as a join
- 04Extra turns a figure-8 does not have — those tucks are the point
- 05A figure-8 start is the wrong stopper in Dyneema
- 06Compact stopper larger than the opening. Stopper only — never a join
Field notes — dark, cold, gloves
- ·Dress is the lock. A pretty knot that is not dressed is not finished.
- ·HMPE usually wants a splice, not a hitch you learned in polyester.
- ·If you cannot break or inspect it under the load you expect, it is the wrong job.
When this family fails, it fails as these. The recovered end still outranks the name.
Bulk at the tail, larger than the opening — not a join.
- !Body smaller than the block or fairlead after dress
- !Asked to join two ropes
- !Figure-8 used in HMPE where Estar extra turns were the stopper, or Ashley left as a two-lobe overhand
- !The buntline was not tightened first, so the knot stays soft and can pull through the opening
- !The tail goes through only one loop, leaving a body that can be worked open
- !The finished knot is small enough to fit through the opening it has to stop at
Tied as a figure-8 and called Estar
Walks through the block in Dyneema
The extra tucks are why this stopper exists · step 02
Loose or undersized body
Pulls through the opening
Size after dress is the job · step 04
Asked to join two ropes
A stopper is not a bend, and HMPE joins are splices
Splice if you needed a join · step 04
Stopper walks through the block in Dyneema
Check
- ?Extra tucks present
- ?Compact body larger than the opening
Then
- →Retie the Estar path
- →Splice if you needed a join
Tied as a figure-8 and called Estar
Check
- ?Walks through the block in Dyneema
- ?Inspect step 02
Then
- →Retie. Do not dress a defective structure and call it seated.
Loose or undersized body
Check
- ?Pulls through the opening
- ?Inspect step 04
Then
- →Retie. Do not dress a defective structure and call it seated.
Asked to join two ropes
Check
- ?A stopper is not a bend, and HMPE joins are splices
- ?Inspect step 04
Then
- →Retie. Do not dress a defective structure and call it seated.
Same failure class, different geometry. Open the plates — Diagnose still starts from the symptom.
Get it right with everything in your favour0/5 clean
Good light, dry hands, a table. Until the sequence is automatic here there is nothing for the harder rungs to test — you would only be learning that difficult conditions are difficult, which you already knew.
How · Tie it, check it against the list, log it. Five clean and the ladder opens.
Nothing marked. Log it clean, or mark what happened first.
Not ideal for
- ×A join in HMPE (splice)
- ×A throwing weight (heaving line knot)
- ×Polyester that only needs a figure-8
Strength, and where the number comes from
Not established
A stopper for very slippery rope, published only as 'will not pull through in HMPE'; the '~50–70%' it used to carry has no source.
Percentages come from published tests on their own line, their own knot-tyer and their own pull rate. Yours is a different system. Treat a figure as a reason to test, not as a result you already have.
- Animated Knots — EStar Stopper Knot
- AnimatedKnots — How to Tie the EStar Stopper Knot
Cited tying video already attached to this record.
Record reviewed 2026-08-14
Vetted references
- Animated Knots — EStar Stopper
Animated Knots by Grog
- How to Tie the EStar Stopper Knot
AnimatedKnots
Related knots
Check the finished knot against what correct looks like before you load it.