Hunter's Bend
Rigger's bend. Opposite tails through their own loops. Similar diameters. Can jam after a snatch.
Intermediate · Polyester / Nylon rope / Polypropylene / Natural fibre
Connection card
Hunter's Bend
For rope → rope join.
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
Rigger's bend. Opposite tails through their own loops. Similar diameters. Can jam after a snatch.
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
- ·It joins two ropes of roughly the same size. For ropes of unequal size Animated Knots recommends a sheet bend, or a double sheet bend for a large difference.
- ·In Animated Knots' tests it jammed tight after loading and would have had to be cut. For a join you want to untie, tie a Zeppelin bend.
- ·Leave the ends long when the load matters. Animated Knots says that for critical loads the ends must be left much longer.
- ·Several bends built from interlocking loops look alike at the start, so check that the two bights are linked through each other before going on.
Step 1 of 4. Bend a bight near the end of each rope and pass one bight through the other so the two interlock.
No drawing of this exact knot yet. The written steps are the reference.
swipe to step
01
Bend a bight near the end of each rope and pass one bight through the other so the two interlock.
Two bights linked through each other, so lifting one rope drags the other along with it.
Laying one rope's loop on top of the other, as for a Zeppelin bend's 6 and 9, instead of linking them. Lift one rope and it comes away on its own.
Fix: Separate the ropes and make the bights again, passing one bight through the other before you go on.
Why: Animated Knots notes that the arrangement of the interlocking loops is critical, because several similar bends look alike at this stage.
- Started as a 6-and-9 — You tied a Zeppelin — keep it on purpose or retie Hunter's. Hunter's overlaps tails; it does not start as a 6-and-9.
arrow keys work
Tying procedure — Hunter's Bend
- Diagram in reviewA drawing of the Hunter's Bend itself is being made. Until then, follow the written steps.
Step 01 / 4
Bend a bight near the end of each rope and pass one bight through the other so the two interlock.
You should now see: Two bights linked through each other, so lifting one rope drags the other along with it.
If it goes wrong: Laying one rope's loop on top of the other, as for a Zeppelin bend's 6 and 9, instead of linking them. Lift one rope and it comes away on its own.
Fix: Separate the ropes and make the bights again, passing one bight through the other before you go on.
Why: Animated Knots notes that the arrangement of the interlocking loops is critical, because several similar bends look alike at this stage.
If wrong: Started as a 6-and-9 — You tied a Zeppelin — keep it on purpose or retie Hunter's.
- Diagram in reviewA drawing of the Hunter's Bend itself is being made. Until then, follow the written steps.
Step 02 / 4
Cross each tail over its own standing part and over the other rope, closing each bight into a loop.
You should now see: Two linked loops, each closed by its own tail lying on top, with both tails free to reach the middle of the knot.
If it goes wrong: Crossing one tail under instead of over. The two loops are then built differently, and the knot comes out lopsided when you tighten it.
Fix: Lift that tail back out and cross it over its own standing part and over the other rope.
Why: Each loop becomes one of the two interlocking overhand knots that make up the bend.
- Diagram in reviewA drawing of the Hunter's Bend itself is being made. Until then, follow the written steps.
Step 03 / 4
Thread each tail across the middle of the knot, under both ropes and then up over its own part, so the two tails leave the knot on opposite sides.
You should now see: Both tails passing through the centre of the knot, one coming out on each face.
If it goes wrong: Passing both tails through the centre from the same side. They come out together on one face, and the two overhand knots do not lock into each other.
Fix: Pull the second tail back out and thread it through from the other side, under both ropes and then over itself.
Why: The tails crossing the centre in opposite directions is what locks the two overhand knots together.
If wrong: Same-side tails — Bend will not lock and spills.
- Diagram in reviewA drawing of the Hunter's Bend itself is being made. Until then, follow the written steps.
Step 04 / 4
Work the knot snug by hand, then pull both standing parts and both tails evenly to tighten it. Leave the tails long when the load matters.
You should now see: A compact, cross-shaped knot with the tails standing out at right angles to the ropes.
If it goes wrong: Choosing it for a join you will need to undo after a heavy load. In Animated Knots' tests it jammed tight enough that it would have had to be cut.
Fix: Cut it off if it will not come undone. For a join you want to untie after heavy loading, tie a Zeppelin bend instead.
Why: In the same tests the Zeppelin bends could be untied with fingers, so Animated Knots points readers to the Zeppelin or the alpine butterfly bend.
If wrong: Expected to untie after a heavy snatch — Jammed double-overhand, knife job.
Watch the tie
Learn How To Tie A Hunter's Bend KnotWhyKnot · 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.
- ·Tails overlapped opposite ways; each tail around both ropes and through its own loop; compact double-overhand body
- ·Dress into the compact body before load
- ·Working ends exit opposite — same-side tails are unfinished
- ·Compact double-overhand, not a 6-and-9 — if it looks like a Zeppelin you tied a Zeppelin
Verify before you load it
Every line is pass or fail. One fail means retie — do not load a knot you argued with.
- 01Tails overlapped opposite ways; each tail around both ropes and through its own loop; compact double-overhand body
- 02Dress into the compact body before load
- 03Working ends exit opposite — same-side tails are unfinished
- 04Compact double-overhand, not a 6-and-9 — if it looks like a Zeppelin you tied a Zeppelin
- 05A 6-and-9 start is the other bend; same-side tails will not lock
- 06Compact body, tails opposite. Expect a jam after a snatch
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.
Two interlocking overhands or a Carrick lattice — tails on the documented sides.
- !Tails on the wrong sides of the bend
- !Broken lattice or a reef-knot form in disguise
- !Undressed so one overhand takes the whole load
- !Both ends pass through the centre from the same side, so the two overhand knots do not lock into each other
- !The bights are laid over each other instead of linked, so the ropes come apart before the knot is built
- !The ends are left short on a join that takes a critical load
- !It has taken a heavy load and must be untied, as it can jam tight enough to need cutting
Same-side tails
Bend will not lock and spills
Each tail must exit opposite after its own-loop tuck · step 03
Started as a 6-and-9
You tied a Zeppelin — keep it on purpose or retie Hunter's
Hunter's overlaps tails; it does not start as a 6-and-9 · step 01
Expected to untie after a heavy snatch
Jammed double-overhand, knife job
If you must untie after load, use a Zeppelin · step 04
Bend spills, or will not break after load
Check
- ?Opposite working ends
- ?Compact body, not a 6-and-9
Then
- →Retie opposite tails
- →Use Zeppelin if you must untie after load
Same-side tails
Check
- ?Bend will not lock and spills
- ?Inspect step 03
Then
- →Retie. Do not dress a defective structure and call it seated.
Started as a 6-and-9
Check
- ?You tied a Zeppelin — keep it on purpose or retie Hunter's
- ?Inspect step 01
Then
- →Retie. Do not dress a defective structure and call it seated.
Expected to untie after a heavy snatch
Check
- ?Jammed double-overhand, knife job
- ?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 you must untie after a heavy snatch (Zeppelin)
- ×Extreme diameter mismatch
- ×A binding job (that is reef-or-bind)
Strength, and where the number comes from
Not established
Absent from the pooled rope-knot test data despite its reputation; the '~65–80%' it used to carry could not be traced to any publisher.
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 — Hunter's Bend (Rigger's Bend)
- WhyKnot — Learn How To Tie A Hunter's Bend Knot
Cited tying video already attached to this record.
Record reviewed 2026-08-14
Vetted references
- Animated Knots — Hunter's Bend
Animated Knots by Grog
- Learn How To Tie A Hunter's Bend Knot
WhyKnot
Check the finished knot against what correct looks like before you load it.