Suspension Bondage Is Dangerous

We love suspension bondage and we’re excited to share it with you. We want to be very clear, however, about the risks involved.

1. Suspension bondage involves unavoidable risk. Like rock climbing, suspension is a risky activity. Good preparation and training can reduce your risk, but even if you do everything right there is still a chance that you may be injured or killed, or that you may injure or kill another person.

2. We don’t have all the answers. Unlike rock climbing, suspension bondage has no professional standards bodies and no expert consensus about best practices. This book is based on years of study, practice, and consultation with outside experts. Nonetheless, you should be aware that suspension is still a developing field, and our understanding of the best way to do things is still evolving.

3. You can’t learn suspension from a book. The only safe way to learn suspension is to work with a qualified instructor or mentor. This book is a valuable adjunct to expert instruction, but not a substitute for it. Without a skilled teacher to guide and evaluate you, you cannot learn suspension without placing your partner in tremendous danger.

4. Don’t get ahead of yourself. Suspension is fun and exciting, and you will likely be tempted to rush ahead and try activities that you aren’t yet ready for. We can’t stress enough the importance of proceeding slowly and methodically, and always working within your skill level.

5. Always use good judgment. Your best defense against mishap is your own common sense and good judgment. Always be mindful of what you’re doing, and err on the side of caution.

Your partner is placing tremendous faith in your competence and judgment. If you are careless or overly ambitious, they are likely to pay a heavy price for your foolishness. Make sure that you are worthy of their trust.

Suspended Animation accepts no responsibility for any injury or death which may occur as a result of the activities described in this book. By reading this book, you agree to take full responsibility for your actions and their consequences.

Knots

Two Half Hitches

ABOK 48

Two half-hitches is one of the most common knots in civilian use, and one that we use frequently.

Use this knot for:

This is a strong and secure knot for tying off to a fixed object. It’s our favorite knot for attaching vertical lines to body harnesses.

Do not use this knot for:

This knot will cinch under load, so it should never be used directly on a person’s body or body part.

In addition, it can jam when loaded heavily, so it’s not a good choice for securing the working end of a vertical line. For applications where jamming is a concern, consider the anchor bend.

Tying two half hitches

1

Pass the rope around the object that you’re attaching to and tie a half hitch by wrapping the working end around the standing end.

We are illustrating the knot with a doubled line, since that’s the way we normally use it. This version is technically known as “two half hitches on a bight”.

2

Snug the hitch into place and tie a second half hitch in the same direction as the first hitch.

3

Snug the hitch into place and inspect the knot to make sure everything’s correct:

  • The half hitches are snug against each other.
  • The standing end passes straight through the middle of the knot without bending.
  • There are two to four inches of tail.

There are several variations of two half hitches that are useful to know.

Two half hitches, locked

This is a more secure variant of two half hitches on a bight. After tying two half hitches normally, pass the standing end through the bight. This makes the knot almost bulletproof: so long as the standing end is under load, the knot cannot come undone. This variant is a good choice for applications like critical vertical lines, where security is important.

The bight should be as small as possible while still leaving room for the standing end to pass through it. For the sake of clarity, we’ve made the bight in this picture bigger than it needs to be.

Three half hitches

Adding a third half hitch makes the knot significantly more secure. This is not usually necessary with hemp rope, but may be important with less grippy ropes (like many synthetic ropes).

There is no need to add a third hitch if you’re using the locked variant, since the lock prevents the knot from slipping.

Round turn and two half hitches

ABOK 1720

This knot is useful for securing a rope under variable and dynamic load (for example, for tying a wriggly bottom to a bedpost).

Before tying the half hitches, make an extra turn (the “round turn”) around the object to which you’re attaching. The extra turn adds friction that isolates the knot from the load and helps prevent it from jamming.

This knot is very similar to the anchor bend, which boasts additional resistance to jamming.