The Most Useful Rope Knots for the Average Person

Simply know 5 knots and you are there.

Bowline - used whenever you want to tie a rope to an object with a loop at the end of the line. Really strong knot, but you can't tie it under tension so you won't get a perfect length if you are trying to tie something down. If you don't know what to tie, this is probably it.

Hitch - This is when you want to tie a rope around an object but the length matters or there is tension in the rope when you go to tie the knot. Useful in another 20% of situations. If you are tying something down I put a bowline on one side first since the length doesn't matter, and a hitch on the other since you will have tension in the line and want to tie it off with that tension in tact.

Know how to put a loop in the middle of a line. You can use the loop as a way to get extra tension in your line.

Figure eight stopper knot - whenever you need to keep a knot from going through something else. Not always obvious when it is useful.

Know how to properly tie the end of one line to the end of another.

If boating, also know how to tie a line to a cleat.

I've been boating/sailing my entire life, rock climbing for a few years too. Never needed to know more than that. Better to know 6 knots perfectly so that in an emergency you can literally do them with your eyes closed or not looking, than to know 15 and try to find the perfect one for some specific situation.

I highly recommend learning to rock climb or sail as you will most definitely use the knots you learn on a regular basis.

-- the bowline, for putting a slip-free loop around something -- two half hitches, for putting a cinching loop around something -- the clove hitch, for tying a rope to a pole or other cylindrical object

Start with those three, tied properly, and you can do a lot.

Over the 2 year sailing trip, of the dozens I learnt, I used 5 in total:

- The bowline - One hitch (round turn and two halfs) - Two bends (fishermans, figure of eight) - One stopper (figure of eight)

Now back on land, I still use these 5 frequently, and the bowline daily. In a jam, you can use the bowline to do anything (even two of them to bend 2 ropes). It doesn't jam, is fine when wet, is ~60% as strong as the rope itself, and you can trust it with your life.

I still find it amusing that there is a Federal agency (US DOT) that requires that an applicant pass a knot tying test as part of a set of license exams :-)

  ** adjustable grip hitch

    an easy to tie and very reliable noose-type knot
    for when you need to adjust frequently

 ** zepplin bend

    a very reliable way of joining ropes that's
    also easy to tie and untie (but won't slip apart
    on its own)

 ** double constrictor knot

    grips anything you tie it around **very tightly**, exceptionally secure

 ** icicle hitch

    when you know the direction of pull is going to be
    mostly parallel to what you're tying your rope to,
    then this knot grips even tighter
    than the double constrictor.
    
    useful for when hanging something from a vertical,
    slippery cylinder (hence the name)

  ** ashley stopper knot

    a bulky knot useful for when you don't want the end
    of your rope to slip out

  ** alpine butterfly

    an easy and secure way to tie a loop in the bight

For everyday use in tying things together so they don't fall apart and other odds and ends they are probably the most useful and easiest to learn.

Of course, if you rock climb, or sail, etc. there are different knots to learn.

    slip
    square
    double half hitch
    bowline
    barrel  (combine the ends of two equal (esp. equal diameter) ropes)
    figure eight
    (and, I suppose, whatever it's called that I use for shoelaces)
    Gordian (mostly metaphysical applications  ;-)

Also helpful in everyday life are coiling / stacking skills you pick up when working with rope. For example, my headphone cords are never tangled. ;)