How To Tie A Hammock Knot

If you are a fan of camping, then you will know what fun, exciting and exhilarating experience it can be to camp, explore and sleep in the great outdoors.

However, the fun can be drained out of the trip when you have to pitch up your tent. Sometimes, you can be left to do it yourself, and struggle to find the poles, stakes and canvas by yourself.

Let’s admit it, putting a tent up is not always fun and games. 

So, why not try hammock camping instead? Simply tie your hammock between two trees and enjoy the thrill of sleeping above the ground, with no wet or cold floor, and a sweet canopy to cover you! 

Hammock camping means that you can sleep comfortably at night, and you do not have to carry around lots of tent and camping equipment with you, or have it weighing down your backpack!

Hammock camping is much more comfortable, enjoyable and easier to take on any of your adventures. 

In addition, hammocks are relatively cheap, and some even come with mosquito nets or canopies to cover you whilst you sleep in the comfort of your hammock, supporting your body perfectly.

Some of our favorites are:

Once you have your convenient hammock for camping, the only thing you need to know then is how to tie a hammock knot. 

How to tie a hammock knot

Whether you are using a hammock for camping, resting, or just chilling your backyard, the most important thing you need to know is if your hammock is secure or not. This means you have to know how to tie a hammock knot so that it stays properly fastened between two trees, or anchor. 

This can either be done with a bowline hitch on each tree, to keep the hammock in place and non-adjustable, or with a bowline hitch on one side, and a taut line hitch on the other so that you can adjust the height and position of your hammock. The choice is yours. 

Tying a hammock with a bowline hitch

If you want to tie your hammock so that it is non adjustable, then you will need to do the bowline hitch on each side, or each tree.

To tie your hammock, you will want to ensure that you have reliable rope suitable for camping and outdoor use. Our best advice is to make use of or purchase a paracord rope, as this is designed to sustain outdoor environments, and is extremely strong.

You can buy durable paracord rope here:

Many camping hammocks will come equipped with hoops or loops for you to attach a rope or carabiner to, so you will most likely have to purchase your paracord separately if you wish to use your hammock when camping. 

To do this, you will need to hold the end of the rope with your most dominant hand, and move it so that it makes a loop. Next, leave a little excess rope at the end to wrap around the anchor, or the tree about 2-3 times. You will also need to make the loop large enough so that you can simply pass your first through it. 

The next step is to wrap the end of the rope around your anchor, or your tree about 2 or 3 times. You will want to keep the loop of the rope in your dominant hand, and pass the rest of the rope around the tree, and pull it as tight as you can after each time it is wrapped. If you do this correctly, then it should keep the hammock at the desired height attached to the tree, and unadjustable. 

If using a tree, then you should be able to wrap the rope around with little issues, however, if using a larger anchor, you may require some help to wrap the rope around a few times and keep it in place. 

Once this is done, then you can pass the working end of your paracord rope up through the loop that you made and held with your dominant hand.

If your rope is now too short, then unfortunately you will need to start all over again, and give yourself some more slack to work with. You will need to have about 2 feet of rope left to work with, possibly more if you are not well practiced in tying knots. 

Next, you will need to pull the end of the rope through under the long strand and then pull it back through the loop. To do so, hold the short end of the rope so that it is facing the anchor, or tree, and pull the rope tight to make a bowline hitch. Give the rope a good tug to make sure that the knot is tightly in place and will not just fall through.

If secure, then repeat the process on the other side, on your opposite tree or anchor. Once this is done, you can attach your bowline hitch to the hammock with a carabiner and thread it through until the two are connected. This will then hang your hammock securely. 

Tying a hammock with a taut line hitch

If you want an adjustable hammock height, then you will need a taut line hitch to tie it up. To do this knot, you will need to wrap the rope around the anchor, or tree.

This should be done about 1-2 times in total for a tree, or 3-4 times for a pole. You will want to ensure that you have left enough rope on the working end ready for you to create your knot- about 2 feet of rope will work.

Next, cross the end of the rope over the longest strand and make three loops in total. Then you can thread the loops around the longest strand to make a big loop.

Then, pull your loops tightly. These loops will work to form a tube so that the rope can slide through if you want to adjust the hammock height. 

Once this is done, you can pull the shortest end of the rope down to make it parallel with the longest strand. The working end should be down on the left hand side, whilst the longest strand should be on the right hand side, looking down the rope. 

The next step is to pass the end of the rope under the long strand, then up through the lowest loop to make a sort of Q shape. Then, pull the rope to tighten the knot, however, it should be able to slide up and down so that it is adjustable for you. 

To have an adjustable hammock, you will have to do this type of knot on one tree, and a bowline hitch on the other side for better stability. Finally, hook the hammock carabiner through the taut line hitch and you are ready to go! 

You’ll never have to sleep in a tent again!