SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge 04: Tie a Bowline Knot

In the previous challenge, you learned how to light a fire with natural tinder. For Challenge 04, we’re going back to one of the most useful basic outdoor skills: knots.

The bowline is a classic knot that creates a fixed loop in the end of a rope. It’s a useful knot to learn for camping, pioneering, shelter building and plenty of other outdoor activities.

Your challenge is to learn the bowline, tie it correctly and then put it to a simple practical test.

Your Challenge

Can you tie a secure bowline knot without following the instructions?

Start by learning how to tie a bowline.

Once you’ve practised it a few times, put the instructions away and see whether you can tie the knot from memory.

Your final attempt should produce a recognisable bowline with a clean, properly formed fixed loop.

Before You Start

If you’ve never tied a bowline before, don’t worry.

Start by following our guide:

How to Tie a Bowline Knot

Practise slowly at first. It’s much more useful to understand how the knot is formed than to try to tie it as quickly as possible.

Once you’ve tied it several times, try again without looking at the instructions.

What You’ll Need

All you need for this challenge is:

• A suitable length of rope or cord
• Something suitable to photograph your completed knot
• A camera or phone for your challenge photograph

Use a rope or cord that is appropriate for practising knots. Do not use your challenge knot for climbing, life support or any other situation where failure could cause injury.

Take the Challenge

Begin by practising the bowline while following the instructions.

Pay attention to the shape of the knot rather than simply memorising a series of movements.

Once you’re comfortable with it, put the instructions away.

Now tie the bowline from memory.

Look carefully at your finished knot.

The loop should be fixed rather than sliding freely, and the knot should be properly dressed rather than loose and tangled.

Untie it and try again.

Your challenge is to successfully tie a bowline from memory.

Test Your Knot

Once you’ve tied your bowline, give it a simple practical test.

Attach the loop around a suitable fixed object and apply moderate hand pressure to the rope.

Check that the knot holds its shape and that the loop remains fixed.

You aren’t testing the rope’s breaking strength or putting your full body weight onto the knot. This is simply an opportunity to check that you’ve tied the knot correctly.

If the knot slips, becomes badly distorted or doesn’t look right, untie it and try again.

Complete the Challenge

Now it’s time to show us your knot.

Take a clear photograph of your completed bowline. Make sure the knot can be seen clearly enough for someone to identify it.

Then share your evidence through your SGUK member profile.

How to Submit Your Challenge

1. Go to your SGUK member profile.
2. Open your Social Activity area.
3. Upload your photograph to your activity wall.
4. Add #SGUKChallenge04 to your post.
5. Share your activity.

Your photograph should clearly show your completed bowline.

Challenge 04 Checklist

Before you submit your evidence, make sure you have:

Once you’ve shared your evidence and it has been verified, the SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge 04 is complete and the completed challenges figure will be updated on your profile.

Want to Push Yourself?

See how many times you can tie a correct bowline from memory without looking at the instructions.

Then try tying one with your eyes closed.

Don’t worry about speed. Accuracy comes first.

Once the bowline becomes familiar, you’ll have a useful knot that you can practise and use in many different outdoor situations.

What’s Next?

You’ve now added another practical skill to your outdoor toolkit.

You don’t have to complete the challenges in numerical order. Look through the SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge collection and choose another challenge that interests you.

Learn the skill. Practise it. Then show us what you’ve done.

Learn. Practise. Master.

That’s what the SGUK Outdoor Skills Challenge is all about.