How to Tie the Prusik Zip Tie
Usage
The Prusik Zip Tie gives you a reusable paracord stand-in for a plastic cable tie — bundling gear, cinching a rolled pad, strapping cables to a post. It is a friction cinch tied at the middle of a single cord: two coils are rolled into one stack, the two ends thread back through the holes that stack forms, and pulling those ends crushes the coils onto whatever you have wrapped. The action is one-way, like a cable tie — it pulls tighter but will not pay out. Light binding only, never load-bearing work.
Why Learn the Prusik Zip Tie?
Most binding knots make you choose between secure and reusable; this one is deliberately reusable, letting go the moment you relieve tension. It also starts at the centre of the rope, so no tail is threaded through anything.
Common Uses
Camping and Bushcraft
- Cinching a rolled sleeping pad or bedroll down to size.
- Bundling sticks, poles or loose kit.
Household and Workshop
- Securing cables to square posts — the job it was worked out for.
- Cable management where you undo and redo the tie rather than cut it off.
Transport
- Light truck-bed tie-down for pads, chairs or carpet rolls — never as the only thing holding heavy or hazardous cargo.
Other Names
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Notable Features
- One-way grip: Self-tightens like a cable tie and will not slide back under tension.
- Tied in the bight: Built from the centre of the cord.
- Reusable by design: Drop the tension and the coils loosen.
- Permanent if you want it: Trim and heat-fuse the ends.
- Compact: A short centre section plus two tails.
Similar Knots
Constrictor Knot vs. Prusik Zip Tie
For binding tightly, the Constrictor Knot is the standard: it stays bound when you let go, and grips wet line.
- Advantage: The Prusik Zip Tie loosens on command, so you can undo and re-tie it.
- Disadvantage: It will not hold once tension comes off.
Bushcraft Zip Tie vs. Prusik Zip Tie
The bushcraft zip tie is the simplest rope cable tie, tied against a standing part.
- Advantage: Its creator presents the Prusik Zip Tie as the more secure of the two.
- Disadvantage: It is the fiddlier build, and neither has comparative test data.
Klemheist Knot vs. Prusik Zip Tie
The Klemheist Knot shares the friction-wrap lineage but clamps a separate host rope.
- Advantage: The Prusik Zip Tie needs no second rope.
- Disadvantage: It cannot be repositioned, and it is not load-bearing.
Security Level
It holds while the ends stay under tension on supple cord, and lets go as soon as that tension drops — the reusability and the slack weakness are one trait. Grip is friction and nothing else, so slick or stiff line defeats it, and no strength rating stands behind it.
Downsides
- Not load-bearing: Light gear and cargo only.
- Slips on the wrong cord: Slick or stiff line will not let the coils bite.
- Loosens when slack: Unless fused, it will not stay bound unattended.
- Fiddly to build: Popping and rolling the two coils is the make-or-break move.
- Hard to identify: Few people know this construction, so a second opinion is worth little.
History
This is a modern paracord technique with one traceable source. Creator Brent, of the First Class Amateur channel, demonstrated it in his "ZIP TIE Knots" video in 2024, on a viewer's request for a knot that would tie cables to square posts. The write-up "Ditch the Zip Ties" at Gear & Grit is the one independent account, reading it as a modified Prusik hitch. It appears nowhere in Ashley's 1944 Ashley Book of Knots, postdating it by eighty years. What is known about how it performs comes from the creator's own demonstration, not independent testing.
How to Tie the Prusik Zip Tie
Step 1
Match the two ends and find the centre point — the bight — of the cord.
Step 2
Push the centre forward around a finger; separate the strands, come back up, and repeat once more so two coils form around the finger.
Step 3
Pop both coils off, one per side, and roll them together into one coil-stack, keeping the connecting portion on the back-hand side.
Step 4
Pass the coil-stack around the object and thread the two working ends through the two holes the stack forms — one end per hole, dropped in from behind.
Step 5
Push and pull the two ends alternately to cinch the coils down onto the object.
Step 6
To make it permanent, trim and optionally heat-fuse the ends; leave them alone to keep it reusable. Practise the coil-and-roll on a spare length — the Knot IQ companion kits give you cord and cards to work from, and the knot is catalogued in the Knot IQ app library.
FAQ
Is the Prusik Zip Tie strong enough for heavy loads?
No — it is a non-load-bearing friction cinch for light bundling and gear tie-down. Use rated hardware or a stronger binding knot for anything safety-critical.
Can I reuse it?
Yes — it loosens when you relieve tension, so you can undo and re-tie it. Heat-fuse the ends only if you want it permanent.
Is it really a Prusik — or a Cat's Paw?
That is unsettled. The Gear & Grit write-up reads the doubled coil-stack as a modified Prusik; several viewers of the original video read it as a Cat's Paw, and one as a paired Blackwall Hitch. Nobody has resolved it. Either way you tie and use it the same: a friction cinch, not a climbing hitch.
What cord works best?
Supple cord — paracord is the creator's own choice. Grip is pure friction, so slick or stiff line lets the coils slide instead of ratcheting.
Can I use it to tie cargo down for a highway drive?
Only for light, low-consequence loads, and not as the only thing holding them. The creator's demonstration held over a 25-mile (40 km) run, but this is a friction-only cinch with no strength rating, and a viewer raised that exact objection. Back road-critical loads with rated hardware.
Important Notes on Safety
Not load-bearing. Do not use it for life-safety, climbing, rescue, or as the sole restraint for heavy or hazardous cargo — the grip is friction only, with no strength rating. It loosens when tension is relieved unless the ends are fused, so never rely on it to stay bound unattended. And it slips on slick or stiff cord: proof the cinch on the actual cord and bundle before you trust it.
