Camel Hitch
hitch knot
Working with smooth-barked poles, tapered branches, or any anchor point that a standard hitch tends to slide along rather than grip, riggers reach for the camel hitch - a close relative of the icicle hitch, built around the same principle of layering wraps and a diagonal tuck to cinch simultaneously around a surface that offers less friction than an ordinary rough-barked post.
The construction wraps the anchor point twice before crossing the working end diagonally and tucking it back through the wraps - a pattern that bites down under a pull along the anchor's length rather than sliding toward one end, the exact failure mode a plain clove hitch or rolling hitch can suffer on a smooth or tapered surface.
Because it solves essentially the same problem as the icicle hitch, the two are frequently taught side by side as variations on a shared idea rather than as fundamentally distinct techniques - which one a given rigger reaches for often comes down to whichever specific tuck pattern they learned and practiced first.
Its use is genuinely situational: on an ordinary rough-surfaced, parallel-sided post or spar, a simpler rolling hitch does the job with less tying effort, and the camel hitch's extra complexity only pays for itself on the smooth or tapered surfaces it was specifically developed to grip.
The name reportedly comes from its documented use securing loads onto pack camels, where a load lashed to a smooth saddle frame or a camel's own tapering leg needed a hitch that wouldn't work loose from the animal's constant swaying gait - a genuinely different failure mode from a static load on a fixed post, since the anchor point itself was moving continuously rather than staying still.
Campers today mostly encounter the need this hitch solves when tying to a smooth aluminum tent pole or a similarly slick, uniformly round modern camping fixture, rather than the traditional rough wooden posts most hitches assume - a small but genuine reason it's worth knowing alongside the more commonly taught rolling hitch, even if it's reached for less often in practice.
How to tie the Camel Hitch
Wrap the rope around the anchor point twice, keeping the wraps snug against each other.
Strength & security
Like the closely related icicle hitch, the camel hitch is built to grip a smooth or tapered anchor point under a lengthwise pull, where a plain clove hitch or rolling hitch would more readily slide.
Cautions: It needs the diagonal tuck arranged correctly to bite rather than slide - a rushed tie can leave the hitch looking secure while providing little real grip advantage over a simpler hitch.
Alternatives
- Icicle Hitch
A closely related hitch for the same smooth-or-tapered-surface problem; the two are often taught together as variations on the same grip-under-lengthwise-pull principle.
FAQ
How does the camel hitch differ from the icicle hitch?
They're closely related variants solving the same problem - gripping a smooth or tapered anchor point under a lengthwise pull - and are often taught together rather than as fundamentally distinct techniques.
Is a plain rolling hitch ever good enough on a smooth pole?
Rarely - a smooth-barked pole or low-friction surface is exactly where a plain rolling hitch tends to slip rather than bite, which is the whole reason the camel hitch's diagonal-tuck variation exists.
Is the camel hitch reliable if tied quickly?
Only if the diagonal tuck is arranged correctly - a rushed tie can look secure while providing little real grip advantage, so it's worth testing before trusting it under load.
Where does the camel hitch's name come from?
It's reportedly named for its documented use securing loads onto pack camels, where a hitch needed to resist working loose from a saddle frame or tapering limb through the animal's constant swaying gait.
Can the camel hitch be untied easily after loading?
Yes, reasonably - unlike some jamming hitches, its grip comes from the wraps and diagonal tuck cinching against a smooth surface rather than biting deeply into rope fibers, so it releases without excessive effort once the load comes off.
Does rope thickness affect how well a camel hitch grips?
Somewhat - a rope that's noticeably thinner relative to the anchor point's diameter tends to grip less reliably, since there's less surface contact area for the diagonal tuck to bite against, so a slightly thicker cord generally performs better on this hitch than an overly thin one.