Highwayman's Hitch
Also known as: Draw Hitch
hitch knot
Life-safety notice
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A knot named for its supposed use by highwaymen needing to free a tethered horse and ride off in an instant has an obvious core requirement: release with a single pull, under load, without fumbling a knot in an emergency. The highwayman's hitch (also called the draw hitch) delivers exactly that - a chain of interlocked slipped bights held closed by load on the standing part, which pulling the tail free unravels completely in one motion.
The tying method threads three successive bights through each other, alternating which side of the post each bight passes - a distinctive interlocking chain rather than a true locking tuck. Its hold depends on load coming onto the standing part; the tail carries nothing at all, and tensioning the tail is the one thing you must never do, because that is the release. The release mechanism here is the entire design goal rather than an accidental weakness.
That quick-release property makes it genuinely useful anywhere a boat, animal, or object needs to be tied securely but released instantly without untying a knot by hand - a canoe or small boat tied to a dock for a fast getaway, a line that needs to be dropped in a hurry during a sudden weather change, or any similar situation where speed of release matters as much as security of hold.
It's precisely because of that same quick-release design that it should never be used where an accidental pull on the tail could release something dangerous - a securely tied load that must stay tied regardless of what happens to the tail calls for a true locking hitch like the clove hitch instead, not a knot deliberately built to come apart in an instant.
Whether real highwaymen actually used this specific hitch, as opposed to any of several other quick-release techniques available to horsemen of the era, isn't something knot historians can confirm with certainty - the naming is at least partly a romantic attribution that stuck because it matches the knot's genuine one-pull-release property so neatly, whatever its actual documented origin turns out to be. What's not in question is that the mechanism genuinely works exactly as the story suggests: a securely tied line that comes apart completely with a single motion.
Modern users find it genuinely useful anywhere a temporary tie needs to look and behave securely right up until the moment someone deliberately wants it gone - a canoe held at a dock while gear is loaded, or a tarp corner that needs to come down in a hurry if weather turns - provided the person tying it fully understands, and accepts, that any pull on the tail releases the whole thing instantly. That rules out more uses than people expect. It should not be used to tether an animal, where a snagged or nudged tail releases it into whatever is nearby, and it must never be used as a climbing or rappel anchor: a frightened grab at the adjacent line during a slip is precisely the pull that releases it.
How to tie the Highwayman's Hitch
- 1Pass a bight of the standing part behind the post or ring.
- 2Pull a second bight of the working end through the first bight from the front.
- 3Pull a third bight of the working end through the second bight.
- 4Snug the resulting chain of interlocked bights against the post.
- 5Load the standing part - that is what holds the hitch. Leave the tail slack and clear of anything that could snag it.
- 6To release instantly, pull the tail free of the loops - the whole hitch unravels in one motion.
Strength & security
The interlocked bights are held closed by load on the standing part; the tail carries nothing. A single pull on that tail collapses the whole hitch in one motion, even under load, which is the knot's entire purpose.
Cautions: Anything that pulls the tail releases the load - wind, an animal, a passerby, a snagged line. Never use it where a life or an unattended animal depends on it holding, and never as a rappel or climbing anchor: the hitch is released by a pull on the tail, so a frightened grab at the adjacent line during a slip is the one motion that lets go of everything. Use it only where instant release is genuinely what you want, and where release costs nothing.
Alternatives
- Clove Hitch
A true locking hitch for situations where quick, one-pull release isn't wanted or needed - the highwayman's hitch trades that security specifically for instant release.
FAQ
How do you release a highwayman's hitch?
Pull the working tail free of the interlocked bights - the entire hitch unravels in a single motion, even under load.
Is the highwayman's hitch secure to tie a boat with?
It holds under load on the standing part, but it is designed for instant release and the tail is the trigger. Use it only where quick release is actually wanted and where an accidental release costs nothing - never for a load, an animal, or a person that must stay tied no matter what.
Where does the name come from?
Folk tradition attributes it to highwaymen needing to free a tethered horse instantly and ride off - whether or not that origin story is literally accurate, the knot's design genuinely matches that exact requirement.
Is the highwayman's hitch origin story historically confirmed?
Not definitively - it's a romantic attribution that fits the knot's genuine one-pull-release behavior neatly, but knot historians can't confirm with certainty that actual highwaymen specifically used this technique over other quick-release methods available at the time.
Gear that pairs with this knot
- Floating polypropylene painter line
A quick-release tie for a canoe or small boat wants a painter that floats — a dropped line that sinks under the hull is the last thing a fast getaway needs.
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