Lashing A Tripod

Lashing A Tripod:

As we begin our series on camp cooking I thought I would address a few items needed for an effective camp kitchen (tripod, bush pot and pot holder). A tripod can be used for so many functions in a camp and is not only a great platform for cooking but also a shelter, elevated platform, elevated anchor point, smoker and so much more. The tripod is easily capable of supporting over 400lbs (tested with two people hanging from the tripod).

 

 1) Choose three like sized and straight trees (roughly wrist size) I try to find one with a slight fork for one of my exterior facing limb for ease of cooking.

2) Gather roughly 25' of cordage (Bankline is my preferred due to its heat resistance and ability to retain knots well, but used a white cordage as its easier to see in pictures) and start a truckers hitch (form a loop and twist 15 or so times then wrap around the first stick and then feed all of the cordage back through the loop).

3) View of truckers hitch and cordage being fed through the hitch.

 4) Wrap all three limbs with and keep them tensioned as much as possible. Wrap at least fifteen times tension with each turn.

5) Wrap 10-15 times between two of the limbs tightening each turn then do the same between the other two sticks.

6) Begin to do an "X" wrap with 10-15 wraps on each side of the X. Follow this by re-warping the three sections of tripod 10 more times and finish with the knot of your choice.

7) Once finished the tripod should be quite tight and hold its position well.

8) There are hundreds of modifications you can make a tripod. You can add multiple platforms for a smoke generator or smoker, add a stick to the side to act as a change of direction fora wire to keep your pots from touching, etc.

As always I look forward to your feedback and hope you enjoyed the article.