FeatherSticks · Skills
Lashings & Camp Structures: How to Tie a Square Lashing, Tripod Lashing and More
Three wraps, two frapping turns – and two sticks become one.
Quick facts
- Time
- 3–5 min per lashing, 15–20 min for a cooking tripod
- Difficulty
- Easy to moderate – two hitches and a rhythm to learn
- Best for
- Pot tripods, A-frames, racks, camp tables, shelter frames
- You need
- 4–6 mm cord, dead straight poles 3–5 cm thick, saw or knife
What you need
- Three or four pre-cut lashing cords of 3–4 m, 4–6 mm thick
- One longer cord of about 6 m for a tripod
- Folding saw for cutting poles to length
- Fixed-blade knife for trimming stubs and carving notches and hooks
- Work gloves for pulling thin cord hard
- Short stick as a pulling toggle
Step by step
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1 Pick poles and cord
Collect dead, dry, straight poles 3–5 cm thick and 4–6 mm cord. Never cut living trees without the owner's permission.
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2 Anchor with a clove hitch
Tie a clove hitch on one pole right next to the crossing and pull it snug. This anchor carries every turn that follows.
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3 Make three tight wraps
Wrap the cord around both poles three times. Lay every turn beside the last and pull each one tight before the next.
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4 Add two frapping turns
Pass the cord between the poles and around the wraps twice. Pull hard: frapping turns squeeze the wraps until nothing moves.
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5 Tie off and test
Finish with a clove hitch on the other pole. Push, pull and load the structure low to the ground before you rely on it.
Common mistakes
- Skipping the frapping turns – wraps alone always work loose.
- Letting wraps ride over each other instead of laying them side by side.
- Tying the start hitch a few centimetres away from the joint.
- Wrapping a tripod lashing as tight as a square lashing, so the legs cannot spread.
- Building only rectangles: without a diagonal brace every frame racks.
- Using rotten poles from the wet ground or cutting living trees without permission.
- Trusting a structure overhead or with a pot of boiling water before testing it cold.