The Double Column Tie, Step by Step

By Kes Lindqvist · Rigger and rope educator · Published 18 August 2026

The double column tie (DCT) binds two limbs together, both wrists say, with a cinch of rope between them so they can’t crush against one another. It is the natural second tie to pick up after the single column tie.

When you’d use it

Wrists together, in front or behind. Ankles together. One wrist bound to a thigh. Any time you want two columns held as a single unit, this is the tie for it.

The key difference

What sets the DCT apart is the cinching wraps that run down between the two limbs. Those wraps stop the limbs pressing into each other and keep the pressure even across both.

Common beginner mistakes

• Skipping the cinch, so the limbs compress.
• Wrapping too tight “to be secure” when security comes from technique, not tension.
• Placing the knot where you can’t reach a hand to check circulation.

Where you’ll actually use it

This is a genuine workhorse, and once it is reliable a lot of rope opens up:

• Both wrists, in front or behind.
• Two ankles, or the knees.
• One wrist to a thigh, or a limb to a fixed point.

Because it binds two columns into one stable unit, it becomes the join you reach for constantly as ties get more involved.

How to check it’s safe

Run the same three checks every time, and teach your partner to speak up:

1. Finger test. A finger slides under the wraps; snug, never tight.
2. Cinch present. Neither limb presses directly into the other.
3. Sensation normal. No tingling, numbness or colour change, and re-check every few minutes.

If anything is off, release and re-tie. Better a clean re-do than a “good enough” tie sitting on a nerve.

Struggling with a step? Post a photo in the Technique board and the community will help.

In practice

The double-column tie binds two "columns" together, wrists to each other or an ankle to a thigh, and it turns single ties into harnesses and hogties. You use it to connect body parts, anchor a limb to furniture, or fold a bottom into position. Its whole job is to hold without tightening under struggle, so the locking friction between the two columns is the part that matters. Too loose and it collapses. Too tight and it crushes as the bottom moves.

For beginners

Learn the single column first. The double follows from it. Practise the locking friction until the tie cannot cinch down when pulled, keep two fingers of slack, and tie to the fleshy parts of limbs. Never bind across the front of the throat or a joint under load.

For experienced players

Later the double column becomes a fast connector you reach for mid-flow, joining limbs, building hogties and predicaments, anchoring suspension lines. What you refine is speed, a friction that never slips or bites, and placement that keeps circulation and nerves clear even as the bottom shifts. Call it plumbing, but plumbing that has to hold under load.