Packing Basics: Tying a Diamond Hitch

Tying a diamond hitch is one of the basic knots if you want to get started packing horses.

Famous Western singer Dave Stamey sings many great songs. One song in particular that I enjoy is Dan Was a Packer. If you’ve ever ridden and camped in the mountains you’ll appreciate the song. At one point in the song, Stamey sings, “He coiled more ropes, then most men ever seen…” Dealing with ropes is one of the realities of packing. You have to get good with ropes and know a variety of knots and hitches to be successful. One hitch that many packers use in certain situations is the diamond hitch.

Tying a diamond hitch is good, particularly if you have a top pack you are wanting to take along. For those unfamiliar, a top pack is an item that rests on top of the animals back between the two panniers. If you don’t get the top pack tied on correctly, it can move and make your whole pack come undone. In order to keep it secure you might be able to use the diamond hitch.

At this point, I’d like to say that although I’ve written books and hundreds of articles, writing about how to tie knots is one of the hardest things to write about. It’s just difficult to do well. Personally, I do not find them helpful sources when it comes to learning either. As a result, rather than write an article about typing a diamond hitch, I’d like to share with you a video demonstrating it. This video does a good job showing the process with good enough video to help you get the idea.

A few things to point out or add to the video.

First, when you tighten the lash cinch (1:30), always make sure the hook is pointed toward the back of the animal. This ensures that it will not catch on a branch, bush, or anything else during the day’s ride. Another thing to point out is that when you tuck the rope around the pannier (3:35) make sure the rope goes all the way behind the pannier. Finally, when you tighten the diamond (4:56) you want to keep the diamond centered over the top pack as much as possible. Other than that, the gentleman does a very nice job demonstrating how to tie a diamond hitch.

Hopefully, you found this video and article about tying a diamond hitch helpful. If you are interested in camping with horses, it might be a good hitch to have in your mental library. If you do decide to start packing, it won’t be long before you understand that Dave Stamey was not exaggerating in his Dan the Packer song. You will need to get comfortable with ropes, knots, and hitches. But, that is all part of the challenge.