Rope for Harnesses

Rope is the intuitive place to start building your kit, of course, and this is an area ruled by personal preference rather than any “twue way.” When choosing rope that you use to build harnesses against your body, you generally don't need to be as concerned with breaking strength as you do for uplines – I haven't seen incident reports where a fall was caused by rope in a harness breaking (the upline is what broke in every case report I know of). However, this applies to “standard” situations where you're evenly loading at least 4 (often 8) wraps of your harness. Be mindful of how you're attaching uplines – especially with futos, I've seen some designs that end up loading just one or two strands on the stem. While that could be OK as a secondary support, I don't recommend loading a harness that way for a critical line… and certainly not if the harness rope is unrated.

While you don't have to worry as much about the breaking strength of your harness rope, obviously that doesn’t mean you could/should suspend yourself from rolled up tissue paper! If you're considering venturing beyond the basic rope types described here (suspending yourself with coconut rope or caution tape or whatever), seek in-person instruction from someone experienced with that specific material, and employ other safety measures (staying low to the ground, using a crash pad, etc).

If you ask people about what rope they use, you're likely to get a mix of rational and completely subjective responses: “I use hemp because it holds knots well… and because I get turned on by the way it smells.” Those subjective opinions matter! If you just plain like jute, and the reason why is “because I like it, that's why,” then that's rationale enough to use it for your harness building rope.

Experiment with different types of rope before investing in a huge kit of one specific material. This experimentation will help you with making an individual assessment of the pros vs. cons of different rope types, and weighing what factors matter the most to you. Personally, I have full kits of hemp, jute, and nylon, and switch between the three (or even – gasp – use more than one at the same time) depending on my evaluation of pros and cons of each material for the type of self-suspension I'm doing.

There are many rope options (cotton, silk, bamboo, coconut, etc), but I find that nylon/MFP, hemp, and jute are the “big three” that most people use for most applications. If you're interested in details on more obscure types of rope, I recommend this chart by Topologist.

All the photos below were shot by Stefanos, under identical lighting conditions so as to show the variation between different rope material as much as possible.

Hemp

Breaking Strength: ~400-500lbs for 6mm (but note that this is an approximation – as a natural fiber, there will be inevitable variation and hemp rope cannot be reliably rated)

Pros:

• Relatively soft and flexible (although not as much so as nylon/MFP)
• Holds knots/frictions well
• Stays in place on the skin, creating distinct, textured rope marks that many people find aesthetically pleasing
• Requires less maintenance & lasts longer than jute
• Has a naturally sweet, earthy/grassy smell that many people find appealing

Cons:

• Somewhat difficult to wash/sanitize (follow instructions from the manufacturer), and weakens with washing
• Somewhat expensive
• Can cause reactions in those with grass allergies
• Can look somewhat dull and indistinct in photos, unless skillfully shot
• Decorative knots tend to flatten into an indistinct blob

Where to obtain it: I highly recommend TwistedMonk.com – use code "REMEDIAL" (for our bondage safety web site RemedialRopes.com) at check-out for $10 off orders of $75 or more!

Jute

Breaking Strength: ~200-300lbs for 6mm (but note that this is an approximation – as a natural fiber with huge differences in processing and care, there will be inevitable variation, therefore jute rope cannot be reliably rated)

Pros:

• Holds knots/frictions well, although not quite as well as hemp
• Stays in place on the skin, creating distinct, textured rope marks that many people find aesthetically pleasing
• Lightweight (which makes it easy to carry around or travel with)
• Handles and flows well when tying
• More firm than hemp, and harsher/harder feeling against the skin
• Photographs extremely well, with no special lighting/skill required
• Makes “creaking” sounds that many people enjoy

Cons:

• Pretty much impossible to wash/sanitize (this matters less if you're just using it on yourself, but is still a consideration)
• Requires regular maintenance and has a relatively short lifespan
• Has a rough, hard feel against the skin (this could also be a pro, depending on your perspective!)
• Can cause reactions in those with grass allergies
• Often has a chemical smell, especially when new

Where to obtain it: I highly recommend Mocojute.com. Awesome product made by a fantastic bondage teacher and performer.

Nylon & MFP (these have similar properties)

Breaking strength: 1100-1500lbs (depending on diameter/material/manufacturer)

Pros: 

• Soft, flexible, and extremely comfortable against the skin (this could be a con, depending on your perspective!)
• Comes in lots of bright, beautiful colors
• Relatively affordable
• Easy to wash/sanitize – put it in a lingerie bag with mild, color-safe soap, wash on a low/gentle cycle, then hang or tumble dry (no heat).
• Less likely to abraid skin in highly dynamic applications (such as marionette suspensions)
• Lasts a long time and requires basically no maintenance
• Can be used for water bondage because it doesn't shrink when wet (unlike natural fibers)
• Hypoallergenic 
• Holds decorative knots and weaves well, without flattening/becoming misshapen 

Cons:

• Slippery and doesn't hold frictions well
• Can burn with fast pulls against the skin
• Rope marks often turn out somewhat indistinct or bruise-y (this can be mitigated a bit by choosing twisted instead of braided rope)
• Has some stretch, which causes harnesses to lose shape and pull away from the body.

Where to obtain it: I highly recommend KnotHead Nylon!