How to Coil a Climbing Rope | The Butterfly Method That Works

The way you coil a climbing rope determines how smoothly it pays out on your next climb and how long it lasts. A messy, twisted coil creates tangles at the worst moment and can hide damage. Here’s how to do it right, plus the mistakes that ruin a good rope.

Why Coiling a Rope Correctly Matters

A climbing rope that’s coiled carelessly develops twists and kinks that weaken the fibers and make it feed poorly through a belay device. The American Alpine Institute notes the goal is a neat, untwisted bundle free of knots, so the rope pays out cleanly when you use it. Flaking the rope first — laying it out in loose piles — reduces tangles before you start gathering it.

Beyond function, a proper coil protects the rope’s sheath from abrasion. Dragging a knotted mess across rock or dirt grinds grit into the fibers. Coiling takes two minutes and extends the life of gear that costs several hundred dollars.

The Butterfly Coil With a Bow-Tie Finish, Step by Step

Here’s the sequence:

1. Find the middle of the rope. If your rope has a middle marker, use it; otherwise split the rope into two equal halves by feel.
2. Drape the midpoint over your neck or hold it at your chest, letting both halves hang evenly.
3. Gather both strands together in one hand, then make even loops roughly arm-span length, pulling each loop through the same hand until the rope is fully gathered.
4. Form the butterfly. Take the gathered bundle and create two small loops at the top by folding the rope back on itself.
5. Wrap the remaining rope around the bundle several times, just below the two loops.
6. Finish with a bow tie. Pass the tag end through the opening between the two loops and tighten. The result looks like a bow tie securing the top of the coil.

Too little rope and the finish comes undone on the hike out.

Carrying the Coil on Your Back

Once the butterfly coil is secure, convert it to a backpack-style carry for the approach. Bring the remaining rope ends over your shoulders, crossing them at your chest, then tie them at your waist. Keep the coil balanced so the straps and wraps don’t slip or cinch unevenly — an off-center load pulls on one shoulder and walks around your body as you hike.

For top-rope setups, deploy the rope by centering the middle at the anchor point and clipping it in before feeding each end down. This avoids the tangled mess that comes from trying to untangle a coil mid-route. If you’re using your rope for top-rope climbing at a crag, this middle-first deployment is the entire point of coiling it evenly in the first place.

Common Coiling Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Even experienced climbers rush this step. The most frequent errors:

• Uneven loop lengths. Loops of different sizes make the coil hang lopsided and deploy with snags. Keep every loop the same arm-span length.
• Coiling a twisted rope. Visible twists, loops, or knots left in the rope before you start become permanent kinks. Flake the rope first and check it’s running clean.
• Skipping the tail reserve. Finishing with almost no rope left means a weak tie-off that loosens on the walk out.
• Leaving the butterfly loose. A sloppy wrap lets the bundle slide apart inside your pack.

That’s the test of a good coil.

If you’re in the market for a new rope, our tested roundup of the best climbing ropes compares diameter, weight, and durability across leading models.