Tying with rope

Take four turns of rope round both limbs together, pass two more turns between them and pull those snug, then finish with a square knot on the outside.

How it is done

Fold the rope in half before you start and work with the doubled strand — it lays flat, it goes on twice as fast, and the loop at the fold gives you something to pass the ends through. Lay it across both limbs and take three or four turns round the pair. Then bring the ends up between the two limbs and take two turns across the wraps you just made — that is the cinch — pull it snug, and tie it off with a square knot where a free hand can reach it. Cut or fold rope into arm-length and leg-length pieces before anything begins; hunting for the middle of a ten-metre coil with somebody already half-tied is how ties get rushed.

What goes wrong with this one

Rope does exactly what it is told, which makes it the easiest material here to overdo — it will go tighter than skin can take without any of the warning that fabric or tape gives first.