Tying with chain

Pass the chain round both limbs, take up every link of slack, then close the join with a lock or a clip rather than a knot.

How it is done

Chain does not grip and cannot be knotted, so it is always chain plus something that closes: a padlock, a clip, a carabiner. Pass it round the pair, take the slack out link by link before you close anything, and put the closure on the outside. Chain also carries weight and cold in a way rope does not — a length left hanging off a join drags the whole tie in that direction all evening.

What goes wrong with this one

Bare chain bruises under its own weight over time and pinches wherever a link closes on a fold; a layer of anything between chain and skin fixes both.