The water knot maintains nearly what percentage of webbing strength?

The water knot is a widely used knot in the context of webbing, especially in climbing and rescue scenarios, due to its reliability and ease of untangling after being loaded. It maintains nearly 100 percent of the original strength of the webbing to which it is tied. This is crucial in rescue operations, where preserving the integrity and strength of the webbing is vital for the safety of both the rescuer and the person being rescued.

The knot's efficiency stems from how it distributes the load across the strands of webbing, minimizing any potential weak points that can occur with other types of knots. In high-stakes situations, where any loss of strength could lead to catastrophic failures, the water knot is preferred for its ability to retain nearly all of the webbing's load-bearing capacity.

In contrast, the other options suggest lower strength retention percentages, which would imply that those knots could compromise safety by allowing a significant portion of the webbing's strength to be lost when tied. This is why understanding the water knot's nearly complete strength retention at 100 percent is essential for anyone involved in technical rescue operations.