This blog was provided by a great friend and true inpiration. Firefighter Nate Koch oBeatrice Fire and Rescue in Nebraska provided us with a simple, yet effective way to use damaged or out of service hose to increase our fitness and conditioning levels in the station. Thank you Nate for your continued service and hard work. A YOUNG Nate Koch!! Hey my Brothers, I decided I wanted a set of Battling Ropes for my guys at the station to use in there workouts. Good ropes cost a lot of money. So I got to thinking and searching the net and found some cheap easy solutions to buying real ropes. All you need is a 50 foot section of old fire hose, 2 1/2 works good, some type of small rope or twine, and some duct tape! All you do is cut off the cuplings, fold the hose down the middle on the end, you want about 10 inches or so for your handles. Take the rope or twine and wrap the ends very tightly, this creates a grip type feel. All the way to the end and then have someone hold it while you secure it. Then you just wrap the handles with duct tape and you're all set. Pretty simple! I can't take all the credit though, I found this method on YouTube! I also made one in 1 3/4 for beginners and for a killer second set when the 2 1/2 becomes too much! Thanks again Ed Hadfield for letting me share this! Nathan Koch Beatice Fire and Rescue Beatrice, NE