I can testify that his book is pretty nice ( http://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/iansbook.htm ). I bought it from Amazon UK, for a youngster's gift, with my occasional box of inked paper.
That knot resembles the clove hitch, which is a very versatile hitch to attach a section of rope to an object. I think learning a few basic knots is an extremely useful life skill.
Just knowing how to tie bowline, double bowline and a few hitches will make you a more useful person.
My knot skills are horrible, I only know about 3 knots. At camping (real camping where we canoed 4 or 5 hours out to the middle of nowhere and camped) I had to do a zillion knots because everyone was so impressed at how I could tie things down correctly.
It was surprisingly helpful - I can't even remember where/when I learned them.
I realize the bowline family is used extensively in marine settings, but the figure-eight family is a lot easier to tie in most settings, and almost always results in a stronger system.
The bowline rules for tying one-handed. Otherwise, I'm inclined to agree with you, but properly dressing the figure-eight can be bit of a chore. It's too easy to get the ropes crossed inside the knot. For non-climbing use, I like the alpine butterfly family. Strong, versatile, and easy to tie in single, double, or triple-loop versions.
I can't remember where but I saw some tests that showed an un-dressed figure 8 had a higher breaking strength than one where the ropes crossed. (it's kinda academic given the sort of forces required though)
Personally I use a bowline + stopper for climbing, figure 8s are a swine to undo with pumped arms if you fall on them hard & if you're pulling the rope through gear there's always the worry you won't fully untie knot.
When I climb trad or top rope, I tie in with figure-eight, but when I sport climb, the double bowline is preferable because it's easy to untie after taking a whipper.
i've been using this knot for years, and it's great. i dream of some day teaching my kids to tie their shoes with this knot, and then having them explain to the other kids in class why their system trumps the standard methods.
I agree. I've been using this knot for a few years now and like it a lot. It's really fun to amaze my young cousins at how quickly this knot can be tied.
I prefer Ian's Secure Knot. I've been using this for 2-3 years on my shoes.
The knot doesn't come out, even with leather thong-type laces. Yet a single tug on the end releases the whole knot (unlike traditional "double knots").
It also keeps the fat, slippery laces on my hiking shoes securely tied. The only bad thing is that if you try to yank it undone and the single end has made its way through the loop, you may have a mess of untangling to do.
I think your sample size of one is not going to be statistically significant. However I do think that in this case, the plural of anecdotes might actually equal data.
I've been tying my shoes this way for years and years. My uncle taught me when I was young, and now I cannot tie them the normal way anymore. It's also a nice party trick to challenge somebody to a "shoe tying race."
I think Xtenex are even a bit more convenient. Elastic, and they turn any shoes into slip-ons. I bought them first for my running shoes, but now I have them on all my work shoes too.
Are they awkward if you need to adjust the lacing - I like tying my laces each time, then I can adjust for when I have swollen feet (hot weather), the size of sock I'm wearing, the activity I'm doing and what have you.
My bad, I didn't know that Lock Laces were elastic as well. I've seen those at stores and always just thought they were normal string laces with a sliding clasp.
My mother taught me to tie my shoes just like her mother had taught her once upon a time, and they both tied granny knots, so I learned no other way to tie my shoes.
A friend of mine found this webpage a few years ago, and was very excited to tell me and all of our friends about it, and I finally learned how to tie my shoes properly.
30 years of tying my shoes the bad way. 30 years of sometimes slipping laces and shoes come undone. Goddamnit mom.
I've been using this for years, for anything that requires this sort of knot. I'm disappointed that nobody ever comments on how quickly I can tie my shoes (say, after a TSA checkpoint).
that's an excellent site. I stumbled across it a while back when researching knots but forgot about it until now. Glad it's shown up here.
I can testify that his book is pretty nice ( http://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/iansbook.htm ). I bought it from Amazon UK, for a youngster's gift, with my occasional box of inked paper.
That knot resembles the clove hitch, which is a very versatile hitch to attach a section of rope to an object. I think learning a few basic knots is an extremely useful life skill.
Just knowing how to tie bowline, double bowline and a few hitches will make you a more useful person.
My knot skills are horrible, I only know about 3 knots. At camping (real camping where we canoed 4 or 5 hours out to the middle of nowhere and camped) I had to do a zillion knots because everyone was so impressed at how I could tie things down correctly.
It was surprisingly helpful - I can't even remember where/when I learned them.
That's actually a slipped square knot. But the way you tie it is sort of reminiscent of a clove hitch.
As he says on the site, you wind up with the same knot (slipped square) that you'd get by the usual method of tying.
I realize the bowline family is used extensively in marine settings, but the figure-eight family is a lot easier to tie in most settings, and almost always results in a stronger system.
Yay, a knot geekery thread. :)
The bowline rules for tying one-handed. Otherwise, I'm inclined to agree with you, but properly dressing the figure-eight can be bit of a chore. It's too easy to get the ropes crossed inside the knot. For non-climbing use, I like the alpine butterfly family. Strong, versatile, and easy to tie in single, double, or triple-loop versions.
I can't remember where but I saw some tests that showed an un-dressed figure 8 had a higher breaking strength than one where the ropes crossed. (it's kinda academic given the sort of forces required though)
Personally I use a bowline + stopper for climbing, figure 8s are a swine to undo with pumped arms if you fall on them hard & if you're pulling the rope through gear there's always the worry you won't fully untie knot.
When I climb trad or top rope, I tie in with figure-eight, but when I sport climb, the double bowline is preferable because it's easy to untie after taking a whipper.
i've been using this knot for years, and it's great. i dream of some day teaching my kids to tie their shoes with this knot, and then having them explain to the other kids in class why their system trumps the standard methods.
taking iterative improvement literally i see. :)
You know a shoelace knot is good when you decide to have kids specifically to increase the knot's chance of survival.
... only to find they use velcro fasteners and then later self tightening twist laces (little prediction for you based on memory materials).
I was going to post my endorsement in this thread, but it would have basically been a copy and paste of this one.. Just with capital letters.
I use the quick knot for my every day shoes with cloth laces, and the secure knot with boots and difficult laces.
Ian is great.
I agree. I've been using this knot for a few years now and like it a lot. It's really fun to amaze my young cousins at how quickly this knot can be tied.
I prefer Ian's Secure Knot. I've been using this for 2-3 years on my shoes.
The knot doesn't come out, even with leather thong-type laces. Yet a single tug on the end releases the whole knot (unlike traditional "double knots").
It also keeps the fat, slippery laces on my hiking shoes securely tied. The only bad thing is that if you try to yank it undone and the single end has made its way through the loop, you may have a mess of untangling to do.
When I was 3 I sat on our back step all afternoon trying to tie my shoes because my older brother knew how.
I use this technique - I figured this was the standard way.
Ok, I went through the page quickly and was kind of wondering what was so special about the knot and what it was doing here.
Then, I tried it, and it is pretty cool! It feels like one step is missing when you're done.
Better video via the link I submitted a year ago: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=468063
This item has also shown up several times before:
http://searchyc.com/shoelace
It's one of the methods I use to assess how to present things:
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1059659
It lets me know if someone will like puzzles for their own sake, or if "everything has to have a use."
To stay in a domestic mood: How to fold a T-shirt in two seconds, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=An0mFZ3enhM
I'm a big fan of Ian's secure shoelace knot, which I use all of the time on my hiking boots and hockey skates:
http://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/secureknot.htm
Easy to tie, easy to untie, and I've never had it slip or come untied on its own.
I've just tried it: it's much safer than the standard one, check it yourself, that's definitely a winner for sports and everyday usage
Testing one shoe with my standard double knot and this secure knot. I'll update with the victor.
I think your sample size of one is not going to be statistically significant. However I do think that in this case, the plural of anecdotes might actually equal data.
True. It's going to be ongoing, but it's already holding better than my standard double knot. Switched the other shoe to it too.
Also, keep in mine that I like to tie my shoes once every week or so and slip them on/off as I use them.
My father taught me that as the "boy scout's shoelace knot".
Works even on slippery dress shoe laces. The secure knot is far better than the basic.
I've been tying my shoes this way for years and years. My uncle taught me when I was young, and now I cannot tie them the normal way anymore. It's also a nice party trick to challenge somebody to a "shoe tying race."
Cool, this makes me wish i didn't wear sandals to work today
I've been using Lock Laces on all my athletic shoes for over 5 years now. Ridiculously convenient. http://locklaces.com/
I think Xtenex are even a bit more convenient. Elastic, and they turn any shoes into slip-ons. I bought them first for my running shoes, but now I have them on all my work shoes too.
http://www.xtenex.com/
Are they awkward if you need to adjust the lacing - I like tying my laces each time, then I can adjust for when I have swollen feet (hot weather), the size of sock I'm wearing, the activity I'm doing and what have you.
My bad, I didn't know that Lock Laces were elastic as well. I've seen those at stores and always just thought they were normal string laces with a sliding clasp.
My mother taught me to tie my shoes just like her mother had taught her once upon a time, and they both tied granny knots, so I learned no other way to tie my shoes.
A friend of mine found this webpage a few years ago, and was very excited to tell me and all of our friends about it, and I finally learned how to tie my shoes properly.
30 years of tying my shoes the bad way. 30 years of sometimes slipping laces and shoes come undone. Goddamnit mom.
It's harder to keep the base knot tight with that knot, although that could just be my inexperience.
Ah, my 7yr old's life just got a lot easier.
Why. Do. People. Use. Periods. This. Way?
To denote a pause in speech. Fast. Easy. Clean. has more punch to it when spoken vs. Fast Easy Clean.
It's also a Star Trek / William Shatner reference
I've been using this for years, for anything that requires this sort of knot. I'm disappointed that nobody ever comments on how quickly I can tie my shoes (say, after a TSA checkpoint).