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Comment by japhyr | Hacker News Reader

My favorite, as many others are sharing here, is the figure 8. For climbing, it's a super versatile knot and there's lots of variations for specific use cases. It's also a great knot for discussing the properties of a good knot.

I also have found the trucker's hitch really useful from time to time. It allows you to tie down a load, for example a kayak on top of a car. You tie the initial hitch, and then you get to crank down on the hitch before tying the final knot. It's like a mini pulley system without a pulley.

The knot I use every day is a modified shoelace knot. You do an overhand, and then the first loop. Before you make the second loop though, you make two wraps around the first loop instead of just one [0]. Once I started using that knot, I don't think I ever had a shoelace come undone.

[0] Third video here, "Two Loop Shoelace Knot": https://www.sunnysports.com/blog/3-best-knots-tying-shoelace...

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The two loop shoelace knot almost qualifies as life changing. Such a small change to something I learned as a child makes such a big difference. Not only do your shoes not come undone, but they don't loosen.

I use "Ian's knot" to tie my shoes [0]. I was so excited when I first learnt this, it is very quick to do and I like that the two loops of the tied shoelace sit flat and straight on the show. Works great for short laces, and never had a problem coming undone.

[0] https://youtu.be/_O-xaJrao1w

I have to agree. There was so much I didn't know about lacing a hiking shoe but I must admit, that is the part of it that has been most useful outside of hiking shoes.

The trucker's knot is awesome. Hugely practical. I use that knot on every load.

https://www.animatedknots.com/truckers-hitch-knot

And in musical format (from the same dude that did 'what does the fox say')

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUHgGK-tImY

Check out the Versatackle[1]. It's very similar, but self-locking so it's easier to tie off at the end: you don't need to maintain tension on the working (free) end for it to maintain tension on the load!

http://useknots.com/other/versatackle/

Doesn't he tie the loop the wrong way in both cases? The (regular) shoe lace knot should be like the reefer knot, not the granny knot.

I've had less problems with simple shoe lace knot after I made sure the loops are correct.

As for climbing, don't forget the double-fisherman's... To tie two ropes together for a double-rope rappel. It's the knot equivalent of a wrist-handshake.

You should use an EDK (despite the name sounding scary) if you're anywhere with cracks or areas that a double fisherman's will get caught. The EDK is asymmetric so it's less likely to get stuck, and is generally faster to tie (and untie). Fears of it rolling out are a bit overstated - just leave a solid 6 inches of tail or more.

Or just use the Alpine Butterfly. Stronger, easy to tie, optionally asymmetric, usable as a loop or a bend, quite secure (slightly less so than Ashley's #1452 but still quite good), and non-jamming (unlike the figure 8).

I disagree that it's easier to tie, especially if you're rappelling at night. The EDK is dead simple, it's literally an overhand knot on two ropes. You can do it with your eyes closed. It's also the easiest knot to quickly inspect for correctness by your climbing partner.

Insightful, thank you.

If you use a taut-line hitch or equivalent, you can crank down on the "pulley" after tying the final knot.

If we're including hitches, the progress capture clove hitch is amazing.

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