Friday 11 February 2011

Interesting points about the bowline for knot geeks

The bowline is used quite extensively in climbing, so I thought the following snippet might be of use to others.
Bowline (left) and "Dutch" bowline (right): note tail end on outsid of knot (from wikipedia)

Following a dispute with a colleague in the UIAA I have done a little digging on the subject, although to be fair I should say Dan Middleton, the BMC technical officer has dug for me!

The discussion was about the merits or otherwise of a bowline tied with the tail end on the outside. This configuration is called a “dutch” or “cowboy” bowline, and the  research paper here suggests that it works just as well as the ordinary bowline which confirms my feeling that it is not an important distinction, though best teaching practise should demonstrate the classic bowline.
The wikipedia (here) suggests that this version knot is actually superior when the loop is subjected to loading that pulls it apart.

1 comment:

  1. Then how do you recommend the double bowline with stopper knot?

    ReplyDelete