mikebarter387 wrote:
ski.ninja wrote:
If I were to tie in with a bowline, that's probably how I'd do it. However, bowlines are tricky to check to see if they're tied properly. For example, that double bowline with the tail running up through the bight again is virtually identical to a single bowline with a Yosemite finish. I've been tying bowlines long enough that I could probably get away with it, but the figure 8 retrace is a lot easier to tie when I'm tired. The benefits might be a knot that's easier to get loose after a big fall, but the complications involved don't make it attractive to me.
Sorry wrong answer, guess again.
I think that ski ninja pretty much hit it on the head. If you have been climbing for several years it then you can make a more informed decision on ho you want to die. It really is hard for someone to check your knot and hard to check someone else at a glance.
I have never seen anybody walking around with a retied figure 8 tied to their harness which leads me to believe that no matter how tight they get they always manage to get it undone.
I have seen some pretty shoddy bowline tie ins over the years. Enough so that I have actuallly picked up my rope and went elsewhere just so that I didn't have to deal ith the aftermath.
There is enough stuff that can go wrong in climbing without adding to the formula. Lot of these guys do it to be diffrent and look cool.
Other than the fact that this canKnott be another frigging bowline thread, those are some pretty strongly opinionated posts, and ones that rehash the same unsubstantiated babble about bowlines. Let's keep it simple - figure eights are what they are in climbing due to the relatively simple 'signature' they present for teaching a knot. They represent the lowest common denominator approach to tying in beginners. And while there's nothing wrong with that - all the reasons you give for why bowlines shouldn't be used by competent climbers are essentially complete nonsense and without merit.
