Safest Bowline Variation?

Double Bowline with Half a grapevine. A real all day knot, stays put forever, yet easy to untie after falls and hangin belays.

looks cool with the four loops, less bulk in the tie in points than the retraced bowline, end finishes toward the body, makes new partners really check the tie in.

All tho I really like the double loop bowline for some anchors and midpoint knots. wear is spread out more than an overhand or fig 8. and easier to unclip under tension than a clove

variant of a "double" bowline that was titled (for some unknown reason) "swedish bowline" -- we used to teach it for the amga back in the late eighties.  the double bowline's two loops are folded together as a clove hitch, and the end is threaded "out the clove hitch, around the tree, and back in the clove hitch" (paraphrasing the old boy-scout saw).  the resulting knot behaves as a shock absorber, with the clove hitch spreading like a spring under load.  never really caught on like I'd hoped, because the figger-8 was so much easier for partners to identify and check one another.  I still prefer the "swedish bowline" for bolted sport climbs, for its shock-absorber effect.  studies indicate that roughly 30% of the impact force of a fall is absorbed by tightening of knots in the belay-chain, suggesting that a knot that doesnt tighten and stay locked up seems desirable..  like any bowline, security can be enhanced by retracing, yosemite finish, or mule knot.

Haireball

Curt Hairewrote:

variant of a "double" bowline that was titled (for some unknown reason) "swedish bowline" -- we used to teach it for the amga back in the late eighties.  the double bowline's two loops are folded together as a clove hitch, and the end is threaded "out the clove hitch, around the tree, and back in the clove hitch" (paraphrasing the old boy-scout saw).  the resulting knot behaves as a shock absorber, with the clove hitch spreading like a spring under load.  never really caught on like I'd hoped, because the figger-8 was so much easier for partners to identify and check one another.  I still prefer the "swedish bowline" for bolted sport climbs, for its shock-absorber effect.  studies indicate that roughly 30% of the impact force of a fall is absorbed by tightening of knots in the belay-chain, suggesting that a knot that doesnt tighten and stay locked up seems desirable..  like any bowline, security can be enhanced by retracing, yosemite finish, or mule knot.

Haireball

Pretty sure it commonly called a water bowline. You can Yosemite finish it too FWIW

I prefer Yosemite backed bowline w/ a tuck when sport/gym/falling a lot climbing. 8 when Multi pitching or just know I have no business untying for a good while.