

Fast. Easy. Clean. Shoelace Knot. - sahaj
http://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/ianknot.htm

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teuobk
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.

~~~
alexk
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

~~~
timdorr
Testing one shoe with my standard double knot and this secure knot. I'll
update with the victor.

~~~
maximilian
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.

~~~
timdorr
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.

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RiderOfGiraffes
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."

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henrikschroder
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.

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CWuestefeld
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").

~~~
amanfredi
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.

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jazzychad
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."

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Luyt
To stay in a domestic mood: How to fold a T-shirt in two seconds,
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=An0mFZ3enhM>

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metaguri
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.

~~~
nazgulnarsil
taking iterative improvement literally i see. :)

~~~
furyg3
You know a shoelace knot is good when you decide to have kids specifically to
increase the knot's chance of survival.

~~~
pbhjpbhj
... only to find they use velcro fasteners and then later self tightening
twist laces (little prediction for you based on memory materials).

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elai
It's harder to keep the base knot tight with that knot, although that could
just be my inexperience.

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mrtron
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.

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yan
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.

~~~
JshWright
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.

~~~
gcv
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.

~~~
Super_Jambo
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.

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Timothee
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.

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jrockway
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).

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jadence
I've been using Lock Laces on all my athletic shoes for over 5 years now.
Ridiculously convenient. <http://locklaces.com/>

~~~
Gimpson
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/>

~~~
pbhjpbhj
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.

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tjpick
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.

~~~
ableal
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.

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thinkbohemian
Cool, this makes me wish i didn't wear sandals to work today

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kellishaver
Ah, my 7yr old's life just got a lot easier.

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mjgoins
Why. Do. People. Use. Periods. This. Way?

~~~
elai
To denote a pause in speech. Fast. Easy. Clean. has more punch to it when
spoken vs. Fast Easy Clean.

~~~
Sukotto
It's also a Star Trek / William Shatner reference

