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A better way to tie gym shorts (or any drawstring) [video]
- weavie 4mo agoIt's amazing the things you learn here..
- mondainx 4mo agoAgreed! Even better, this is a knot I need.
- UmYeahNo 4mo agoI learned this knot from this video a while back -- I've used it ever since. It cinches the shorts tight, but is easy to release. It works especially well on strings that are slippery and don't hold a typical bow very well. One drawback is that the two ends often end up different lengths, but otherwise it's a great knot!
- stronglikedan 4mo agojust start with a double square knot (or whatever the first step is called) and pull it tight before starting the bow. it won't move while you tie the bow, and it's so much easier than this. if you have particularly slippery substrate, start with a triple instead
- wffurr 4mo agoA reef knot (or square knot) cannot be adjusted or tied under load. When you tie the second crossing, the first one always loosens a bit. The lapp knot in the video can be tensioned properly after tying, which is pretty slick.
- mmakeev 4mo agohaha...not bad. Nice try
- adverbly 4mo agoSuper cool! Here is how to tie a bow in under 1 second in case anyone wants something that looks a bit cleaner but is less functional: https://m.youtube.com/shorts/Q5qZpQe_4EA https://m.youtube.com/shorts/Q5qZpQe_4EA
- rideontime 4mo agoHard to tell if that's the same as the Ian Knot: https://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/ianknot.htm https://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/ianknot.htm
- j13n 4mo agoFirst thing I thought when I saw it being tied. "Hey, that's the Ian Knot!"
- adverbly 4mo agoThanks for sharing. That's an awesome site! I think its the same Knot. I really like Ian's Secure Knot too: https://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/secureknot.htm https://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/secureknot.htm
- taeric 4mo agoI've become a huge fan of the secure knot. Holds easily as well as any double knot I have ever seen, with the massive advantage of easy release.
- risico 4mo agoI've learned the Ian Knot almost 10 years ago and it still gives me a good smile when I use it every day. Feels like a proper life-hack. I also cannot help myself but look down at people that don't use it, shoelace normies.
- Melatonic 4mo agoThe lock lace method (I forget the "official" name) is also a huge game changer for footwear. Especially boots and taller stuff. You can use it to have looser / tigher "zones" or specific areas and optimise the fit of well fitting shoes and make shoes that dont fit temporarily useable. Also great for hiking when you might want a slightly looser toebox for general use and then tighten everything down when switching to a steep downhill sections. Also a game changer for snowboard boots and why I prefer traditional laces vs speed laces or boa systems. I can see why they are popular there though - most people wont be using fancier lacing techniques and have two adjustable zones (speed laces) is better than none.
- quibono 4mo agoGosh I need to learn more about knots. I've been thinking about this recently: if I wanted to maximise utility and could only learn 5 knots, what would they be. Or alternatively, what are the "better" alternatives to the classics everyone knows.
- turbocon 4mo agoI've spent waaay to much time thinking about this over the past few years and have really gotten into knots. Personally I'd say you need to classify the type of knots you want to learn and pick one knot from each. The classics in my opinion are 1. End loop 2. Mid loop 3. Hitch (opposite of an end loop) 4. adjustable loop 5. Bend (rope to rope) My suggestions in order are # End Loop 1a. Bowline (snap variant) - This is a knot that's super easy to tie, remember, and untie. There are a bunch of variants to expand it's usefulness (double, water, slip, yosemite, etc) 1b. Zeppelin Loop - this is my personal favorite, it's a little tricky to tie but I've never seen it slip and it unties easily after it's all done. # Mid Loop 2a. Alpine Butterfly - learn the butterfly method and this is an easy to tie knot that can be easily sized. It also doesn't bind so it unties easily and can be loaded in any direction (on of the only midline knots this is true for) 2b. Bowline on a Bight - Super satisfying knot to tie, a little wonky to learn just because of the structure but easy to tie once you get it. # Hitch 3a. Tensionless Hitch - (this is probably the most overlooked 'knot' just look at a diagram you can learn it and never forget it after seeing the diagram once. It's the strongest knot there is if you have the rope for it. (I wouldn't really count this at one of your 5 but it's good to keep in mind) 3b. Buntline Hitch - dead simple and you can usually untie it after a heavy load 3c. Siberian Hitch - This is effectively a slipped noose but I use it all the time, it's my personal go to. 3c. Poachers knot - If you have a carabiner or know you're never going to need to untie this knot it's hard to beat # Adjustable Loop / Friction Hitch 4a. Adjustable Grip Hitch - Easy to learn and holds better than the Midshipman's 4b. Midshipman - it's a little more complicated but this was Ashley's favorite because it can be tied under tension # Bend (Bends and fixed loops usually have the same structure so you might not need this one) 5a. Zeppelin Bend - seriously just learn this one, sixty nine method is the easiest for me. Knot is easy to tie, doesn't slip, and is easy to untie. 5b. Sheet Bend - this knot... is fine but you already know it if you learned the bowline above as it's the same structure Bonus Section 1. Trucker/Truckee - probably one of the most useful knots around, learn the method that uses a slip knot for the mid loop and it'll make even easier 2. Canadian Jam Knot - Useful for bundling things, it's a knot I find myself using a lot 3. Voodoo Hitch - You can use it in place of a ratchet strap if you have a couple of carabiners 4. Icicle Hitch - Ever wanted to tie a rope to a butter metal pole and keep it from slipping? This is the knot, it cinches and grips things with so much friction you can tie a rope to about anything vaguely cylindrical
- aardvarkr 4mo agoAmazing, I love learning about knots! Is there a better shoelace knot? Not faster, but better
- kencausey 4mo agoI favor a technique I was taught by a nursing student almost 30 years ago. You basically use the usual technique but each time the lace crosses another do it one extra time. So first you wrap one lace around the other and pull it tight, well before you pull it tight wrap it around one more time. This helps hold the laces tight for the next step where you fold the laces and wrap them around each other. Do that a second time as well before you pull it fully tight. Without video or illustration I suspect this is not easy to follow. Oh well.
- ctrl4 4mo agoYes, there is my friend. https://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/secureknot.htm https://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/secureknot.htm I've learned it a month ago and couldn't be happier.
- jrimbault 4mo agoI love how new people keep discovering Ian's website (cf the xkcd 1053). It's a really well made website, the pictures and animations are very well chosen to explain knots and lacing.
- dools 4mo agoYep: one extra rotation at the end, like when you are tying the loops together, go around a second time. Never comes undone, but releases easily.
- deleted 4mo ago[deleted]
- inanutshellus 4mo agoI lived several decades knowing only the standard set of knots (square, granny) that every six-year-old knows. Recently, due to Scouts, learned more and I can't believe how often I use them. "Dryer's busted! My DIY laundry line sags! What to do?!" "If only I could make a loop that won't move in the middle of this rope!" ... and... this knot is new to me. I'm stoked to add it to the brainbox. Way to go, OP!
- __MatrixMan__ 4mo agoEver since I was a scout in the 90s I've been considering how to get in contact with them about discouraging use of the square knot. The way that loading it crosswise causes it to shift into a double half hitch, turning from a "hold fast" knot to a slipknot... That's funky behavior and should disqualify it from being among the first few knots people learn. If you're using it for its advertised purpose, it's downright dangerous, and the square/granny confusion is just needless pain to discourage a newbie. If you wanna tie two ropes together and have a less finicky experience, use a fisherman's knot. Which is basically a pair of overhands, each around the other rope. It's a much more reliable knot for trying two ropes together, lacks the annoying gotchas of the square knot, and for a long list of reasons I won't bore you with here it is a better foundation for learning other knots. (It's no good for drawstrings though, too reliable, no quick release).
- SAI_Peregrinus 4mo agoThe reef knot (square knot in Scouts lingo) is a good binding knot. It's a terrible bend. Scouts teach it as a bend, for some idiotic reason. Reefing a sail or tying a parcel, a reef knot the role will fulfill. But joining two ends one should only use bends, And a reef knot's a sure way to kill. ⸻Stuart Grainger, ex-Master Mariner, 1985. Referenced from "The Complete Book of Knots" by Geoffrey Budworth.
- __MatrixMan__ 4mo agoOh good find. It's nice to know I'm not the only one who has had this thought. But since modern sailboats don't require knots for reefing, and modern parcels don't require tying, I think the use cases for a square knot are now pretty narrow. Some times I use them to finish off some lashing because they can be easily tied while keeping tension, but that's about it. It's just not qualified for to be the first knot we teach a tenderfoot.
- Waterluvian 4mo agoI’ve been giving this a try, and aside from Porky Pigging it through my kitchen this morning, it seems to have real promise. The rip cord isn’t a feature I value, though.
- wffurr 4mo agoPer the video description, this is a Lapp Knot: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lapp_knot https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lapp_knot, sadly not animated by Grog.
- jeremyjacob 4mo agoHere’s an animated version: https://knots3d.com/en/lapp-knot https://knots3d.com/en/lapp-knot
- charcircuit 4mo agoI think you meant to link https://knots3d.com/en/slipped-lapp-knot https://knots3d.com/en/slipped-lapp-knot It's even labeled as a gym shorts knot.
- exclipy 4mo agoThis. The ampersand method in the OP video (and the sibling slipped-lapp-knot comment) is needlessly complicated. Just follow this super simple animation instead (except pass a bight in the last step to make it quick-release). The Lapp knot (aka. lapp bend) is my favourite of all the knots and very underrated. It's so versatile and simple, even simpler to tie than a square knot. As shown in the OP, it can be tightened and loosened and explodes when you pull the tag rather than leaving the half-knot behind. It is my default way to tie two ropes together.
- silisili 4mo agoIt's almost nonintuitive(at least to me) how many ways there are to tie the same knot. I must have watched 15 different snell techniques before I found one that seemed simple enough to remember and actually use with wet hands and slick lines.
- aidenn0 4mo agoThanks, I was thinking "that looks a lot like a slipped sheet-bend," but could tell that something wasn't quite right.
- PatronBernard 4mo agoDoesn't seem to work very well with flat strings it seems (or I suck at knotting).
- SoftTalker 4mo agoOr the way most drawstrings are now: a loop and not two loose ends.
- joshuahaglund 4mo agoSorry to spam the comments with this link but it seems like a common problem https://youtube.com/shorts/1I9_Zxypg1s https://youtube.com/shorts/1I9_Zxypg1s
- gegtik 4mo agoFunny, I just went seeking this video again last week He published an addendum https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbTYCHPLWLI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbTYCHPLWLI
- washbasin 4mo agoJust by the headline I suspected this was first class amateur. So many great videos. That being said, use cord locks, not knots. You can often shorten the drawstring, and you will never lose one end into the waist.
- Barbing 4mo agoLeave them on in the wash? Do they end up breaking every couple years?
- SoftTalker 4mo agoLife is too short to make simple things more complicated.
- amelius 4mo agoYou should be on a beach without internet connection then.
- sailfast 4mo agoThat requires money. (GOTO makeMoney)
- varenc 4mo agoYou could also say life is too short to waste time retying inferior drawstrings. If learning the knot takes 5 minutes, it seems like it could easily save you time overall.
- someguyiguess 4mo agoIf you're spending that much time tying drawstrings I think you've got bigger problems.
- tzs 4mo agoIf it takes 5 minutes to learn, and if you have 30 more years of needing to tie drawstrings, and you need to tie on average one drawstring per week, you will come out ahead if it saves you 0.19 seconds tying or retying per drawstring.
- ____tom____ 4mo agoAh, but are you remembering to discount the future time saving, to get the net present value of the time savings?
- giardini 4mo agoMaybe he's a "back-door man"!
- Xenoamorphous 4mo agoA few years back I got a couple of Adidas running shorts. Instead of the typical drawstring they had some continuous string. To this day I've no idea how it was supposed to be used, I just cut it off and voila, a regular drawstring.
- snowwrestler 4mo agoYou can tie the same knots without cutting the string. Just grab the two sides, pull them snug, then tie the knot. The fact that the “free ends” are connected at a distance doesn’t prevent the knot from holding like usual. The advantage of the continuous loop is that it can’t end up inside the waistband during laundry.
- altcognito 4mo agoOnce I had a pair of the continuous loop sweats, I turned all my sweats into the same. My drawstrings always seem to end up getting retracted into the pants.
- joshuahaglund 4mo agoLike this https://youtube.com/shorts/1I9_Zxypg1s https://youtube.com/shorts/1I9_Zxypg1s
- yesidoagree 4mo agoHN is reading my thoughts again with this one
- wccrawford 4mo agoI did this for a while after seeing that video, but after some of my shorts ended up tightening into a knot that I couldn't get loose easily, I gave up on it. I instead just use the "Ian Knot" that I use to tie my shoes. It's very quick, I already use it all the time anyhow, and it rarely goes wrong. (Sometimes, I think I end up with an end through a loop accidentally, and have to fix it.) Learning this extra knot didn't really help much, and it definitely went wrong more than I liked.
- _factor 4mo agoYou just pull the loose string end to relieve the knot? The loop just pulls out.
- Zebfross 4mo agoI think he means that if you ever accidentally tie the knot wrong, then it can end up difficult to untie.
- wccrawford 4mo agoI don't think I tied it wrong. I think it eventually just tightened up with usage and got really hard to work with.
- deleted 4mo ago[deleted]
- nashashmi 4mo agoIan Knots is a rabbit hole of great practical knots and shoe lacing styles.
- deleted 4mo ago[deleted]
- argee 4mo agoIf you have round laces, Ian’s knot reliably comes undone. Ian’s secure shoelace knot is better in that case, though it’s slightly slower and trickier to do. The double Ian knot is interesting too, but it (and several other alternatives) won’t have the “pull just once to untie” mechanic.
- esafak 4mo agoFrom a knot theorist: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/yZuWPjnF6k0 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/yZuWPjnF6k0
- loco5niner 4mo agoLooks like the Ian Knot, seen on hackernews everywhere.
- quickthrowman 4mo agoAs long as you switch directions when tying a bunny ears knot, it will stay tied. I do left over/right under for the first step and then left under/right over for the second step. The ears/loops should sit balanced and not lopsided. I use the same knot to tie my shoes.
- delichon 4mo agoThis knot is not for me. I need my drawstrings to be permanently connected together, or else when I wash those shorts they frequently get pulled into the pants where I can't reach them, and it's a pain to fish them out again. And I can't remember to tie them together before each wash.
- sethammons 4mo agoI tie knots at the ends of my drawstrings to prevent them (mostly) from retracting
- joshuahaglund 4mo agoI've had sweatpants with a continuous drawstring, this is the knot I use to tighten them https://youtube.com/shorts/1I9_Zxypg1s https://youtube.com/shorts/1I9_Zxypg1s
- ButlerianJihad 4mo agoIn recent years I've needed to use a Wash & Fold service, and I've gone through at least 8 of them with acrimonious disputes and really awful service. The last one was getting all my clothes clean, but they always folded them in the most haphazard ridiculous way; some garments were deliberately turned inside-out, etc. (It was kind of a racist thing, by the workers who were not of the friendly owner family at the front counter. Happens all the time to me.) Another annoying thing that they did was that anytime a garment had a drawstring, it would end up extracted or completely pulled into the waistband. The front-counter owner lady even pointed this out, rather gleefully, and "apologized" and handed me the disassembled pair of shorts. In the meantime, I found that a lacquered chopstick was very useful to route the drawstring back through the waistband, along with a pair of tweezers or needlenose pliers, to fish out the end from deep inside there. Since then, I've switched to a service that is treating me with respect, and the lady is amazingly good at sorting and folding! Yay!
- RossBencina 4mo agoI once made a contraption out of the top thread-part of a plastic soda bottle and the lid. Cut a slot down the threads, put your drawstring ends through the bottle end and slot, then tighten the cap to hold everything in place. plastic. survives the wash. Then my Dad suggested sewing the drawstring to the shorts at the midpoint with a few stitches. Much better, you don't have to make and remember to use any contraption.
- ActivePattern 4mo agoIt took a few minutes to get the hang of, but it does work very nicely! Being able to adjust length without any re-tying is a great feature
- bookofjoe 4mo agoHack to untie a knot using an ordinary fork: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/YCBD8l7Sg3M https://www.youtube.com/shorts/YCBD8l7Sg3M
- the_sleaze_ 4mo agoSo the hack is to stab the knot? I'm gonna need a video on how to open a drawer to retrieve the fork first.... Real knot untying hack - hit it with a hammer, or otherwise smash it. It will undo itself enough that you can then do whatever is most obvious, like using a thin piece of metal.
- bookofjoe 4mo agoWhat are the likelihoods of having a fork nearby vs. a hammer? [asking for a friend]
- someguyiguess 4mo agoIf you have to tie your gym shorts, they're the wrong size.
- adhoc_slime 4mo agohn really is more reddit-like with each passing day.
- kube-system 4mo agoThat's a semi-noob illusion, as old as the hills
- joshuahaglund 4mo agohttps://youtube.com/shorts/1I9_Zxypg1s https://youtube.com/shorts/1I9_Zxypg1s Here's an adjustable knot for if you've got a continuous drawstring like on a hat or sweatpants
- throw7 4mo agoI just go under and over one more time in the initial step of tying a traditional "shoelace" knot. That gives a little more friction on the initial tightening draw to keep it in place, then just finish it as normal. I've tried alternatives, but in the end keeping it simple is what I prefer.
- chriscjcj 4mo agoI tried several drawstrings. I found that if I make it tight enough so that things don't loosen easily when there's tension, then it's too tight to adjust easily. Maybe there's a happy medium to be had, but through numerous tries, I never achieved it.
- roger-2026 4mo agoInteresting...
- BrokenCogs 4mo agoDoes this also work for full length pants?
- zeafoamrun 4mo agoTightens well but I end up with a weird super long dangly side
- josefresco 4mo agoOnly knot I know and I use it frequently: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowline https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowline Knots are incredibly situational which makes learning a lot of them (through practice) difficult.
- dilawar 4mo agoYup.. I only remeber three knots: 1. tie cows to a pole using a rope, tile show laces, third one is the most basic one which everyone knows. Sometimes, I learn a few occassinally watching youtube video and forget the next day.
- O3marchnative 4mo agoThis one and the square knot are indispensable
- josefresco 4mo agoI screw up the square knot constantly! It's not like I practice but each time I focus, try a few times and then just rage quit and tie 47 half-hitches.
- O3marchnative 4mo agoI always remember it as the opposite of what I think is typically called the granny knot. In the case of the square knot, it's just right over left, then left over right.
- aidenn0 4mo agoBowline is inappropriate for anything that you need to apply tension to while tying (like your gym shorts).
- josefresco 4mo agoThat is correct and I really need to learn at least one tension knot.
- tim-projects 4mo agoThis is up there with opening a banana by pinching the other end
- lysace 4mo agoFlag rope knots are low key stressful. You only need to do them once every 5-10 years or so, so you don't really develop any expertise through practice. If you do it wrong, you probably have to pay or arrange for a team of two people to lower the flagpole. The flag rope for our 12 meter flagpole broke. I seriously debated getting a drone to replace it in situ. Then I realized hauling just a few hundred grams of rope needs a fairly serious drone.
- jjcm 4mo agoThese "pull the loop over" kinda knots are delightfully simple, and shockingly secure. The Palomar fishing knot is somewhat similar, and is one of my go-to ones when I need to tie a hook quickly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWw_f7CQQLg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWw_f7CQQLg
- senderista 4mo agoIsn't that just a slipped sheet bend?
- dyauspitr 4mo agoI have learned so many complex things in my life but I can’t for the life of me seem to be able to learn knots. There was a period I had a rope on my desk I would practice them for a couple of months everyday. It’s been maybe 5 years since then and I can’t remember a single one. Same thing with solving a rubics cube. I spent 3 months getting pretty good at it, like I could consistently solve them in under 15 secs. That was two years ago. I picked up a cube two months ago and tried to solve it and couldn’t remember even the first step. I had an app I used to set up, solve and track the cube and I logged 10,000+ solves and I can’t remember how to do it less than 2 years later. Sigh.
- johschmitz 4mo agoReminds me of the granny knot "advice" which I also saw on hackernews for the first time many years ago and which changed my live: https://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/grannyknot.htm https://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/grannyknot.htm If you don't know about this problem yet, I strongly recommend to cross check if you have been tying it wrong for years!
- loganc2342 4mo agoAnd you’ve just payed it forward by changing my life in turn. Thanks for sharing!
- chriscyber 3mo agoNice one
- mgaunard 4mo ago99% of all loose ties are due to people doing a granny knot instead of a square knot.
- KashifNY 4mo agoVery interesting, I've seen these various knot videos and seems really cool. Some even do it with one hand. Pretty sure I'm going to be trying this one though
- kazinator 4mo agoThe selling point of this knot is the adjustability (pull on the loop to relieve the clamping tension to adjust size) but I suspect that mechanism also makes it less secure than the standard knot.
- Rotdhizon 4mo agoThis is similar to how traditional Afghan pants are tied. For those who have seen then, the first time putting them on can be a shock. Because when fully extended out, the waist is like 75-100 inches around, you'd think there was a mistake but that's how they come. You tie the drawstring like this so you can pull that waist all the way in comfortably and it lets the pants be very airy, comfortable, and cool.
- raver1975 4mo agoIt looks like you really fucked up tying you shorts though. Don't mind me, I dum dum
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- __mharrison__ 4mo agoThe knot of called a "sheet bend". Great for connecting two different sized ropes as well.
- brador 4mo agoLife’s too short. Double cross is the only knot you need.
- ghtbircshotbe 4mo agoMy favorite knot for a drawstring is a sliding type knot. Can't remember the name but it's like a prusik or hitch knot. It stays tight, but you can easily slide it to tighten or loosen it, and you don't need to ever re-tie it.
- Fire-Dragon-DoL 3mo agoI don't think I have seen shorts with strings that long though