You are thinking this has to my most inane post ever. You may be right, though I believe it is possible for me to be more inane. But bear with me …

How do you tie your togs? Granny knot or bow? Well that’s fine. Usually

But there are times when neither of those will do.

The Bucket

Pulling The Bucket requires a well-secured and tight togs waistline. A bow tie will slip unless it’s double-knotted tight which can then be difficult to open.

Also, in Open Water racing, people are not averse to grabbing togs by the waistline either, and pulling the togs down. It’s an illegal race move, but it happens.

What’s the best solution? A simple square knot (often called a reef knot). The easiest way to remember it is:

• Cross right over left (opposite to a Granny know for most right-handed people).
• Then cross left of right.
• i.e. left over right, then right over left.

Image via Wikipedia

I use a modified version. When doing stage two I loop both ends through. So the result is a bow tie knot, but one which is more secure than a standard bow knot tied left over right, and still spills (opens) easily.

Still confused?