Maggie's Farm

The Bowline has two major advantages of similar knots or non-similar knots used to do the same thing. The first and most important is you can put as much stress/weight as you want to on a Bowline and following that you can still untie it easily. Most knots once they have been stressed cannot be untied without great difficulty. The second advantage is not huge but still useful and that is that while any knot becomes the weak link in a rope every know is different. Some will reduce the strength of the live by 25% and even 50%. The Bowline knot reduces the line strength by less than 10% and in some lines by even less.

The Bowline does have a weakness however. Is best used under constant tension. If it is allowed to go slack and then under tension repeatedly it can come undone. This can be compensated for by making another knot with the working end of the line. Still not perfect but most likely will not come undone.

Bowlines should not generally be used in climbing. However the Bowline can be a good "rescue" knot. That is because a Bowline can be tied with one hand. In other words as a climber you can be holding on with one hand and take a around your waist and tie it with a Bowline knot with your other hand.

Beware, a bowline can be tied wrong and may then be the worst possible knot for your task. Also there are 3 or 4 variations of the Bowline with various properties and niches.