The Siberian is nothing like a bowline. A Siberian is a hitch that only gets tighter against the object as tension in the standing end increases. However, once tension is completely released, the grip around the object is not so tight. For that reason, the Siberian is also different than the slipped buntline.
As I said above, I use both the slipped buntline and the Siberian. The Siberian sometimes serves my purposes better. Further, if I had to choose one, then I’ll choose the Siberian because the Siberian will do everything the slipped buntline will do for my purposes, except there are some advantages (discussed above) of the Siberian that are more valuable to me.
Well, discussions go more smoothly when we use the correct terminology. “Bowline” does not equal “running bowline”. Dan, in fact, highlighted “Bowline”.
Anyway, I also use the running bowline. I cannot think of a situation where I would want to use the running bowline to replace the Siberian. However, the running bowline may be convenient for those who don’t want to learn and practice another knot.
Here are the Siberian hitch’s advantages over the running bowline:
-Siberian is easier to untie, especially while wearing gloves
-Siberian doesn’t completely release grip once standing end looses tension. The Siberian must be worked loose (with not much effort) for the grip to release.
These may not be advantages for you, but they are for me in some applications.
Keep the questions coming. I’ll keep answering until I get bored.
Above, I responded to your post too quickly, sorry.
I just realized that if you make the loop sufficiently big, then you end up with a clove hitch around the object. That combination (cow/running bowline) is one of my favorite hitches. I’m officially undecided on whether or not I like this cow/running bowline better than a Siberian or a slipped buntline. Each knot has its place. A cow/honda is great too, as discussed here:
It doesn’t much matter to me. I’ll keep learning knots. I keep all knots of interest in my cell phone, and I practice the knots that seem to be the most practical. Depending on the situation, I can imagine beforehand which hitch I’d prefer to use. However, if the chosen hitch ends up being unsatisfactory, then I’ll use another hitch in my knot vocabulary.
