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A better way to tie gym shorts (or any drawstring) [video]

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Re: A better way to tie gym shorts (or any drawstring) [video]

#63

This 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.

I tie knots at the ends of my drawstrings to prevent them (mostly) from retracting

Re: A better way to tie gym shorts (or any drawstring) [video]

#64
post #53
post #7

Gosh 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.

Love this "auto" truckers hitch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1J8MuOWO0Qs Edit: Same knot, with an explanation before showing what I knew as the classic trucker hitch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKM5gaYJWN0

Super useful knot for when you don't have a ratchet tie-down. Learned and used this knot all the time hauling around dirt bikes.

Re: A better way to tie gym shorts (or any drawstring) [video]

#65
post #56

I 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 di…

You just pull the loose string end to relieve the knot? The loop just pulls out.

I think he means that if you ever accidentally tie the knot wrong, then it can end up difficult to untie.

Re: A better way to tie gym shorts (or any drawstring) [video]

#67
post #57

Life is too short to make simple things more complicated.

You 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.

If you're spending that much time tying drawstrings I think you've got bigger problems.

Re: A better way to tie gym shorts (or any drawstring) [video]

#68

A 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.

You 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.

Once 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.

Re: A better way to tie gym shorts (or any drawstring) [video]

#69
post #11
post #7

Gosh 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.

Depends what you're doing. My favourite knot is the bowline. Non-slip loop, very strong, easy to tie, easy to undo. Can be used for tying two ropes together, ropes to things. Other useful ones (especially for sailing) * Clove hitch * Reef knot * Rolling hitch * Sheet bend

I overuse the bowline. Never seizes, and it can be tied with one hand around your body (or anything else) very quickly.

I think that method was originally taught to me in scouts as an emergency body lift thing, though it would not actually be ideal for that.

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