Is an overhand safety knot required on a figure-eight on a bight?

Is an overhand safety knot required on a figure-eight on a bight?

• A. Yes
• B. No tail length irrelevant
• C. Only with a butterfly knot
• D. No due to its ability to tighten once loaded and not allow the tail to slip the tail should be no longer than 4 inches

Answer: (D)

The key idea is how the knot behaves under load. A figure-eight on a bight tends to cinch and lock when it's loaded, which helps keep the tail from slipping back through the knot. Because of that locking behavior, adding an overhand safety knot doesn’t add meaningful security and can make it harder to untie later. Instead, focus on tail length: keep the tail short, about four inches, to prevent snagging and to make cleanup after loading easier. So the best practice is not to use an overhand safety here, and to keep the tail length limited.

The key idea is how the knot behaves under load. A figure-eight on a bight tends to cinch and lock when it's loaded, which helps keep the tail from slipping back through the knot. Because of that locking behavior, adding an overhand safety knot doesn’t add meaningful security and can make it harder to untie later. Instead, focus on tail length: keep the tail short, about four inches, to prevent snagging and to make cleanup after loading easier. So the best practice is not to use an overhand safety here, and to keep the tail length limited.