Eskimo bowline structure of the knot was not identified by Clifford Ashley (in 1944). All of the maneuvers to tie this knot are generally in the opposite (or 'anti' direction) relative to the bowline. Dan Lehman regards the general, bowline-like structure as an 'anti-bowline' in the sense of "anti-clockwise": in that with regard to the main nipping loop, the tail on returning from forming the eye is brought through this loop in the opposite direction relative to what is done for a bowline. When this knot is ring-loaded – and the knot effectively becomes an end-to-end knot – it is effectively a
Double bowline is easier to untie after being weighted in a fall, and so is used by sport climbers who take multiple lead falls and then have trouble untying their figure eights. The disadvantages of the double bowline are that it is less secure than a figure eight knot, takes longer to tie, and is not as easy to check. Unlike the figure eight, there are many variations of the bowline, with ambiguous names, and some are not safe for climbing. The Bowline on a bight, when re-threaded instead of being tied on a bight, can also be used for tying into