How to Tie the Slip Bowline

Usage

The Slip Bowline gives you a Bowline's fixed loop with one added trick — a single pull releases it later from a distance, without walking back to the tie-off point. Mooring a boat to a ring or cleat where the tide will rise and fall, or setting a gear anchor you'll want to pull free from across a clearing — that's this knot's job.

It isn't a different knot so much as a finishing trick on a knot you probably already know. Tie a standard Bowline exactly as always, but instead of pulling the working end all the way through on the last tuck, you leave a folded bight there instead. The knot holds like a normal Bowline under tension. Pull the free tail, and that bight draws back out and the whole thing falls apart.

Why Learn the Slip Bowline?

The appeal is simple: if you already know the standard Bowline, you already know almost all of this knot. The only new move is finishing the last tuck with a folded bight instead of the raw end — everything else is identical. That one change buys you a one-hand, one-pull release without ever returning to where you tied it, which is exactly why sailors like it for mooring lines they'll be casting off alone.

What it isn't is a load-release knot. The quick-release tab only works cleanly when the line is slack or lightly tensioned — under real, sustained load the same nipping loop that grips a standard Bowline clamps down on the bight too, and the "quick" release stops being quick. If you need a knot that lets go while a line is still genuinely loaded, this isn't it — that job belongs to a different knot family entirely, like the Tugboat Hitch.

Common Uses

This is a fixed-loop, quick-release knot, prized for one-pull release when the line is unloaded or lightly tensioned.

Boating / Marine

Camping

Other Names Slipped Bowline Slipknot Bowline Quick-Release Bowline Category Boating / Marine Camping Utility (Everyday Life)

Notable Features

• Builds on a knot you already know. There's no new mechanism to learn — it's the standard Bowline with one different move on the final tuck.
• One-pull release. Pull the free tail and the bight draws back out, collapsing the whole knot.
• Holds like a Bowline while loaded. The release mechanism is separate from the holding mechanism — under normal tension it grips the same way the standard Bowline does.
• One-handed friendly. A reliable one-pull release is a real advantage when you're holding on with your other hand.

Similar Knots

Bowline vs. Slip Bowline

• Advantage: the standard Bowline's tail is fully drawn through and locked inside the eye, so there's nothing to release accidentally — it's the one to use whenever an unplanned release would be dangerous.
• Disadvantage: the standard Bowline has to be untied by hand at the knot itself. The Slip Bowline trades that locked tail for a one-pull release from a distance.

Kalmyk Loop vs. Slip Bowline

• Advantage: the Kalmyk Loop is tied on an Eskimo Bowline base rather than a standard Bowline base, and is said to better resist shaking loose when the loop is stretched wide.
• Disadvantage: it starts from a different base knot (the Eskimo Bowline) rather than the standard Bowline most people already know, so there's an extra structure to learn first.

Security Level

Loaded normally, it holds the way a standard Bowline holds — the bight sits in the same tuck a full end would occupy, so under tension the knot grips the same way. The release mechanism is a separate thing entirely from the holding mechanism.

Here's the part to get right: that release only works cleanly when the line is slack or lightly tensioned. Load the knot for real and the same grip that holds a standard Bowline closes down on the bight too — the pull-tab stops being an easy one-pull release and can become as hard to work loose as any other loaded Bowline. This isn't a true load-release knot. It's a convenience release for a line that isn't under serious tension, and that's the whole point of it.

Downsides

• Not a true load-release: under real, sustained load the slip mechanism stops being easy to release. If you need a knot that lets go while genuinely under tension, look to a different knot family — the Tugboat Hitch is built for exactly that.
• Not for life safety: a strong yank on the working end releases the knot. Never use it for critical life support or anywhere an accidental release would be dangerous.
• Can jam if heavily loaded: the same forces that make it hard to release under load can also make it hard to untie afterward, poorly dressed or not.

How to Tie the Slip Bowline

The Slip Bowline starts as a standard Bowline. If you already know the Bowline, skip to Step 5 for the one move that's different — if you need the refresher, here's the standard method:

Step 1

Form a small loop (the "rabbit hole") in the standing part, with the standing part running underneath the loop.

Step 2

Pass the working end up through the loop from underneath ("the rabbit comes out of the hole").

Step 3

Take the working end around behind the standing part ("around the tree").

Step 4

Normally you'd pass the working end back down through the original loop to finish a plain Bowline. For the Slip Bowline, stop here instead — the next step is the one thing that's different.

Step 5

Instead of passing the full working end through, around, and back down to completion, form a bight (a folded-over loop) in the working end.

Step 6

Feed that bight — not the raw end — up through the small loop, around the standing part, and back down through the small loop, exactly as the full end would travel in a normal Bowline.

Step 7

Pull the standing part and the loop to snug the knot, leaving a pull-tab loop of slack (the bight) protruding, with the true tail end left dangling free through the bight.

Pro Tip: keep the bight loop's size deliberate and consistent so the pull-tab stays easy to grip, and let the true tail hang free through the bight rather than pulling it tight alongside the standing part.

The move that trips people up is feeding a folded bight — not the raw end — through, around, and back down the exact path the working end normally takes. The Knot IQ app from Bear Essentials Outdoors turns that final tuck in 3D so you can watch the bight trace the Bowline's path before you set it.

To release:

Pull the protruding tail sharply. This draws the bight back out through the knot and the whole structure collapses and unties — but only reliably when the line is slack or lightly tensioned (see Security Level above).

FAQ

Can you release a Slip Bowline while it's still under load?

Not reliably. The slip mechanism is a convenience release for a line that's slack or only lightly tensioned. Under real load, the same grip that holds a standard Bowline closes on the bight too, and the pull-tab stops releasing easily.

Is "QR Bowline" another name for this knot?

Not one you'll find in use. The names that actually turn up for this knot are Slipped Bowline, Slipknot Bowline, and Quick-Release Bowline.

What's the difference between the Slip Bowline and a plain Bowline?

One move. A plain Bowline finishes its last tuck with the full working end, locked inside the eye. The Slip Bowline finishes that same tuck with a folded bight instead, leaving a pull-tab you can release with one tug.

Important Notes on Safety

A strong yank on the working end releases this knot — never use it for critical life support or any application where an accidental release would be dangerous. It is not a true load-release knot: the pull-tab only comes free easily when the line is slack or lightly tensioned, not under real, sustained load. Don't confuse it with the Kalmyk Loop, which ties the same slip principle onto an Eskimo Bowline base rather than a standard Bowline base.