[fastball]

The end knot is identical to the standard bowknot, so it seems unlikely that this would hold any worse. If you're currently tying your shoes in a granny knot, I would be very surprised if that held better than a bowknot.

I've used this method to tie all my shoes for more than a decade and it holds much better than the granny knot, which I'd guess is probably 50% of people (as whether not you end up with a granny or a bow knot is just the toss of a coin). The benefit of Ian's tying method is that it is impossible to end up with a granny knot.

My shoes never* come untied, without needing to resort to a "double-knot".

* Except my Sperry Docksiders, which have leather laces and don't seem to keep any kind of knot very well.

[iandinwoodie]

I actually switched to the Ian Knot specifically to handle the stiffer leather laces of boat shoes and boots. Previously, getting a knot in leather to hold was a miracle and I would slip the shoes on and off (causing unnecessary wear and tear) just to avoid disturbing the knot. The Ian Knot allows me to treat leather laces like any other material and has extended the life of several pairs of shoes as a result.

I will say that I cinch the knot tighter with leather laces than any other material because, like you mentioned, they are fussy.

[throwawayboise]

My regular shoes have round laces, I'd guess they are nylon, some kind of synthetic fiber. Sort of slippery. Never have a problem with them coming untied if I pull the knot tight though. I don't double knot.

Maybe I did the Ian knot wrong. Don't have a problem with the knot I use so not investigating further.

[Sohcahtoa82]

> My regular shoes have round laces,

I don't know why anybody makes round laces, especially out of a material that slips.

I have a pair of dress shoes that came with round laces. Even with a "correct" knot, even with double-knotting, they always came undone. I replaced the laces with standard flat laces. They might not look as good, but they look better than having to re-tie them every 30 minutes.

[saagarjha]

Granny knots are easy to make while maintaining constant tension on the laces. Other techniques leave a moment where you relax the ends of the laces.