heya,
this all came up because we had an inpromptue knot tying session (living life on the edge i know
) and it was just a case of what knots people knew.
for climbing and dry caving i use doubled up figure 8s (with stopper knots) but figure 9 is what some people end up tying by mistake when trying for a figure 8 and i thought i'd been told it put less stress points on the rope and was more secure, so wondered whether that was a better knot for DSMBs.....
but think zoglet's right, aslong as it does the job that's all that matters
cheers,
Dave