OK, I have made up my mind now - I decided that I prefer the version of (single) EEL Locked Cow hitch presented in this thread, in Reply#11 (1), and tied by the TIB method shown in the attached picture (*).
I have seen that the other candidate, the
Locked Cow hitch (B), presented in a response to squarebanksalaska s ingenious
Alaskan hitch (2), although it is also TIB, it is also very tight, and it is also EEL ( Either End Loadable ), it is not so stable when loaded by the "other" end : when this is the end which is pulled, the nub of this hitch revolves around itself a little bit ( but much more that I would had wished ) and disturbs the arrangement of the segments of the rope in this area, which belong to the "locking mechanism". This motion does not unlock any end, but it does deform the nub, and, if nothing more, this transfiguration of the nub is not a nice sight. We expect a genuine EEL knot to remain stable when loaded by the one, by the other, or by both ends, and retain the same form always. A knot which, when loaded differently, changes forms, like a chameleon changes colours, may be also secure, but it does not offer the "feeling" of security - and the twisting and other motions of segments of the nub when it is heavily loaded, can hurt and wound the rope...
(*) I now follow the quickest, probably, possible tying method for this hitch : I Just form a
Cow hitch in mid-air, with its ends "under" the tip of its U-turn, and then grab the one end, bring it "under" the other, then over and around the wrap of this other end, then in between the two wraps, and then out of the
Cow hitch again. By just looking at the attached picture, the interested reader can understand the sequence of moves I describe, for the end of the initial Cow hitch which, at the start of the tying procedure, was at the right.
1.
http://igkt.net/sm/index.php?topic=5250.msg34820#msg348202.
http://igkt.net/sm/index.php?topic=4739.msg30595#msg30595 http://igkt.net/sm/index.php?topic=4739.msg30666#msg30666