I'll make this a poll because a lot of you have different opinions, and I'm wrong often enough to have learned my lesson. 
A lot of folks have problems with knots, because unless they were a scout or were forced to learn knots; they never learned any. When you wade into this subject, it's too easy to become overwhelmed with all the various knots and it gets confusing, so dedicate the next 10 minutes or so to master this one simple knot, the King of Knots, the Bowline.
Now, go get a few pieces of string and rope; read this post, and then watch the video below and make the knot 20 times with different pieces of string/rope; and you will remember it forever.
There are only four things you need a knot to do:
1) Make a loop (lasso, noose, etc.)
2) Join two ropes together
3) Knot at the end of a rope
4) Tie rope to an object
So I feel, if you can only master one knot, that will work for the maximum number of purposes, its the Bowline knot. Sure it doesn't do everything, but it will do an adequate job of most tying/knot tasks. I'd say for most camping/hiking tasks, it's about got you covered. Fishing/sailing and other specialty activities do require special knots.
Here's a great video on how to master and tie the Bowline knot very easily. Next time you bump into me, lets see you tie this knot.
Jump ahead to about 2 minutes:
Great website, credit to: https://www.netknots.com/rope_knots/
Wiki:
The bowline is an ancient and simple knot used to form a fixed loop at the end of a rope. It has the virtues of being both easy to tie and untie; most notably, it is easy to untie after being subjected to a load. The bowline is sometimes referred as King of the knots because of its importance. It is one of the four basic maritime knots (the other three are figure-eight knot, reef knot and clove hitch).
A lot of folks have problems with knots, because unless they were a scout or were forced to learn knots; they never learned any. When you wade into this subject, it's too easy to become overwhelmed with all the various knots and it gets confusing, so dedicate the next 10 minutes or so to master this one simple knot, the King of Knots, the Bowline.
Now, go get a few pieces of string and rope; read this post, and then watch the video below and make the knot 20 times with different pieces of string/rope; and you will remember it forever.
There are only four things you need a knot to do:
1) Make a loop (lasso, noose, etc.)
2) Join two ropes together
3) Knot at the end of a rope
4) Tie rope to an object
So I feel, if you can only master one knot, that will work for the maximum number of purposes, its the Bowline knot. Sure it doesn't do everything, but it will do an adequate job of most tying/knot tasks. I'd say for most camping/hiking tasks, it's about got you covered. Fishing/sailing and other specialty activities do require special knots.
Here's a great video on how to master and tie the Bowline knot very easily. Next time you bump into me, lets see you tie this knot.
Jump ahead to about 2 minutes:
Great website, credit to: https://www.netknots.com/rope_knots/
Wiki:
The bowline is an ancient and simple knot used to form a fixed loop at the end of a rope. It has the virtues of being both easy to tie and untie; most notably, it is easy to untie after being subjected to a load. The bowline is sometimes referred as King of the knots because of its importance. It is one of the four basic maritime knots (the other three are figure-eight knot, reef knot and clove hitch).
with a square knot a million times. Bowline will break before it comes untied.
