I made that mistake when I first used the knot a few years ago. I lost a few barbel to knot breakages and stopped using it. Then I realised I was probably not pushing the loop back off the hook eye or swivel and gave it another try. I haven't had a breakage I can put down to the knot since, though in fairness I do usedifferent mainlineand hooklinksnow, so not a totally fair comparison. However, I think it does make a difference, especially under an initial shock load e.g. a barbel whack!