Cord instead of slings

Canary

Member
Hi all,

I have just replaced some of my very large climbing slings (6.5m circumference) with cord slings (i.e cordlettes) due to me being cheap. I found this version of a cordlette on a climbing site:

https://andy-kirkpatrick.com/articles/view/the_snake_cord

I am still debating whether very large slings are worth carrying as part of  for UK caving or expedition kit (for hauling, ladders, long deviations), but thought I would share the link.

Cheers Can
 

andrewmcleod

Well-known member
My opinions, others will vary:

Dyneema is more abrasion resistant, but flat slings lose a much larger fraction of their strength through abrasion than cord - at least until the sheath is worn through. A looped sling provides redundancy if you put knots in it, and redundancy is almost always more important than strength. Cord stretches a lot more than dyneema, and so will rub more. A 4m 8mm dyneema sling is way, way, way more compact than any equivalent system in cord, even with just one strand, and hits 26kN - but only before you've rubbed it on something/tied a knot in it... Lots of things to weigh up against each other.

Tie a knot in a dyneema snake cord that only does 10kN new, and you might get fewer kN than you would like...

Multiple strands of 5mm dyneema is probably often the best answer in almost every way, except sadly for the one that cavers seem to care about the most.

When I was poking around in holes on my first exped this summer, a wire tether was the first bit of kit I always reached for rigging into the entrance - incredibly useful for getting over an edge :)
 

Mike Hopley

New member
Interesting link. Not sure about these "snake slings" -- I've never heard of then, the article lacks pictures, and it also says you can only get them in the US.

For caving, I feel there's no question: 5mm dyneema cord is best. It's hugely versatile and plenty strong enough for our needs. A good length is 3 metres. It can easily be lengthened by tying cords together. It takes very little wear (being completely static), and can be loaded directly over a rub point with no problems.

It is very safe when used correctly. Doing so requires learning some new things: see the French Technical Guide.

Tape or rope slings are better when you want more contact surface, such as when rigging off trees (a thin cord is more likely to damage the tree). For example, I would use tape slings at the top of Alum NW. I also prefer rope slings for long-term placements (e.g. my SRT practice tree). Plus it's not always practical to rig with your favourite stuff (e.g. collective kit on expeditions).

Otherwise, I'm all dyneema all the time. 8)
 

SamT

Moderator
there was a recent discussion about this with some interesting comments here...
http://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php?topic=28164.0

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