Chest harness(or lack of)

[docfunk]

What do you guys think about using some shock cord to hold the croll instead of a "propper" webbing or other chest harness just to make things more simple,the only problem I can think of is if you were to be knocked out it won`t stop you going upside down.

 

[cap n chris]

Cuts into your neck and also doesn't hold your body upright so isn't really suitable for long(er) ascents.

 

[Les W]

Although this is common practice for steeplejacks and rope access types.

 

[damian]

I'd suggest a sling put on a bit like a bra and then connect together with a krab is the better approach.

An attempt at an explanation ... take the sling and hold it behind your back. Twist it once to make a fig-of-8 shape, then put your arms through the each of the holes created. Then connect it together at the front with a krab. This can then stay there all trip and the krab can be connected to the croll when you're on the rope. Works pretty well for me but I guess if you are much bigger than me, you'll find the sling doesn't fit!

 

[Katie]

I use a length of bungy as a chest harness and like it!
Works for me but not ideal. For example if you are bolting u will want a less stetchy harness!

 

[Rob]

I simply use one loop of bungee through the top of the croll and wear like a normal tape. However, i mostly rope walk. If you frog then bungee it is not as efficient as normal tape, especially if you have a heavy tacklebag attached to your central maillon. I end up cliping the bag onto a gear loop for longs prussuks, which then puts extra weight on that leg.

Pros:
Lightweight
Very efficient if ropewalking
Very quick and easy to put on/take off though.
No adjusting of sizes necessary once you get off the pitch and have to walk.

Cons:
No support while sitting around (not a problem if your fit/strong enough)
A pig if you have a tacklebag.
Not very efficient for frogging.
Probably not so good if you ended up upside down!

 

[graham]

I'd suggest a sling put on a bit like a bra and then connect together with a krab is the better approach.

An attempt at an explanation ... take the sling and hold it behind your back. Twist it once to make a fig-of-8 shape, then put your arms through the each of the holes created. Then connect it together at the front with a krab. This can then stay there all trip and the krab can be connected to the croll when you're on the rope. Works pretty well for me but I guess if you are much bigger than me, you'll find the sling doesn't fit!

Unless of course you use a bigger sling. 

 

[Dep]

I'd suggest a sling put on a bit like a bra and then connect together with a krab is the better approach.

An attempt at an explanation ... take the sling and hold it behind your back. Twist it once to make a fig-of-8 shape, then put your arms through the each of the holes created. Then connect it together at the front with a krab. This can then stay there all trip and the krab can be connected to the croll when you're on the rope. Works pretty well for me but I guess if you are much bigger than me, you'll find the sling doesn't fit!

Very similar to what I do, I use the standard 3m x 25mm tape chest harness but have it fixed in a permanent loop.

I wear it as Damian describes, fig-8 crossed between shoulder blades and the two loops pulled forwards like a waistcoat.

But instead of a krab to attach it to the croll I use a small carbine-hook.

when not in use I only attach the left loop to the carbin hook and leave the other loose, it rides up to the front of my right shoulder and out of the way; I can stand up straight and be perfectly comfortable walking round.
When I want to SRT I simply hunch forward and clip the right-hand loop onto the carbine-hook; then I am in the standard SRT hunchback position and ready to go.

Very quick and simple - no drawbacks that I have found in a year of doing it like this - and some significant comfort and simplicity advantages over the 'standard' method.

Before this method I tried using a bungee cord - fine for simple prussicing up but not that comfortable, and does not give any support at all. And it chafed my neck badly enough to not consider doing it again, it was worth the experiment but that was all.

I am of the opinion that many chest harness issues (where the croll sits too far away from the body) have more to do with not correctly adjusting the main sit-harness, especially the leg loops, if these are too loose the whole assembly rides up your body - even when the waist adjustment is correct.

 

[wormster]

Use a petzl torse chest harness,

minimal, lightweight and easy to use.

1. undo the front loop and feed through croll.

2. do loop back up.

(you only have to do this once to set it up.)

Croll goes into central maillion, torse goes over shoulders and clips to back of sit harness.

when you need to tension it up all you do is pull on the free end until you're standing like an owd man all bent up.

data sheet ere:

http://en.petzl.com/ProduitsServices/C26%20TORSE%20FR7726%20061098_1.pdf

 

[Andy Sparrow]

Petzl used to manufacture an adapted handled jammer with an integral 2:1 footloop using pulleys called 'Le Pompe'.  This device never really caught om which was unfortunate as it had some real benefits.  The most obvious was that it made prusiking easier but it actually did much more than this - for cavers with the wrong body shape it made SRT possible.
Another benefit of Le Pompe which was not promoted and not generally appreciated was the fact that it did not require the use of a chest harness
I still use my Le Pompe and dispensed with a chest harness many years ago. 

 

[shotlighter]

Petzl used to manufacture an adapted handled jammer with an integral 2:1 footloop using pulleys called 'Le Pompe'.  This device never really caught om which was unfortunate as it had some real benefits.  The most obvious was that it made prusiking easier but it actually did much more than this - for cavers with the wrong body shape it made SRT possible.
Another benefit of Le Pompe which was not promoted and not generally appreciated was the fact that it did not require the use of a chest harness
I still use my Le Pompe and dispensed with a chest harness many years ago. 

By wrong body shape do you mean short legs / long back like me, no matter what I did the weight always came on my arms, in order to hold myself upright.
I've heard this called a Celtic or Gaelic frame - or as an Irish mate called it "Arse too close to the ground".

 

[Dep]

Petzl used to manufacture an adapted handled jammer with an integral 2:1 footloop using pulleys called 'Le Pompe'.  This device never really caught om which was unfortunate as it had some real benefits.  The most obvious was that it made prusiking easier but it actually did much more than this - for cavers with the wrong body shape it made SRT possible.
Another benefit of Le Pompe which was not promoted and not generally appreciated was the fact that it did not require the use of a chest harness
I still use my Le Pompe and dispensed with a chest harness many years ago. 

If you combine the safety-cord and footloops into a single cord, and use a krab on the hand-jammer with a clove-hitch or bowline-otb then you can easily undo the securing knot at this krab so the cord runs freely through it - then you have a 'pompeur' - a handy way to deal with tiredness or carrying excessive weight - as AndyS says it gives an approximate 2:1

 

[Dep]

Doh! Missed my point - which was that although the 'Le Pompe; is not available any more it is still possible to have all the advantages of this with the 'standard' setup.

Note to self: Don't post after you've been down the pub!