Mark Wright
Well-known member
There is a video that I'm sure someone will be able to link to, showing how easy it is to break a mis-loaded carabiner gate with just your body weight. That could easily happen the way the ventral carabiner is configured in the photograph.It looks as if your main harness krab, that your simple, cowstails and chest ascender are attached to, is an ordinary screwgate. They are only intended to be loaded along their length, not across their width. You should have a D shape one such as a Petzl Omni or a D maillon that's designed to take a cross load.
I used to use a Spelegyca and they are just a double thickness, stitched webbing tape. They aren't for falling on.I don’t think this is true, it would be great if you could point me in the direction of any documentation that confirms this?
I think you’re confusing the idea of an energy absorbing lanyard and these things
Many years ago Troll manufactured a similar lanyard that IRC was stitched in such a way that if there was a significant dynamic load applied some of the stitches would fail, offering some energy absorption, and then the previous twin leg lanyard would turn into a round sling. I remember them being a bit controversial in the rope access industry which wouldn't entertain anything other than a dynamic rope cow's tail. Troll's argument was that you shouldn't be putting yourself in a position where a fall could occur, which is absolutely correct.
Block Hall in Speedwell was climbed using a 1.2m steel chain with the links large enough to easily accommodate a carabiner and the chain configured as a long and short cow's tail off the central D M/R. Each chain link gave you about 30mm of cow's tail length adjustment, which was brilliant on a big vertical aid climb. I was doing some of the life-lining for the climb and was also the mug who had to carry their cow's tails through Treasury Sump and then all the way up the lower Speedwell Streamway. They went through the Windtunnel carrying nothing.Ive used a sling as cows tails as a fresher forgot theres so gave them mine. We werent doing anything massively technicaly or hard but i sepnt a good while swinging round and did take a small slip on them and they were fine. Apart from not doing the knots correctly so they were accedently adjustable id use them again if i needed to
Unfortunately, Petzl's Connect Adjust lanyards weren't invented in the 80's.
I'd be inclined to put a few more twists in those webbing sling cow's tails, it may give you some energy absorption.Looks sound only thing id Sugest is untwisting your cows tails may affect there strength![]()