why faff about with some dodgy old baler twine?
And always relax the knots after very trip. Even just hanging on a cows tail tightens them and increases the shock loading if you do fall.
I also don't think it's supported by the evidence.
Quote from: Bob Mehew on September 24, 2020, 09:25:11 pmAnd always relax the knots after very trip. Even just hanging on a cows tail tightens them and increases the shock loading if you do fall.This advice seems highly impractical if you do much SRT, especially if you're using 9mm rope for your cowstails.
Thanks for the info guys. I'll buy some new rope. Just seems a shame to have a nearly immaculate rope going to waste. Ah well.
The downside of asking for technical advice on an Internet forum...
Quote from: ChrisJC on September 24, 2020, 07:56:08 pmwhy faff about with some dodgy old baler twine????? - Beale say 15 years, and that will be conservative.
Cowstails out of semi-static? better than shockloaded dynamic?
There will be a huge difference between knot tightness following a severe fall, and just during normal use.
If you take a really heavy fall onto your cowstails, the safest thing to do is probably cutting new ones from any spare rope you have (like the end of the pitch rope). Failing that, you could try "relaxing" them, though it may prove difficult!
Even 'heavy loadings' will take up the 'slack' in the knots and increase the peak force seen by your body.
Obviously you're insane. Your safety connectors are your principal life saving PPE. Price for your life?
... secure knots is more important than badly tied ones "coz you relaxed them a bit too much"...
It does seem a shame to throw the rope away, but I assume you are only thinking about getting one set of cowstails from it and dumping the rest?If it was my rope and I was as confident of its past history as you are then I would use it for cowstails.I remember seeing some of my old 9mm semi static pitch rope, with perhaps 10 years hard use and another 5 years in a bag in the cellar, drop tested (probably FF1 80kg) and surviving at least 1 drop.So you could cut the rest of your rope into 10 or 15m lengths for use on those short pitches or handline climbs that sometimes use up and waste longer ropes, and where the extra bounce isn't excessive.Or you could compromise, buy new cowstails and use the whole rope for that.
Main Menu