An excellent alternative to quick links / rapids is chain. If you have the patience to cut a bunch of links, you can get 1/4″ Grade 80 (High strength – overhead lifting rated) with a SWL of 4,100 lb. You lose the ability to open the link, but that isn’t such a big deal. And it is actually quite cheap compared to buying quick links. Worth considing in your arsenal anyway.
If that isn’t enough, you can step up to 5/16″ master links with over 7,000 lb SWL.
I looked several places (theater rigging supply is actually a good place to find this kind of stuff) and they all rate SWL of 1/4 quick links at 880 lb. The same item at industrial supply shops have the typical 1,200 lb. SWL.
On short, low exposure drops I generally use 1/4″ Rapids. On high drops, I like 5/16″, unless someone is willing to carry 3/8″.
The real question is, is a 1/4″ rapid the weak link in the system?(no pun intended) Dunno. What is the SWL of that 4″ diameter tree or chockstone your webbing is tied on? Maybe, maybe not.
Can a conscientious canyoneer generate a 1000 lb load? I weigh 205. On FDD trips, my pack frequently weighs about 60 lbs, which is a hell of a lot heavier than Tom’s, even with that gigantic camera. So, considering all the gear and water etc, I am under 300 lb. Unless I rodeo, swing, or have a big rock hit me, dynamic loading should be limited. Worst case, I am going from some load into a fall, which is a better situation than lead climbing which is no load into a fall. Canyoneering fall factors are limited to a maximum FF of 1 by definition, because you can’t fall farther than the length of rope you have between you and the anchor without hitting the ground first. More often than not, your fall factor is probably much less than .1 (slip 1 ft. with 10 ft of rope between you and the anchor). All that considered, I think it is unlikely a load of 3X will be transferred to the anchor.
FWIW.
Sherpa
Hank Moon
*** yah, and remember that the “fall factor” concept applies only to dynamic rope. It is mostly meaningless w/respect to static rope.
And always be careful when weighting truly “static” ropes. These new, lightweight/high strength ropes are great but must be thoroughly understood by those who use them. You can’t afford even a short bounce on one of these ropes with a less than bombproof anchor.
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Thank you, Petzl America
Charly Oliver
And always be careful when weighting truly “static” ropes. These new, lightweight/high strength ropes are great but must be thoroughly understood by those who use them. You can’t afford even a short bounce on one of these ropes with a less than bombproof anchor.
Charly
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “Koen” wrote:
is no load into a fall. Canyoneering fall factors are limited to a > maximum
FF of 1 by definition, because you can’t fall farther than the > length of
rope you have between you and the anchor without hitting the > ground first.
More often than not, your fall factor is probably much less than > .1 (slip 1
ft. with 10 ft of rope between you and the anchor). All that > considered, I
think it is unlikely a load of 3X will be transferred to the anchor.
Ooooh no, fall factors when canyoneering can be as much as 2, > situation especially likely with a natural anchor near an edge > (low on the ground around a tree base for example). > f = height of fall/length of rope > And really bad falls at that, a rope that short and non-elastic > (dare we say, double static or spectra…) doesn’t have any shock > absorption – very heavy and dangerous loads.
That’s why you always have to clip in high or move in low.
Koen
Koen
Koen
> is no load into a fall. Canyoneering fall factors are limited to a maximum > FF of 1 by definition, because you can’t fall farther than the length of > rope you have between you and the anchor without hitting the ground first. > More often than not, your fall factor is probably much less than .1 (slip 1 > ft. with 10 ft of rope between you and the anchor). All that considered, I > think it is unlikely a load of 3X will be transferred to the anchor. >
Ooooh no, fall factors when canyoneering can be as much as 2, situation especially likely with a natural anchor near an edge (low on the ground around a tree base for example). f = height of fall/length of rope And really bad falls at that, a rope that short and non-elastic (dare we say, double static or spectra…) doesn’t have any shock absorption – very heavy and dangerous loads.
That’s why you always have to clip in high or move in low.
Koen
Koen