Breakaway Lanyard/ Emergency Detach Options

[SouthSoundTree]

As a spin off of BrendonV's dead elm thread...

What have you used when dealing with dead/ failing/ broken trees for a quick release lanyard/ breakaway lanyard option while you are attached with a climbline in a neighboring tree/ highline?



I've thought about making a webbing sling to girth hitch to your D ring for clipping into. Testing load bearing capacity of different amounts of stitches should be easy, so you can calibrate to the weight at which you would want it to break.

Zip-ties.

I'll use a rope lanyard with hitchcord where I can take out the stopper knot during sketchy sections and hold the tail in my teeth or hand to keep me aware that I don't have the stopper knot in place. Hopefully, I could slide the lanyard out of the hitch, off the end, or cut it.

 

[PCTREE]

My Oh shit lanyard has a snap clevis on the end with a piece of zing it tied on the release pin. Never do feel 100% comfortable with it but that may be because Im usually in a tree thats about to fall over

 

[bill22]

I use a piece of throwline, your body weight won't break it ,but if a piece you're tied in to gives it will break free.

 

[flushcut]

Alright, the collective juices are flowing. I like the throw line idea so what are you using 1.75 zing it?

 

[flushcut]

My Oh shit lanyard has a snap clevis on the end with a piece of zing it tied on the release pin. Never do feel 100% comfortable with it but that may be because Im usually in a tree thats about to fall over

That's one of the quick release type right?

 

[bill22]

Alright, the collective juices are flowing. I like the throw line idea so what are you using 1.75 zing it?

Yeah, I'd like to go get something a tad stronger,but it works well enough.Mind you i only use on excessively dead trees, like 10 years dead, or a nasty pine.

 

[flushcut]

I don't like long dead trees and have been pretty lucky to have only done a few.

 

[Old Monkey]

The one time I climbed with a break away lanyard I had two tie ins and would have swung away easily. I looked around my garage for something to use and decided on the rubber replacement belt for my vacuum cleaner. I girth hitched it to my dee and clipped into it. It was a little stretchy but worked fine. I have no idea what it would have broken at.

 

[rangerdanger]

I've heard of people using a key chain carabiner for this purpose. Supposed to break around 200lbs more or

 

[stig]

I've always used zip-ties.
Found one that is strong enough to hold me in place, but weak enough that I can break it by sticking a couple of dowels into it and pulling on them.
I keep a handfull in my climb bag .

 

[MasterBlaster]

My handsaw is my detach option.

 

[MasterBlaster]

My handsaw is my detach option.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

There is the soft link option that is plenty strong...

http://www.wesspur.com/fliplines/mechanical-adjusters.html

 

[MasterBlaster]

You sure it isn't TOO strong, maybe?

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Not for my blade

 

[FJR]

I think this has been discussed, but what about taking out the stopper knot on your lanyard? I use a VT, and under tension it could be released and you would be free to swing into your climbing line. There is nothing to "break".

edit: I should have read the end of your post Sean, you already mentioned it. It seems to make a lot of sense to me.

 

[SouthSoundTree]

So long as it the lanyard won't get wedged into a tight crotch, it seems like a good option for some work.

Something that I just thought of, it would be possible to work closer to the tail of the rope with the friction hitch if one were to attach in the middle of the rope lanyard with the termination biner. Easier to slip 3' of tail through a VT than 15' (my rope lanyard is 20').

This is something that I thought I'd ask what others are doing as my new job is going to have mostly bucket access or felling room with many fewer critical targets than residential work, BUT sometimes it can be working over/near historical and modern structures or trees adjacent on the park boundaries with lots of Puget Sound view/ waterfront properties. As it happens State Parks tend to be in same scenic areas that deep-pocketed people like to live, and have fancy, fancy houses. These situations can mean having to rig off of dead/ dying trees, but often with good neighboring trees.

 

[SkwerI]

For me, the majority of the time I can deal with obstacles the fastest and easiest just by swinging over to the end of the limb and taking it down in little pieces that I can throw clear. An expression I heard a long time ago is that it's just like eating an elephant. You do it one bite at a time. The majority of the time I can whittle it off faster than trying to figure out and set up rigging, plus I'm not tying up the groundmen and they can keep shuffling brush into the chipper instead of tending to me.

 

[MasterBlaster]

WHATEVER The Option May Be....

It's gonna be a big 'ole can O worms for the inventor to deal with.

 

[Jed]

Stig: Thanks for the zip-tie idea. I might resort to that once in a while. I can think of one specific time when I would have been really glad to have known about that.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Mr. Beranek's mentioned about clipping into his blue jean belt loop. That sounds doable, but they'd better be some relatively new jeans!

 

[woodworkingboy]

I have a friend who makes his own harnesses, and the straps that go over his shoulders are seat belts with the typical push to release connectors. Can't think of a quicker release, but if the strap was under a lot of tension, would it release?

 

[MasterBlaster]

That's highly doubtful, I'd imagine.

 

[NeTree]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't we have a thread here about 4 or 5 years ago on this very topic? I seem to recall HobbyClimber was working on this very thing.

Dunno where it ever went (the thread or the tearaway)...

 

[CurSedVoyce]

I think it ended with snap shackles from a boat supply...