Breakaway Lanyard/ Emergency Detach Options

I have used a Buckingham chainsaw bungee tear away lanyard with one ring clipped onto the snap of my regular lanyard and with a biner on the other ring to my saddles opposite D ring. The Buckingham is rated to break at around 200 lbs . If you need to make it shorter install a small Beeline prussic onto the bungee side with a biner to the D ring. Your regular lanyard which its attached to can still be used for adjustment . Just make sure you don't put the prussic on the wrong end, the black part of the bungee lanyard is the tearaway link. The ring nearest it must be clipped to the snap of your regular lanyard.

Never used it where I had to break it but in those situations I feel a little more reassured.

Willard.
 
One option is to use a load release hitch between your harness and lanyard around the dead tree. I use about six feet of New England Ropre's 5mm tech cord or Bluewater's 5.5 titan cord to form a modified BC release hitch. Instead of wraps around the hitch I daisychain it three times. This makes a short compact connection. Most release hitches use longer lengths of rope to slowly transfer a climber to another rope or to the rescuer, who may be some distance away. Both ends of the lanyard are attached to the release hitch so that it all goes with the falling tree.
 
Bob (hobbyclimber) built a couple based around parachute release tech. Pull the ripcord, and away she goes. Kinda neat, but bad news if you pull it accidently.
 
I also use a s mall 1 inch steel ring to get some slack at the end of the release hitch. However I put a stopper knot at the end to avoid unintentional release.
 
I think in most situations about what we're talking about if the tree your working on failed you wouldn't have time to react. Your lanyard would have to break away enabling you to swing away to safety into the other tied in tree.

Willard.
 
If both your lanyard and climb don't have slack in them it's possible also they would slowly go tight with the climber stuck in the middle.
 
Brocky said:
If both your lanyard and climb don't have slack in them it's possible also they would slowly go tight with the climber stuck in the middle.
Click to expand...
If I was unsure about the safety of the tree I was climbing to remove and was tied into another tree for backup, I definately wouldn't be tied into the unsafe tree. I would only be going up with spurs and lanyard while keeping tension on my climbing line.

Willard.
 
Yes me also. I meant slackless climbline in good tree and lanyard with load release hitch in dangerous tree. I would be concerned about having a breakaway type setup in the dead tree if a slip, limb breakage, or maybe spurs gaffing out were to occur causing the breakaway to release. This could cause maybe a big swing into the good tree. Plus the climber would need additional breakaways to finish the job.
 
woodworkingboy said:
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?
Click to expand...

They would release I know from personal experience in a rollover back in high school where the car ended up on the roof and I was upside down belted in in the backseat. I can say that they would release while being held under body weight but in a failure, I can't say.
 
You could try this if your looking for a quick release snap/shackle.

http://sailing.about.com/od/equipmentgear/ss/safetytether_3.htm

I've seen them in action and they hold lots of weight. I've seen up to about 80lbs dropped on it and it didn't ope till released. Never seen it applied as a safety lanyard.

Google Image- Quick release snap or shackle and a lot of variations come up. Personally not sure if I'm into this kind of lanyard but it may suit someone else.
 
The problem with every single connector that will release under a load is that you might release them accidentally. A slipped bowline would do the trick, if only you could be sure of not accidentally snagging the line and undoing the knot. As a result, I still think the best option is to use a link that you can cut. A non-steel core lanyard made out of plain old rope that you can cut with your saw would do the job nicely. It's basically a question of whether you would prefer to run the risk of accidentally releasing the connection, or having to cut something if things go haywire. The former seems more risky than the latter to me.

I don't think there will ever be a product made specifically for this purpose because no mfgr wants to make a life support product that is designed to break and allow the climber to become disconnected from the tie in.
 
I think the answer might be that you do not design a "life support" device but a positioning device. Your life support is your line in another tree. The life line has to be such that if you do disconnect from the trouble tree that you don't crash as a result.

I have seen lots of guys that are WAY out a limb or far away from their lifeline TIP so that if they took a fall/swing they would pendulum enough to get seriously hurt.
 
Instead so much of a break-away system, perhaps we need to look at it from another angle? How about, instead, we concentrate on a way to easily SEVER the lanyard? The one time I needed to react like that it was my handsaw at the ready. Believe me, it cut through that rope lanyard like butter!

So, just a thought - another perspective, if you will.

If you think you might need an emergency separation, have your handsaw at the ready! In your teeth, maybe on a bungie around your neck or somewhere safer.

Thoughts?
 
Very touchy topic to talk about. But I bet many people wished Dr. Peter S. Donzelli used some type of emergency detach system if he was able to use it. Donzelli did alot of research and taught engineering concepts in rigging techniques for I.S.A. He was killed in 2000 in a tree removal accident when a tree failed below him.

Willard.
 
pantheraba said:
I think the answer might be that you do not design a "life support" device but a positioning device. Your life support is your line in another tree. The life line has to be such that if you do disconnect from the trouble tree that you don't crash as a result.
Click to expand...

The positioning lanyard is a life support connection. Think about how often you spur climb with no other tie in. If it is ever to be used as the sole tie in, then it has to be life support rated.
 
Bounce said:
The positioning lanyard is a life support connection. Think about how often you spur climb with no other tie in. If it is ever to be used as the sole tie in, then it has to be life support rated.
Click to expand...
If it is your sole tie in is on a tree that you think is going to fail wouldn't that be a suicide mission? I think if you are up a tree like that you are tied in at least one other point or come up with a better way of getting the tree on the ground.
I am liking the sever release idea.
 
How about one of those fancy Pritchard's clevises that they sell as a Big Shot release? Pricey but well built and reliable. Releases under tension every time.
 
I was thinking about it but there might be a chance of the hardware or a knot/splice getting jammed on the way.
 
flushcut said:
If it is your sole tie in is on a tree that you think is going to fail wouldn't that be a suicide mission? I think if you are up a tree like that you are tied in at least one other point or come up with a better way of getting the tree on the ground.
I am liking the sever release idea.
Click to expand...

What about trees in that bad a state without another good tree to tie into? I've had a few of those. In that instance I usually spend a day guying and strapping the tree and guying the limbs to the main trunk.
 
bill22 said:
What about trees in that bad a state without another good tree to tie into? I've had a few of those. In that instance I usually spend a day guying and strapping the tree and guying the limbs to the main trunk.
Click to expand...

Wouldn't that negate the need for a breakaway? I was thinking that a breakaway would be use as a means to swing away from a tree while you have a high TIP in another tree. I would just tiper over and get a waiver or a bucket/spider.
 
flushcut said:
Wouldn't that negate the need for a breakaway? I was thinking that a breakaway would be use as a means to swing away from a tree while you have a high TIP in another tree. I would just tiper over and get a waiver or a bucket/spider.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I was just saying for arguments sake. Uusally when I get a call about a tree like that, its some god awful nightmare that leans over a house and the H.O wants me to remove it without damaging so much as a flower. I tell them flat out, I'm only guaranteeing the safety of your house and power lines or fence.Oh and the neighbors house, I'm not gonna rope down pieces of a dead tree if I can just chuck it.
 
Whether you use a connection that releases under tension or connection you have to cut, you are running a risk either way. With a halyard shackle like the Big Shot trigger that will release under a load if you pull the pin, the risk is that you might pull the pin on accident if it snags on something. With a cutable connection, the risk is that you won't be able to cut it in time if the tree fails. Both ideas are acceptable solutions, but it's purely a matter of opinion as to which is safer. Personally, I would rather have to cut my lanyard than risk accidentally releasing the trigger. The risk of having to cut the lanyard will only come up if the tree fails, while the risk of accidentally releasing the trigger is a constant danger that has to be dealt with every moment of the climb. I just prefer one bigger risk rather than 1000 smaller risks. Plus, if you go with the cut-your-lanyard solution, then you don't have to buy anything.
 
Personally, I think removing the stopper knot from your lanyard tail is the best option. It wouldnt work with a Gibbs or microcender or any other device which doesnt release while loaded. But a simple friction hitch that can "run off" the end of the lanyard. Of coarse you would have to be able to physically grab and release the hitch with your hand if things went south......if the situation called for it, you could run a biner / pulley above the hitch tied to a tether or rope and someone on the ground could release it if you could not.
I dont like the idea of wielding a handsaw around in a situation like that. My left hand is continually reaching for my lanyard hitch throughout a typical day making minute adjustments, its second nature. I feel if the shit hit the fan, my fastest and safest way to "breakaway" would be grab the hitch and run of the end.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

lxskllr
Bare Minimum Knot Knowledge?
Replies
14
Views
684
biggun
biggun
Knotorious
Stop Using "Double Fisherman's Knot" to Refer to the "Poacher's Knot" AKA "Double Overhand Noose!"
2
Replies
30
Views
2K
SeanKroll
SeanKroll
BlackBikeDave
Lanyards
2
Replies
34
Views
2K
TINYHULK
TINYHULK
lxskllr
An Esoteric Question - How Much Force Is On One Leg Of An R&R Friction Saver?
Replies
1
Views
273
Burnham
Burnham
Mick!
Husky 540ixp review
Replies
17
Views
164
CurSedVoyce
CurSedVoyce
Back
Top