Fall protectiion climbing towers

[hamsandwich]

hey blitz you stateside?


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[space]

Unless it's freaky to get geared up at the exit or to access the exit, I see no use for these types of things. Granted that there was an incident where a jumper had started passing out due to his diet or lack of. But I see that it could be a recreational tool to hangout, check out the views and get a BASE bonk.
I've never used one out of 60 or so A jumps. Also never did an A bonk.
Take care,
space

[Blitzkrieg]

no brother... next, i'll be in Switzerland end of September, then working my way back to the US for Bridge Day.

[gofastmax]

I have a lad-saf 3/8'' cable fall arrest device that I thought I needed, but never used. I bought it used for $90 and will sell for the same if someone is interested.

[leroydb]

I have a lad-saf 3/8'' cable fall arrest device that I thought I needed, but never used. I bought it used for $90 and will sell for the same if someone is interested.

1,2,3, sold.... take pay pal?

[M8tricks]

At about $20, a quickdraw is probably the safest option mentioned on here for what you describe. One end clipped to any load bearing part of your rig and the other clipped into the ladder if you need to stop to rest, take pics etc.

Quick draws are normally about 12inches long, but you can make an adjustable length 'trad' quick draw by buying a loop of sling and two carabiners from a climbing retailer and doubling it through itself (see link below). During the climb (and when resting on the ladder) you leave it short to reduce the shock of falling, but if you need to move around at any point on the climb you can extend it up to a few feet to let you move around with some protection. The line should only be long enough to let you get to the edge, not to fall over it in any direction as a fall even of only 1m can still cause injury for no reason!

A point of note, this system does not use the steel cable at all. The tools required for this are bigger and more expensive/complicated than is necessary.

On shockloading - the rest of the guys are quite right that falling any distance into a static system will kill you. To give you some idea of the forces involved imagine falling that distance in question and then being stopped by a solid steel bar where your leg or other straps are - thats the easiest way to describe the forces in question when your harness and static arrester device stops you at the end of that fall.

planetFear - Articles - Making The Ultimate Trad Quickdraw