Streaky Desroy at The Great Orme© Jack Geldard – Editor – UKC, Apr 2009An accident over the Easter weekend has prompted discussion as to the safety of open slings fixed with rubber bands. It is not known if this gear set-up caused the accident, but it has brought a potentially dangerous scenario in to the public eye. In this UKC Forum Thread, professional instructor Mark Reeves links through to his blog, where he has posted an explanation of the possible dangers.Mark Reeves' Blog: Life in the VerticalAt the same time as Mark was blogging, climbing gear designer Streaky Desroy was giving a demonstration of the potential dangers of open slings and rubber bands. This demonstration is shown in the short video below.Having climbed myself for over 15 years, I was surprised by this demonstration and I was shocked at how easy this mistake is to make.It is worth noting that this error can happen with any type of rubber fixing on an open sling. This includes the home-made rubber band, and the professional rubber carabiner holders.An open sling is a sling that is circular in shape, a sewn sling holds the carabiner still by being sewn through the middle (see photo below). It is worth noting that you can get long sewn slings and you can get short open slings – both designs come in many sizes.Open slings are not necessarily 'dangerous', but this possible open-sling scenario is worth noting.
Watch This Video – It Might Save Your LifeStreaky Desroy works for DMM. Diesen Artikel inkl. Bilder auf UKClimbing.com anschauen
