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Using a Screw Link / Carabiner in your girth hitch

justsomedude

justsomedude

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 10, 2014
Messages
2,514
Location
Nashville, TN
I am going to experiment with this doing the Aider Climb. You can advance your tethers much easier if they loosen off of the tree and don't get hung up. Girth hitching through a screw link or carabiner makes them come loose VERY easily when not loaded.

Any one messed with it?

SAFETY ALERT
It is generally bad practice to use a carabiner like this due to the hazards of Cross Loading.
HOWEVER.....we aren't taking Climbing falls on them. And pretty much all carabiners are rated 8kn on a Side Load.

So for a wall climber, STEEL SCREW LINK is the right piece of kit.
Incidentally, there is a small Petzl Screw Link that is about 90 grams and is available in black.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JWZHZW0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
25kn
I'm going to probably use one on my long tether.
 
What about a solid ring? More compact. I'm just not sure if the room for the material is there
 
For my girth hitch around the tree I'm using 11mm static tied with a loop. I slid a small peice of rubber hose over the loop. It's pretty grippy so it doesn't slide on the loop. Once I cinch the tether I slide the rubber along the loop to tighten it around the tether.
It grips well enough for the girth hitch to remain tight around the tree.


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So, you don't want it to grip the tree, but you don't want it to loosen and slide down?


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It will grip the tree just fine when loaded. But you can just grab the rope and lift it up the tree to climb.

So if you are using a tether/foot loop and a second tether for your harness, it makes the climb much faster.
I didn’t have time today but I want to see how much easier it makes a “Stirrup climb”.
 
Has anyone put up a video of this? I'd like to see it.


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Have you considered just tying a bowline for your loop? About as fast as a screw link (if not faster) and unties easily. I haven't tried what you're trying so not sure if it would work out

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Using a small screw link has less friction. I also think the added weight at that end will help. I added one to my rappelling rope which I girth hitch helped out a lot loosening hookup when pulling down with my bow line


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I’m going to try tying on a little grab loop too. If it works the way I think, grabbing the loop will open up the girth hitch and you just pull it up the tree
 
I used this today on both tethers for a stirrup climb. I stood in the stirrups and just grabbed the carabiner to advance the top tether.
 
Preface all of this with the fact that for OUR use, we aren't taking falls. We are hanging in place with no slack or advancing up the tree. Free climbing with slack in your tether changes the math DRAMATICALLY

The risks of using a carabiner instead of a Screwlink:

You forget to lock your carabiner and somehow the rope loops around it and pulls itself out (unlikely but possible)
Arborists and Canyoneers have stories about Carabiners coming unscrewed from rubbing up against things so keep that in mind.

Sideloading (really hard to make that happen on purpose)

The Delta Quicklinks make it easy to SEE if you left it open but you need two hands to set it up and it is slower.
The Delta is rated 25kn and 10kn. Most carabiners are 22n-27kn on the strong axis and 7kn-8kn on the weak side.
So the strength isn't really a big issue.

The Delta weighs more (even these small ones).
Using these for climbing methods like One Sticking or Aider/Stirrup climb, I feel 100% confident in the Delta.
With a carabiner, I feel like I have to keep an eye on it as I progress up the tree.
 
justsomedude said:
Preface all of this with the fact that for OUR use, we aren't taking falls. We are hanging in place with no slack or advancing up the tree. Free climbing with slack in your tether changes the math DRAMATICALLY

The risks of using a carabiner instead of a Screwlink:

You forget to lock your carabiner and somehow the rope loops around it and pulls itself out (unlikely but possible)
Arborists and Canyoneers have stories about Carabiners coming unscrewed from rubbing up against things so keep that in mind.

Sideloading (really hard to make that happen on purpose)

The Delta Quicklinks make it easy to SEE if you left it open but you need two hands to set it up and it is slower.
The Delta is rated 25kn and 10kn. Most carabiners are 22n-27kn on the strong axis and 7kn-8kn on the weak side.
So the strength isn't really a big issue.

The Delta weighs more (even these small ones).
Using these for climbing methods like One Sticking or Aider/Stirrup climb, I feel 100% confident in the Delta.
With a carabiner, I feel like I have to keep an eye on it as I progress up the tree.
Click to expand...
Exactly, I have done some fall calculations just to put it into perspective. If a 150 pound man falls 5 feet, he will generate about 2-3 kn of force on the rope and components. A side loaded carabiner is at 30% strength. So if a carabiner has a max of 25kn, then that is 7.5 kn at the weakest point. In no circumstance should we be falling past 5 feet (even if a carabiner or other component fails). Either a screwlink or a carabiner should be safe for this purpose. But, that is for a 150 pound man. I weigh 140 so this is safe for me. Your mileage may vary and this is for reference only. I have used carabiners for this purpose. With that being said, I am changing to a steel strew link just for the extra safety factor.
 
Good read fellas. I’ve been running carabiner on mine. Have had no issues. But thinking about buying the delta link just to be safe. Been reading up on the pros and cons lately for both.
 
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