Another Amsteel fray thread.

[Drix22]

Hey All.

Finished out my first tree saddle hunting season, have to say it was very comfortable, but I do have a performance question for one of my parts. I chose a H2 for my first saddle with an amsteel bridge mod, after a few long sits (maybe 20h all together) throughout the season, I noticed that my bridge started to fray.

I tried to read a bunch of older posts on the forum, but almost all of them explicitly dealt with the tucked ends of the splicing fraying which just isn't my case- this fray is about as center of the bridge as it can get and directly where the carabiner for my tether would sit. While I couldn't quote you on what carabiner's I was using, both my linesman and tether came with my H2 kit and neither carabiners have a rough spot.

I was wondering if anyone had any opinions on the bridge fray below. Part of me thinks that it might just be some normal wear and to keep an eye on it, but another part of me is worried it is an indication of a larger problem I might want to deal with before next season.

 

[Jtaylor]

On my bridge and probably most of the fixed amsteel bridges out there, the center of the bridge is where the buries end or probably should. This area usually coincides with the area your carabiner contacts. As for an adjustable amsteel bridge, you should try to follow the specified bury for the diameter of Amsteel used.

In your case, it looks like minor fraying/snagging. There are several types of dyneema rope out there and are you sure this is Amsteel and not just another dyneema rope? There has been some discussion in the past claiming Amsteel has a proprietary coating that may resist fraying/snags.

 

[Brocky]

Another factor is the poor bend radius of the carabiner, this is from Colligo Marine, a well known company and inventors of the soft shackles. ?ttimgs is fittings. Doing the math, if a carabiner has a cross section of 12mm, the largest rope it should run on is 2.4 mm??? What‘s your bend radius?

 

[Drix22]

On my bridge and probably most of the fixed amsteel bridges out there, the center of the bridge is where the buries end or probably should. This area usually coincides with the area your carabiner contacts. As for an adjustable amsteel bridge, you should try to follow the specified bury for the diameter of Amsteel used.

In your case, it looks like minor fraying/snagging. There are several types of dyneema rope out there and are you sure this is Amsteel and not just another dyneema rope? There has been some discussion in the past claiming Amsteel has a proprietary coating that may resist fraying/snags.

Having looked at the bridge itself (and I could be wrong on this) I don't think the splicing's are buried there. The bridge is a single piece attached to the saddle by two friction knots similar to a prussik for adjustment, trailed by a stopper knot thats supposed to be spliced in place, and then out to a tape wrap and a cut/melted end. I've looked pretty hard at the middle of the bridge and honestly I can't see that the splicing stops there.

I use the h2 triad. I guess I made the assumption that it was amsteel, but re-reviewining the product video from h2 it's made clear that it is not Amsteel branded rope and is more likely something else.

Another factor is the poor bend radius of the carabiner, this is from Colligo Marine, a well known company and inventors of the soft shackles. ?ttimgs is fittings. Doing the math, if a carabiner has a cross section of 12mm, the largest rope it should run on is 2.4 mm??? What‘s your bend radius?
View attachment 43586

I have no idea on this, my saddle is packed up at a vacation home. I'll have to look into it, but if this really is the problem I'll be very disappointed- everything I purchased from this setup is directly from H2 as part of their complete saddle kit and my immediate thought would have been the components of the kit were designed to work with each other when it comes to subtleties like this. Everything I used this season was directly from this kit with exception to a ropeman for my linesman's belt.

 

[Brocky]

Your gear is comparable to what other harness manufacturers are doing, arborists mostly use round stock rings to clip to, rather than the carabiner directly to the bridge, as done mostly here, about the same diameter wise. Don’t know the reasoning behind their decisions. Using something for the bridge that doesn’t have a cover allows the climber to easily inspect the condition, otherwise if there is a cover, running it through your hands feeling for thinning is best. Good on you for catching it!

 

[Jtaylor]

Having looked at the bridge itself (and I could be wrong on this) I don't think the splicing's are buried there. The bridge is a single piece attached to the saddle by two friction knots similar to a prussik for adjustment, trailed by a stopper knot thats supposed to be spliced in place, and then out to a tape wrap and a cut/melted end. I've looked pretty hard at the middle of the bridge and honestly I can't see that the splicing stops there.

I use the h2 triad. I guess I made the assumption that it was amsteel, but re-reviewining the product video from h2 it's made clear that it is not Amsteel branded rope and is more likely something else.

Yep I follow you! I'd just keep an eye on it. It would be easy to change out in the future if needed. Loosen your two prussiks (without undoing them and keeping them open) slide a piece of pipe (conduit, fid, arrow shaft, etc.). Cut or undue one stopper knot. Replace with new by threading through your prusiks. Re-tie stopper knots (they may need to be tied before feeding through though!) and you'd be good to go! Here's a decent tutorial how to tie a good stopper knot in Amsteel. Obviously you're not making a shackle but you should get the idea:

There's a few other methods to do a button knot or other knots in Amsteel that may be worth checking out too even though technically I don't think knotting Amsteel is advised.

Stopper knot for Amsteel (works on any slick rope)

I made an Amsteel utilibridge and needed a stopper knot and Came across this - it's kind of big but will hold fast in Amsteel: https://www.animatedknots.com/estar-stopper-knot

saddlehunter.com

I think there's a couple theads on here about making a utilibridge too. Be safe and only do what you're comfortable with!