Current/Ideal Bridge Setups (Plus Hardware) for Your Climbing Harness!

[Knotorious]

I was trying to come up with a quality discussion topic for a new thread on our forum and I started thinking about bridge setups on climbing harnesses and realized how customizable and individualized each person’s setup actually is. Therefore, I thought it might be worthwhile to begin a discussion about this facet of arborist gear.

If this topic interests you, feel free to share the specifics…

- What kind of harness do you have?
- What kind(s) of bridge(s) do you have? Diameter(s) of your bridge(s)? How long is/are your bridge(s)? Are they 12-strand, 16-strand, 24-strand? Who manufactures them? Are the colors/patterns on your bridge unique?
- Is your bridge adjustable? If so, what kind of rope grab or other type of device are you using to make adjustments? What is/are the total length of your bridge(s)? Is one bridge a fixed length and another adjustable?
- Do you have any hardware (other than rope grabs) attached to your bridge(s)? Do you have a ring? A pulley? A swivel? A small rigging plate? Something else? What are you hardware pieces made of? What size are they? Who makes them?
- How do you have your bridge(s) connected to your harness? Do they have sewn eyes, spliced tight eyes, or double overhand/scaffold knots?
- Feel free to discuss any other type of customization that I didn’t list out already!

All of these variables are just suggestions for what you can discuss about your bridge setup if you’re so inclined. You definitely don’t have to list every detail above; share whatever you want!

Finally, I’d be interested to read some personal anecdotes about how your setup functions while at height, or if your setup is less than ideal. Perhaps you wish you had a different setup. If you could have your bridge anyway you’d like right now, where anything is possible, what would you specifically want installed on your harness?

Sorry for the lengthy post. I’m simply hoping to catalyze a quality discussion! I was planning on sharing all of my details for my current bridge setup, but I’m in the middle of changing out some aspects of it, but I’ll post all the details as soon as tomorrow after I’ve finished my swap-outs.

Okay! Have at it! =-D

 

[greengreer]

monkey beaver saddle, 10.5 platinum bridge (bonded cover and core) maybe 4' before knots. ropeman ascender with a small shackle on the leg strap jams against the hole in the rigging plate. I usually just tie double overhand or stevedore's. Flip bridge every 3 months and replace every 6 on average. I'll grab a pic tomorrow.

adjustable bridge is mostly for taking saddle on and off but can shorten it up for a leaning spar, etc.

 

[Burnham]

Petzl Sequoia, stock webbing bridge, with a welded stainless-steel ring...I do not recall where the ring was acquired, long time ago now. Not labeled, who knows where or when it was made.

Not the best plan, that. But it is hell for stout, apparently .

 

[Bermy]

Petzl Sequoia SRT (older model) stock 24 strand (I think) bridge fastened to the openable gold rings.
Plus second bridge from a Komet Butterfly short webbing attached with shackles to the gold rings.
Until the recall, DMM Nexus swivel on one bridge, Focus on the other. When they come back, I will re-install them.
Both bridges short enough for me to reach my HH hitch a full stretch, and my lanyard hitch.
I run my long lanyard off the second bridge, rarely on side Ds.
I like my setup, works very well for me, no desire to change it.

 

[lxskllr]

I'm just a hobbyist. My Onyx is pretty much stock. I changed the bridge to Bifröst for the sight gag, and it has the captive eye from my HitchhikerXF installed. I haven't found anything I want to improve.

 

[biggun]

Treemotion harness. I have a few. Stock standard bridge, first thing I do is to tie an overhand knot in one end to make it a bit shorter.

Nothing on the bridge other than the standard ring.

I don’t see the need to make them
that customisable or adjustable.

Be careful using none standard ripe for your bridge. There was a time a few years ago where this seemed popular and a bridge failed.

 

[Eric H-L]

I am a recreational climber. New Tribe Onyx. Stock platinum rope bridge and ring. I tried a Petzl swivel open. Now I have a Rock Exotica swivel biner on my Hitch-hikerX. Not sure I need the swivel but Richard Mumford really promotes them with that device. I have thought about an adjustable bridge to make it easier on and off. Don’t need it. When I climb SRT I like it as short as possible.

 

[Bermy]

I like a fixed length bridge. Once I find one the right length, neat sewn ends.
The adjustable ones seem to have too much clobber hanging off the ends, knots, adjuster thingys. Just my take, if it works for you, all good.

 

[Knotorious]

I have a pair of Petzl open rings on my harness, which allow me to make replacements every few months. I currently have a 6' length of Yale Phantom rope for a bridge with one sewn eye on the left end and a triple overhand on the opposite end. Affixed to the right open right, I have a Petzl micrograb rope grab device which grabs very reliably, even with brand new rope. I love this arrangement because sometimes I'm in positions where it's easier to just extend my bridge length than to continue descending on a device (hard to explain). It also allows me to give my bridge nice as small for SRT climbs and then add a little more length at the top so that I can make side to side maneuvers more easily. Lastly, I typically have a 34mm (I think) DMM anchor ring attached to my bridge as a connection point, but occasionally I'll use my Rock Exotica Omniblock 1.1" if I need a swivel.

Thanks everyone for participating! I didn't expect so many responses this quickly! =-D

 

[SeanKroll]

MCRS rope bridges shorten/ lengthen ( normal length, not long) easily, if desired, via anchor bends to the bridge ring.

I tried a short and a long bridge, but there was too much happening with 2 anchor bends and tails per bridge ring.

I'm flying a Camp Gyro swivel threaded to the bridge, plus a DMM ring.

This gives a lot of versatility with minimal gear.

 

[Knotorious]

I was just messing around with my new setup and I've decided that my bridge is way too long. I also really shouldn't allow it to extend out any farther than the distance of my arms because, under certain circumstances, I can see myself having a difficult time tending that slack back in; especially if I use that slack to descend.

I'm going to need a means of controlling all of the loose tail because I mostly just keep my bridge in the shorter to mid-range area insofar as length. I dunno. I thought I'd love the adjustable bridge more, but I just think its current length is a bit excessive at 7 feet. However, before I find myself cutting my bridge, I'm going to investigate ways to neatly stow one's excess bridge rope. I know several solutions (beyond the obvious ones) already exist for one's lanyard.
Meh. I'll figure it out! I'll probably just take some electrical tape, a torch and a rope slaying blade and slice anywhere from 3-4 feet off my bridge. I won't be able to tell exactly how much I want to amputate until I put my harness on and try it out.

The only reason I began at such a long length for my bridge is simply because I wanted to experience it. It could have been awesome...except, somehow and somewhat predictably, it was not awesome. I kept stepping on it and it was always getting hung up in stuff because twigs love to latch onto daisy chains. So now I think everything will be as it should. Perhaps I'm over complicating a pretty simple concept. That's a forte of mine.

 

[lxskllr]

You could daisychain it, or do whatever this is(shown loose for hopefully more clarity)

 

[Burnham]

Figure of x knot...one wrap x=8, 2 wraps x=9, etc...

 

[Knotorious]

Burnham, why isn't an overhand knot a figure of 7?

 

[Burnham]

I suppose it could have become so, after the figure of 8 and then 9 came into use . Maybe in some circles, it is.

 

[Knotorious]

Burnham, has anyone ever told you how friendly you look? You simply look ultra approachable and I value that; and I'm sure many others do as well. Usually having one's arms crossed is a sign of closing oneself off from others, but with you it looks like you want people to come and be your friend. Your behavior on this forum shows decorum (pardon the rhyme), playfulness and wisdom. I just decided that I would try and brighten someone's day today on this forum and you won the altruistic lottery, sir!

 

[Burnham]

Thank you, that is kind .

 

[WoodCutr]

I run the stock treemotion evo double bridge, ring on one bridge and a rook pulley on the other (pulley bridge shortened so the terminations are close in length when I use both bridge's)
Notch Sentinel I gave my dad has an adjustable Bluestreak bridge, a little longer than stock with a RollNLock to adjust, with steel ISC ring
See thread "anyone running an adjustable rope bridge", I think the pictures in that thread I have it around 6 feet long, now its closer to 24"