Zip Line Biners

[brendonv]

I was just watching HGTV as I do every weekend. They had a couple clips of a tree crew zip lining some brush towards the chipper on "Flip That House".

I have a Sycamore removal coming up where it's down in a hole, with the driveway on the higher side. Figured I'd zip some limbs straight to the chipper.

Is there any special biners you guys use when zipping? Do they have to be locking? Have you ever had failure with non-locking (falling off the rope somehow)?

 

[rbtree]

I was just watching HGTV as I do every weekend. They had a couple clips of a tree crew zip lining some brush towards the chipper on "Flip That House".

I have a Sycamore removal coming up where it's down in a hole, with the driveway on the higher side. Figured I'd zip some limbs straight to the chipper.

Is there any special biners you guys use when zipping? Do they have to be locking? Have you ever had failure with non-locking (falling off the rope somehow)?

Never. But I use lockers if the load is heavy or there's something rather valuable below.

I have had a branch come down in such a way that the sling gets caught on the zip line...only takes a bit for it to burn through.

 

[sotc]

they make some fancy roller biners but ive used the 5 dollad single locking biners with out any mist haps. i dont speed line very often though

 

[MasterBlaster]

I use the 5" non locking snaps I get from Lowes.

 

[SkwerI]

In years past I bought a bunch of the steel captive eye biners from Sherrill, item #15989. Sherrill calls them the 'slideline' and they are made by Kong. Non locking, keyed gate for no snags and 24kN. I put the webbing slings on them and keep several in my bucket and a couple on my climbing saddle. Dozens of uses including speedlining.

Let's see if this works-

 

[No_Bivy]

I use auto lock steel, with 1 inch nylon slings 4ft long. Then I use a blue bandit rubber thingy to make it captive

 

[inztrees]

I use non locking and rope sanps for slings I get 20 ft of webing from EMS and tye a water knot

 

[gf beranek]

Brian, I've used those same biners for a few years and their smooth. With the captive eye never a side load bearing scenario.

I give those biners a two thumbs up.

 

[Old Monkey]

I use the same ones Brian put up.

 

[Bounce]

I use the same biners too. I like knowing that they won't get sideloaded no matter how I dump tops into it. Never had one come open, even though they aren't locking.

 

[SkwerI]

Sean, does Wesspur sell that style?

 

[Bounce]

Yep: http://www.wesspur.com/Carabiners/accessory-carabiners.html. Part # CAR305 for $16.95 each or 1 dozen for $14 each.

 

[NickfromWI]

The first time I used one of those 'biners I had doubled up a 9/16" webbing sling and girth hitched it where it was supposed to go. The 'biner was loaded with a pretty heavy branch and the retaining bar cut right into the webbing.

I stopped using it then.

I'm assuming no one else has experienced this because in the years since that has happened I never heard someone mention it.

love
nick

 

[SkwerI]

Sounds like operator error, Nick. When the sling is properly girth hitched on the carabiner it hardly touches the retaining bar, and the retaining bar should never carry any direct load.

 

[wiley_p]

Trango wire gates, 4.95 each. Inexpensive, plenty strong for the application, (heavy things get clipped on a pulley and belayed) I sew the sling snug with a few stitches. Never had a problem been going that way for a while.

 

[gf beranek]

Never a problem here, with the kong captive eyes. hard to imagine how there could be.

 

[RIVERRAT]

Trango wire gates, 4.95 each. Inexpensive, plenty strong for the application, (heavy things get clipped on a pulley and belayed) I sew the sling snug with a few stitches. Never had a problem been going that way for a while.

Wiley, where ya finding them for that price?

 

[Mr. Sir]

I just did a quick search and the best price I could find for the Trango is $8.95, but several sites said they were no longer available. Still a good price if you can find them.

 

[RIVERRAT]

Thats the best I could find also

 

[wiley_p]

Wiley, where ya finding them for that price?

A store down in Seattle called Second Ascent. I be t a guy could get them at that price at MountainGear in Spokane,WA.

 

[RIVERRAT]

Thanks man

 

[wiley_p]

Maybe I should go down to the store tomorrow, I just got done paying an what I thought was an insane price for some 5.56 ammo. Lead is up almost double, coppers up, hell with our luck I'm sure aluminum is up as well.

 

[brendonv]

For an extra $1.05, is there any reasons why these biners wouldn't bee good for speedlining as opposed to the ones Skwerl posted? They are 4oz heavier but double the strength. I just remembered I have about 5-6 of them hanging around in a bag somewhere from e-bay. I have the auto lock and the screw lock.

 

[SkwerI]

You can use anything you like, I just like those Kong biners because of the keyed gate (no snags) and the corner trap to keep the sling in place. And if you're speedlining then I highly doubt you'll ever have more than a 500-600 lb chunk anyway unless you're rigging some insane chit. Speedlining can put some tremendous loads on your anchor points so that will limit the size of your cuts. A 5000 lb biner is more than enough for a speedline clip.

 

[brendonv]

Cool, I do understand that the loads are pretty crazy when lines are setup like so. I guess I am thinking the biners above would be more multi-use than the others for almost the same coin.