So the webbing lanyard I have been bringing up for backup is quite time consuming to tie and untie. I need to buy a good lanyard but considering the harnesses are much more expensive than I originally planned (need to get off the climbing harness), I need to keep costs as low as possible. I have done hours of research on different people's systems, but there are too many!

I think the best bet for me is something I saw over at tree buzz.

I can't find the thread that came from.

A few questions.
- I'm planning to buy 20' New England Hi-Vee 1/2". Some length will be used for the termination knots, splices, etc. Is there something else easier to splice?
- What type of knot is that connecting to the snap? Double fisherman? I have some whipping I could tie it down with to make it neater.
- I can tie either a double overhand stopper knot at the other end as pictured or tie it to another carabiner. Tying to a carabiner is probably a bit safer in case friction hitch fails.
- What type of termination should I use for the friction hitch. Is there any hitche cordage that are easier to splice? I might have some left over 8mm beeline cord for this, but I know I can't splice that.
- Is a micro pulley or this swivel carabiner better? Maybe I don't need either to get started?

Sorry for all the questions. I want to keep it simple, but I'm seeing all these terminations getting quite bulky. I'm also seeing all these little "parts" getting expensive : (

I'll bite. Personally I find double braids easier to splice, so I would go for something like Poison Ivy, Bluemoon, Blaze, etc. I have never spliced 1/2in Stable Braid, but he larger SB splices very easily and I know several climbers who use that as their lanyard. Having said all that, I use (and love) 11mm PMI EZBEND as my lanyard. Mine is about 25 feet in length.

For the friction hitch, you really can't go wrong with Tenex. It's easy to splice and super cheap. A dog snap also works great and is cheaper than a micro pulley. If you thread your lanyard through your biner, you can do away with the adjuster all together.

I don't think you need to worry about bulk and knotted lanyards. Mine is knotted and it has never been a problem for me.

So I did some more investigation on splicing and realized that my 16 strand climbing rope is probably the most difficult to splice. Easiest being 12 strand then 24 strand then 16 strand. Since the 24 strand is slightly thinner, I'll take your suggestion and go with Yale Blue Moon. I will just tie to one or two snaps. The knot will be off to the side Ds on the harness and not in the way.

I think I'll go with the Tenex and again tie it. I like knowing in the back of my mind it can be spliced, but I imagine the smaller diameter of this line is not a problem to hitch to the biner.

I like aluminum rope clips like the ones in the photo. I've been using 'em for years as lanyard terminators - quick, easy, and safe.

One possibility: tie the friction knot directly to the D-ring - it gives a nice easy way to take in slack (just grab the free end and tug so that the d-ring tends the knot) at the trivial price (for me) of leaving the lanyard on the saddle all the time. The Distel knot shown in the photo works well for this.

Pyro,

you can't wrong with this set up, I've been using it for a while and love it. I use 9mm pmi ezbend for the lanyard with sampsons bail out or 8mm bee line as a hitch cord.

I tried the 5mm tech cord for a hitch as shown in the pic however I found the performance of it to be poor.

I like being able to move my lanyard from side D's to center when I need a mini DRT system this is why I don't tie directly to the side D's

Funny you should say that - I just re-discovered the Al rope clips myself recently. I've had a blue one and a red one in the gear box for years and just got them out the other day and make a double-ended lanyard using them on each end.

You are so right - quick, easy, and safe!

The lanyard snaps are heavy so I don't use them. Also less versatile than a carabiner, for example you can choke your lanyard for a short SRT pitch, carabiner works well for that, snap doesn't.

You're probably over worrying about the bulkiness of tied eyes for your lanyard hitch, 8mm Beeline (or Tenex for that matter) with tied eyes works great. The knot you asked about is a Barrel or Double overhand noose knot, very secure and compact as life support knots go.

Also... I don't like semi-permanent attachments for rope snaps. There have been many times that I opted to take the carabiner off the end of my lanyard and took the knot out so I wouldn't hang the end of the lanyard when pulling the lanyard through a tight setting. It doesn't take much to hang a rope snap or carabiner when you're pulling it out of a TIP, sometimes a nub of bark does it, locks it tight.

Short lanyard on the left (15') long lanyard on the right (60'). Lanyard is very simple and effective, can be used in DRT or SRT configuration, I center anchor it on my harness.


-AJ

What can I say.. Im a gearhead!

Ultimate lanyard for me is a 5m Blaze lanyard spliced at both ends with a hitchclimber, two oval biners and a short knut hitch, with a small prussic stiched onto itself so it stays on to use the lanyard in SRT. Usually the excess 2/3m is daisy chained or in a bag. It is the most versatile shiny bit of kit I have

moss: what is that metal piece on the top of the red biner?

I have based several lanyards on this CElanyard. Here is a video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-LSbQfNCNU

I used Bandit with thimbles + double fishermen's knot + Petzl William carabiner on each end, Ice Tail for a distel hitch + cmi 2i pulley + Petzl AMD carabiner for the main friction knot, and a second 6 finger prusik knot using 5/16" Ultra-tech cord + Petzl AMD carabiner for the second friction hitch.

One lanyard is about 16' and the other is about 25'. I love the fact you don't have to chose between a 2in1 lanyard, and a second rope type lanyard. This lanyard is the best of both worlds plus capable of additional tricks.

I often use the weight of the lanyard snaps as a way to throw the lanyard end over a branch that's just out of reach. It's helpful in that context. In any case, the few ounces there is trivial compared to the weight I'm carrying around my middle.

You're right, the lanyard snap is no good for choking around a branch on a short pitch, but I don't use a carabiner in that situation either because I'm worried about cross-loading. I usually use a screw link for that.

I figure Pyro has caught on to the fact that there are a truckload of ways to design lanyards, and every climber has their own preferences. As long as you're using life support rated stuff for life support, just find a mix that you like.

Since Moss seems to be ignoring you, please allow me:
I think that is a micropulley used for slack tending.

Yep that would be a micro pulley, you can achieve the same effect by running the tail of your rope through the biner'. not as smooth as a pulley but it gets the job done until your next gear purchase.

+1 ... that's what I do ... "it gets the job done." ... less gear ... less weight ... less cost ... less 'rattle'!!!

Sorry guys, I've been busy


Yep, when you're coming back from a limb walk or just stepped up on a limb and your long or short lanyard or main rope is slack the pulley acts as a low friction one-handed redirect, grab the tail of the rope and pull it up to tighten up the system. I've tried simply redirecting the tail through the carabiner (it works as mentioned) but I find the tail keeps getting out of position. With a small pulley as redirect the tail is always were you want it. Mine is pretty quiet in the scheme of things, I think it's because the rest of my gear setup is so quiet, total noise while climbing is very low when I want it to be. A Petzl Fixe pulley is very quiet because the cheeks are "fixe" but I find it less versatile than a MCI micropulley when reconfiguring for other uses.

J~bird posted an excellent re-use of a lanyard as a mechanical advantage rescue lifter here.

It never hurts to have a micropulley or two on your harness in one capacity or another so you have some raw materials when you need to get creative (every climb).
-AJ