I'm just going to mention what never gets stated in any criticism I've heard for the sliding X: If the concern is blowing either side of the anchor, the best defense against that is maintaining near 50/50 shared equalization of the pieces - which is what the X DOES (or a quad with no center knot). Any anchor that uses a knot as the master point only achieves equalization in one precise position outside of which, one strand of that thing is holding the full load. In 30 years, I have heard of someone falling factor-2 onto the anchor itself exactly once - and that was on ice (and it held.) In any case, lead falls with hanging belays are violent and the belayer is yanked around like a bull rider even at factor-1. I suggest, if the worst FF happens, the X is a better friend to you than conventional thinking holds it to be.
If you tie the overhands closer to your anchor point it'll be safer. Also you can leave the knots a bit loose and then tighten them by pulling on your carabiner in the direction of your anchor point. That way it is easier to make sure both strands are more equalised. If you're going to toprope with a bunch of people I recommend a 240cm sling and double it up. Clip two strands each with your anchor biners. It's fully redundant and your life is worth it.
Method 1 is twice as strong as method 3 and 3 is only redundant to abrasion and anker failure. The sling breaks in the knot and it compromises the system. Its not great but almost surely you wont die from using it. Method 1 and 2 are so strong all your other gear would fail before it would. The caviate is the triangle shape effects the force on the bolts. So it needs to be long enough. The thing is an anchor should be redundant, so method 2 is rhe best by far.
I'm brand new at sport climbing outside and overwhelmed by all the anchor options, locking carabiner options, etc. What would you recommend I start with? Also, what would you recommend for a personal tether? Thank you.
I’m commenting so I can see other people’s advice. I’m also new and trying to get outdoors. From what I’ve seen the best option seems to be a quad anchor with D shaped locking biners going from The top of the sling to the bolts and hms lead shaped biners as the master point
As usual: it depends on what you want to do. The most solid and versatile anchor in my opinion is the "Quad" - Its auto load sharing between the bolts, has 2 separate attachment points, which keeps things cleaner and more organized and is obviously redundant. And it's plenty strong as it uses 4 strands per bolt (hence the name) BUT it comes with downsides that make it not perfect for everything: It must likely be retied for every top you reach and tying the overhands with 4 dyneema strands is a bit fiddly, requires practice and takes some time to do properly in the fleld. So this anchor is not really used in multi pitch scenarios. When all you want to do is create a top rope others can use, you often don't really need a tied anchor. A quickdraw clipped to the higher bolt and a locker clipped to the lower bolt usually does the job. It's most likely not load sharing as the dlstance between bolts won't match your quickdraw and locker sizes perfectly, but usually you don't need to load share. If you dont trust a single bolt and want to reduce likelyhood of either of them breaking, you could share the load and do the sliding X as explained in this video. Hope this helps.
I dont get why soft is running on soft? Sling on Biner is soft on hard for me. And it doesnt look like the slings strands are overlapping. What am I missing?
Helpful note for viewers: Dyneema loses up to 50% of its tensile strength when knotted; so use nylon as it will maintain more strength-most all materials degrade in strength when knotted.
Quad master point only clips into two of the four ropes. If something were to happen to any part of the soft you would still be protected enough to get off belay at the foot of the route. There are some good videos on RUclips explaining the quad in detail.
I'm just going to mention what never gets stated in any criticism I've heard for the sliding X: If the concern is blowing either side of the anchor, the best defense against that is maintaining near 50/50 shared equalization of the pieces - which is what the X DOES (or a quad with no center knot). Any anchor that uses a knot as the master point only achieves equalization in one precise position outside of which, one strand of that thing is holding the full load. In 30 years, I have heard of someone falling factor-2 onto the anchor itself exactly once - and that was on ice (and it held.) In any case, lead falls with hanging belays are violent and the belayer is yanked around like a bull rider even at factor-1. I suggest, if the worst FF happens, the X is a better friend to you than conventional thinking holds it to be.
If you tie the overhands closer to your anchor point it'll be safer. Also you can leave the knots a bit loose and then tighten them by pulling on your carabiner in the direction of your anchor point. That way it is easier to make sure both strands are more equalised.
If you're going to toprope with a bunch of people I recommend a 240cm sling and double it up. Clip two strands each with your anchor biners. It's fully redundant and your life is worth it.
Thank you yet again! Cant wait to see what you post next
Girth Hitch Masterpoint is next on the docket. Should be posted shortly. Really appreciate the comment. :)
@@exploreandtraverse7400 I’ll be tuned in!
Another great video!
Your videos are so straightforward and to the point. Thank you!
heard that knots weaken the slings maximal capacity significantly. isn't that a problem in version 3?
Yes. Count half the strength. That means 22kN/2=11kN
Method 1 is twice as strong as method 3 and 3 is only redundant to abrasion and anker failure. The sling breaks in the knot and it compromises the system. Its not great but almost surely you wont die from using it.
Method 1 and 2 are so strong all your other gear would fail before it would. The caviate is the triangle shape effects the force on the bolts. So it needs to be long enough.
The thing is an anchor should be redundant, so method 2 is rhe best by far.
I'm brand new at sport climbing outside and overwhelmed by all the anchor options, locking carabiner options, etc. What would you recommend I start with? Also, what would you recommend for a personal tether? Thank you.
I’m commenting so I can see other people’s advice. I’m also new and trying to get outdoors. From what I’ve seen the best option seems to be a quad anchor with D shaped locking biners going from
The top of the sling to the bolts and hms lead shaped biners as the master point
As usual: it depends on what you want to do.
The most solid and versatile anchor in my opinion is the "Quad" - Its auto load sharing between the bolts, has 2 separate attachment points, which keeps things cleaner and more organized and is obviously redundant. And it's plenty strong as it uses 4 strands per bolt (hence the name)
BUT it comes with downsides that make it not perfect for everything: It must likely be retied for every top you reach and tying the overhands with 4 dyneema strands is a bit fiddly, requires practice and takes some time to do properly in the fleld. So this anchor is not really used in multi pitch scenarios.
When all you want to do is create a top rope others can use, you often don't really need a tied anchor. A quickdraw clipped to the higher bolt and a locker clipped to the lower bolt usually does the job. It's most likely not load sharing as the dlstance between bolts won't match your quickdraw and locker sizes perfectly, but usually you don't need to load share.
If you dont trust a single bolt and want to reduce likelyhood of either of them breaking, you could share the load and do the sliding X as explained in this video.
Hope this helps.
@ExploreAndTraverse
Great video! is this method better or stronger than using two quick draws as an anchor? I'm trying to decide which to use....
Quickdraws do not equalize. Also not bomber, because carabiners can open as you move around in the anchor.
I dont get why soft is running on soft? Sling on Biner is soft on hard for me. And it doesnt look like the slings strands are overlapping. What am I missing?
Helpful note for viewers: Dyneema loses up to 50% of its tensile strength when knotted; so use nylon as it will maintain more strength-most all materials degrade in strength when knotted.
Can you build the last sliding x variation with cord instead of a sling?
That is the quad anchor.
How does the quad work to provide a redundancy. I’m not sure I understand what happens if one part was cut.
Quad master point only clips into two of the four ropes. If something were to happen to any part of the soft you would still be protected enough to get off belay at the foot of the route. There are some good videos on RUclips explaining the quad in detail.
Would I be able to create a quad anchor with a single 8mm 120cm sling with 2 locking carabiners?
no
I was taught the knots must be figure 8 not overhand when using dyneema.
it dosnt really change much, they both reduce the strength which is usually ok. A figure 8 is much easier to untie tho
just use a quad, you get the redundancy and most of the sliding x benefits