Page 25 - Rappelling

Gloves Slings and Webbing

For a slow, controlled descent, many climbers rappel In the 1960s and 70s, 1-inch-wide tubular nylon
without gloves. But if you want to rappel faster and webbing was the standard sling material, tied into a
smoother, or add more friction by tightening your loop with a water knot or double fisherman’s knot.
grip on your brake hand, gloves are indispensable. Eventually, sewn slings with bartacked stitching
Gloves are also advisable for rappelling on thin- came onto the market and were actually stronger
diameter ropes and for long rappels. than the same material tied with a knot. Sewn slings
Petzl, Metolius, Black Diamond, and other are not only stronger but also safer in that you don’t
climbing equipment manufacturers sell gloves have to worry about the knot loosening and com-
specifically made for belaying and rappelling. Or ing untied. For rigging rappel anchors, 1-inch tubu-
you can pick up a pair of inexpensive lightweight lar webbing is the most versatile.
leather work gloves from Home Depot that will
work just fine. Choose a pair that are tight-fitting Flat Webbing
but with good finger dexterity. Flat webbing is woven solid, as opposed to tubular
webbing, which is woven into a hose-like shape. It is
Knife stiffer and more abrasion resistant than softer tubu-
lar webbing, with a higher tensile breaking strength
Many rappellers carry a knife to use in the event (Sterling 1-inch flat webbing is rated at 43.5 kN or
of something getting caught in the rappel device, 9,800 lbs.), which makes it useful for high-strength
like a shirttail, beard, or long hair. But be very care- applications. Its stiffness, however, makes it more dif-
ful with a knife, and know that there have been ficult to knot and gives it poor handling characteris-
numerous instances where people have cut their tics, making it unpopular with climbers.
rappel ropes while trying to cut something out of
their rappel device, as a rope under tension cuts Tubular Webbing
more easily than one not under tension. In thirty There are two types of tubular nylon webbing: mil-
years of rappelling, I’ve never had to cut anything spec and climb-spec.
out of a rappel device. I have used a knife to cut off Since webbing was originally manufactured for
old nylon webbing and cord from rappel anchors military applications, mil-spec means that the web-
to replace it with new material. In fact, if I’m doing bing meets the standards demanded by the military.
a climb that requires multiple rappels using natural Mil-spec has a coarser, rougher-textured weave,
anchors like trees and blocks of rock, I’ll make sure with a more pronounced ribbing across the width
I have a small knife and extra webbing. I prefer a of the webbing. Climb-spec is a finer, more high-
stainless steel knife with a serrated blade that eas- quality weave, without the noticeable ribbing and
ily cuts both rope and webbing. Petzl makes several with a more tightly woven edge. Climb-spec usually
models specifically for climbing, with a folding tests slightly stronger than mil-spec webbing and is
design that has a round hole on one end to clip generally more abrasion resistant and more impervi-
into a carabiner. I prefer a design that can’t open up ous to tearing or slicing over a sharp edge, but both
on you when it’s folded closed and clipped into a are suitable for rigging rappel anchors, and both are
regular-size carabiner—like the Trango Piranha. roughly the same price.
The Bluewater company, known for manufac-
turing high-quality webbing, says its climb-spec
tubular nylon webbing “outperforms normal

14 RAPPELLING

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