Re: [Gnarflow] Static line questions
I've used rope of various kinds, 1" webbing, heavy dacron, ratchet straps, slings. These are nice to use when building a tie in and I would trust the material to last at least a couple of months.
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I think the kind of material used depends on whether you're going to be jumping the object frequently and want the anchor to last for a long period of time; the conditions at the exit - roughness of the edge (rock, cement, brick, etc.); weather - will UV or moisture degrade the tie in point over days, weeks or months? Generally, I want the material to be significantly stronger than the break cord; I want it to handle the shock load without breaking or heavily fraying for at least a few jumps if its bent over the edge. Also, the tie in material shouldn't be abrasive or have sharp edges - i fear abrasive materials "sawing" or biting into the break cord and possibly causing the break cord to fail prematurely. When accessing an object with a previously used tie in point, I always carry a length of 900lb dacron (20' or so) to ensure that I can recreate a suitable tie in if the previous one is discovered unusable. This is what I would consider a temporary tie in, the next time at this object, I would bring a more suitable long term material to create the tie in point. The length of dacron I carry is folded tight and wrapped with a rubber band - its small and is part of my gear that I carry in my pocket.
I sometimes use a take away setup - I make my own, similar to Apex, but with some minor tweaks. I most often just tie into the material with break cord. I've found that a take away setup is prone to snagging on the end loop at the tie in point, and after losing a few take aways, tying in directly with break cord has proven to be better.
For PC preservation, I use many techniques. Sometimes it dangles between my legs, sometimes it dangles to one side of me (if there is a cross wind or possibility of crosswind. If dangled between my legs, I use a super wide stance and am paranoid about bridle entanglement with my feet. Sometimes is reassuring to visually verify what the bridle and PC are doing just before exiting, and a peek between the legs can tell me that everything is OK. I think what you do with the PC/bridle on a static line jump doesn't have a cookie cutter answer - its more about PC management that will change with the object, tie in location, wind conditions, etc. I used to throw the PC, but found that it sometimes snags and its behavior is largely unpredictable after throwing. A superior way is to hold on to the apex of the PC with enough bridle s folded inside to allow proper bridle management at the exit and still allowing movement. Jump, with the PC out to my side at arms length, the apex pinched in the tips of my fingers, and allow the pc to be pulled from my fingers as I fall. A slight (or heavy) headwind might blow the PC back over the edge if throwing or holding, so sometimes dangling is the better option. My go to is dangling, and then modifying the technique if wind or exit conditions warrant it. I prefer to see what the bridle is doing and dangling it allows that, but this cannot always be done.