Tying a knot in a sling, especially in Dyneema slings, can reduce the strength by up to half, meaning the sling itself may end up being the weakest link if you manage to subject it to a force of more than 11kN.
However, it's worth pointing out that forces this high are very rare in a climbing situation, and would indicate that some other poor decisions have likely been made along the way leading up to an event of this nature. Most leader falls lie between kN of force.
Supposedly, you are at risk of injuring internal organs if you are subject to more than 10 kN of force the above information comes from testing done by the climbing company DMM. According to these tests, if you take a two-foot factor-1 fall directly onto a Dyneema sling, you would generate A much more important question than whether the sling is strong enough would be, "Have I designed this anchor such that there is no way I could statically load it? One of the advertised advantages of Dyneema over Nylon is that it supposedly absorbs little to no water, whereas Nylon is known to be able to absorb water into its fibers.
The story goes, that if you get your slings wet on an alpine or ice climb, they could freeze into solid cords that are virtually useless. This is absolutely true! However, we conducted some water resistance testing, and found that both Dyneema and Nylon slings absorbed roughly the same amount of water as a percentage of weight, and then each froze totally stiff when put out in below freezing temperatures.
Our testing revealed that while the fibers themselves may be capable of absorbing different amounts of liquid, the weave of the sling material traps water in between the fibers in roughly the same proportion regardless of the fiber it is made of. Without the ability to first dry out, these slings can then freeze into useless loops of material that are not useful at all for climbing.
So, while water resistance is touted as an advantage of Dyneema and a disadvantage of Nylon, we found that when it comes to climbing slings in cold weather, this is not a very accurate portrayal.
Sewn slings come in all sorts of different lengths, and we have listed what lengths are available for each product in our specs chart. Preferences vary according to what people intend to use them for, but on our multi-pitch climbing rack we typically carry quadruple length slings, and as many double-length runners as we feel like we will need, anywhere from depending on our strategy for the climb.
The three most common lengths of slings, and their most frequent uses, are described below. The single-length sling is a rarely used piece of climbing gear. It is roughly the same length as a long quickdraw, and these seem to have replaced single length slings almost entirely. Because a quickdraw has each end of the "dogbone" tightly holding the carabiner in place, rather than allowing them to fall around loosely as they would if using a single length open sling, we greatly prefer quickdraws if we need to clip a bolt, stopper, or extend a protection piece a short ways while leading.
Aid climbers often carry a selection of single length slings on big wall climbs to use for tying pitons off short and leaving behind as lower out points while cleaning.
These are usually thin Nylon slings they make themselves to save expense. Since there are so few climbing uses, we don't see any reason to recommend purchasing slings of this length, and didn't test any for this review. The double-length sling, also known as "shoulder length," is far and away the most common length, and makes up the majority of the slings on pretty much every traditional climber's rack we know.
These slings are the perfect length to extend a piece of protection so that the rope runs easier with less rope drag. They are also the perfect length for tripling up as an alpine quickdraw, thereby allowing use at two different lengths depending on the situation. Double-length slings can be useful for equalizing anchors if the situation warrants, and are the perfect length to use as personal tether to a climbing or rappel anchor if you do not use a personal anchor system instead.
Double-length slings fit perfectly over the shoulder without doubling, and so are suitable to rack gear on as well. For the aspiring traditional or alpine climber, we recommend purchasing at least eight of these, up to as many as 16, each paired with two lightweight wiregate biners, such as the Wild Country Helium Carabiner or Black Diamond Oz Carabiner.
The Quadruple-Length sling is probably the second most common length of sling, although most climbers only carry of them on a multi-pitch climb, and many climbers don't carry any at all. These slings can also be used to extend pieces of protection that are far off to the side of the direction the leader is heading to minimize rope drag, and some climbers bring one or two on a climb for this purpose.
Of course, you can minimize having to bring these if you just link two double-length runners together instead. Runners of this length don't carry well in the same modes as double-length slings and are usually carried on the harness twisted up or in a chain link.
While many companies make and sell sewn slings that are much longer than the cm length, we find that they have little use except in anchor building applications, and most people choose to use a custom length cordalette for this purpose because it is more versatile. Although it shouldn't have any impact on which slings you choose to purchase, we wanted to let new climbers know the most common and convenient ways of carrying slings, which differs depending on length.
This is the preferred "old school" method, where you loop a double-length sling over your head and one shoulder bandolier style. It is especially easy when cleaning a sling while following, as it's easier to throw it over the shoulder than tripling it up while climbing. However, be sure to sling them all over the same shoulder or you are likely to try to grab one that is pinned beneath others when you go to take them off.
This is the most common way of carrying double-length slings, and is nice because it allows you to hang the slings off your harness where they can be easily grabbed and deployed, and also allows you to use them at two different lengths.
We even chose to rate slings in our Best Climbing Slings and Runners Review based on how easy they were to triple up in this manner. To make an alpine quickdraw, clip two carabiners onto a double length sling and hold one in each hand.
Take one carabiner and thread the needle through the other carabiner, then clip it into the loop of slack that is created and pull both biners tightly apart. It is now safe to clip either carabiner like you would a quickdraw. To undo and extend the sling, completely unclip one carabiner from the loops, then reclip it to one single loop of sling and pull the carabiners apart. This is a common way of carrying a quadruple or longer length sling on a harness so it doesn't dangle in the way.
Take one end of sling and make a loop, then pull a small bight of sling through the loop, then another bight through that loop, and so on, finally clipping both ends to a single carabiner. This is an even more compact way of carrying a quadruple length or longer sling on a harness. It is useful for slings and for a lot of other climbing gear. Webbing built to climbing specifications is heavier, thicker, and slicker than military spec webbing.
Cord has a lot of uses in rock climbing, and can be used just like other slings can. When using a cord as a sling, it is called a cordlette. Cords are also commonly used in belay loops and anchoring systems. The Petzl Connect Adjust provides better adjustability than a daisy chain or other personal anchoring systems. Being more similar to a climbing rope than to a static piece of webbing or a sling, they can even withstand the impact a bit more force.
It can be easily adjusted with one hand, and is a great example of the different uses for cord in climbing. We hope this has been a good intro to using webbing and cord for climbing. There are a lot of ways these pieces of gear can make things easier, safer, and more fun.
What are your favorite uses for cord and webbing? Do you make your own runners or sew your own slings? Let us know in the comments. You must be logged in to post a comment. Slings Climbing slings are also known as runners. Popular Uses for Climbing Slings Draws and extending quick-draws Slings and runners generally come in single and double sizes, with the single length being at least times longer than the average quick draw. Since your quickdraw will all be a standard length, using different lengths of runners to create a variety of options for draw lengths to use together.
Setting up anchors Slings are perfect for connecting climbing anchor systems. Popular anchors will link carabiners to anchor points by using either multiple slings or a sling tied into a climbing knot to split it in to redundant connection points. The Black Diamond is lighter and a little less bulky, especially when folded into alpine draws. It scored lower because during testing it stiffened up a little more than the Metolius or Sterling nylon, which made it slightly less pleasant to handle.
Overall, however, both these slings are exactly what you would expect: reliable, simple, burly nylon. In our abrasion testing, it barely fuzzed at all and performed the best of any dyneema sling. An 11mm width was easy to handle, and the Low Bulk sling lived up to its name. Like the Mammut Contact, the biggest weakness came in abrasion testing. The Trango sling fuzzed up quickly and more severely than competitors. Otherwise, the Trango is an excellent dyneema sling, and a few cents cheaper than most of the other dyneema offerings.
It splits the difference in weight as well — heavier than the dyneema slings, but lighter than the nylon. The only quirk was an odd tendency to retain wrinkles and folds, which occasionally led to snags or knots.
The lightest sling in our test, the BD Dynex is also the second narrowest at 10mm. It is impressively trim, although neither as foldable nor as easy to handle as the Mammut Contact.
This sling finished dead last in our unknotting test, and it was slightly more difficult to manipulate. The inconsistent handling was what dropped the Dynex a few ranks in our scoring. We slightly prefer the Mammut and Trango slings, but the Dynex is still a strong choice for alpine draws and lightweight racks.
The only true disappointment of the lot, the Petzl Anneau is the burliest sling in our test. The Anneau was a pain to knot, and it took up far too much space when racked as an alpine draw. It technically functioned in all scenarios, but it would rarely be our first choice. To make matters worse, the Anneau is the same price as the much lighter Metolius Monster Open Sling, and nearly as expensive as some dyneema slings.
The Anneau became comically wide as an alpine draw. The discussion over nylon vs. There are other situations, however, where one might want to add a knot to a sling, such as when building and equalizing anchors. When it comes to knots, and especially untying them, not all slings perform the same.
Compared to climbing ropes, slings have a propensity to become "welded" after being weighted, which essentially means they cinch up so tight that you can't get them untied, especially when trying to leave a hanging belay or while balancing at a precarious stance.
The two most common knots that climbers tie in their slings are the figure-eight on a bight and the clove hitch. We tied each of these knots in slings on the same carabiner, then weighted them, to see how tight they got so we could assess their relative ease of untying. As a relatively simple knot, the clove hitch rarely presents any sort of problem to loosen and untie — simply wiggling it back and forth a few times is usually enough to loosen it so it can be untied. The figure-eight, however, is a whole different story.
As any climber who has taken a lead fall on a climbing rope knows, this knot can cinch up very tight, and with so much friction built-in, it can be very hard to untie. How easy this knot is to untie became the predominant factor in a sling's score for this metric.
Our testing reveals that the thickest Nylon slings, as well as the very thinnest Mammut Contact Sling , present the most difficulty once a knot has been weighted.
If you are in a hurry to move on from your belay when it's your turn, be sure to think carefully before you incorporate figure-eights tied into these types of slings. On the other hand, there is a sweet spot among the medium-width Dyneema slings, that seems to show they can be tied into knots and untied easier than those just described. These two slings are stiffer and flatter than many of the others, which prevents them from welding so tightly together, and allows for much quicker untying when leaving the belay.
The absolute easiest slings to untie once they have been knotted and weighted are the two cord-style slings. In particular, the Edelrid Aramid Cord Sling, with its tightly woven 6mm construction , is simply a breeze to untie once it has been knotted.
Climbing slings are long and dangly, and this can present a bit of a problem when trying to avoid them getting caught up in all your other gear. Draping them over one shoulder and around the neck is a common solution to this problem, but even more popular is the alpine quickdraw.
An alpine quickdraw is a shoulder-length sling that has been shortened by tripling it up with a carabiner on each end so that it is roughly the same length, and functions in the same way, as your average quickdraw. It also allows slings to be easily racked on harness gear loops, which can make them easier to access and deploy quicker mid-lead than unslinging one that is wrapped over your neck and shoulder. By removing the carabiner from the free-hanging end, then re-clipping it into only one strand of the tripled sling and pulling, you can switch quickly from an alpine quickdraw to a full-length runner ready to clip to the rope.
For this test, we took each sling and repeatedly tripled them up into alpine quickdraws, then released them again into full-length slings, and rated them based on how well they performed this task.
We deducted points for any hang-ups or issues we encountered. Two main factors dictate how easy it is to form or extend an alpine quickdraw. First is the width and bulk of the sling. Wider slings are more likely to overlap each other when tripled up in the crotch of a carabiner, creating friction and often preventing the sling from equalizing its length when forming the quickdraw.
The second is the length and bulk of the bar tack, which varies from sling to sling, despite equal strength requirements. Longer and bulkier bar tacking have a greater propensity to hang up on one of the two carabiners, which can once again prevent the sling from equalizing itself when pulled taut into an alpine quickdraw.
It should come as no surprise that the top performers for this category are the thinnest slings that have the lowest profile bar tacking. Once again, the Mammut Contact Sling , at a mere 8mm of width and featuring an innovative bar tacking pattern that is the lowest profile of all those tested, is the top performer. The very light and narrow Petzl Pur-Anneau Sling and the Sterling Dyneema Sling, which includes a small bar tack covered in a rubberized plastic cover to eliminate sewn tabs that can hang up on carabiners , are the second-highest performers in this category.
Slings are simply single loops of thin webbing, so as you might expect, they are very light pieces of gear. Compared to the weight of a pair of shoes, a cam or a whole rack of cams , or even a locking carabiner, slings present what may seem to be an insignificant weight while climbing a route. However, we believe that no opportunity to cut weight while not compromising on performance should be overlooked, especially when climbing, because every single thing on your body has to be held by your fingers.
Since you can buy lighter slings that are equally as strong as heavier ones, why wouldn't you? Let's be real, though, and admit that we don't think the weight of your slings is going to be the deciding factor between sending a big route or not. In fact, to be able to tell the difference between these slings most precisely, we had to weigh them in grams rather than ounces. At times there was only a difference of 1g between different slings, and even if you multiplied this difference by 10 for the number of slings you might carrying on a route , 10g in the best case, or g if comparing the lightest to the heaviest 19g x 10 slings , is still only a difference of.
Worth pointing out is that weight is one of the key advantages a Dyneema sling over a Nylon one, as Dyneema is significantly stronger at the same weight, meaning for a comparable strength sling, they can be far lighter and thinner than Nylon. To determine a sling's weight, we ignored what the manufacturers published on their websites and instead weighed each sling on our independent scale immediately upon receipt before we used them and any dirt had a chance to impact the results.
We found the Mammut Contact Sling to be the lightest at a mere 19g, although this was disappointing when compared to the 14g figure quoted on Mammut's website, a discrepancy that we can't explain.
The heaviest slings are the ones made out of cord, with the Edelrid Aramid Cord weighing in at 43g, and the Beal Dynamic Sling weighing a whopping 78g. These cord slings offer specific advantages to help you see past their extra weight, and regardless we would likely only carry one Beal or a few Edelrid , at most anyway. Due to differences in fiber and the pattern of the weave, different slings come in different weights, thicknesses, and shapes, even though they are all of equal strength.
The width of the slings that we tested ranges from 8mm on the small end, up to 18mm on the larger end, and 6mm to 8. Some slings are made of a flat piece of webbing, while others are tubular in shape, which means they are thicker.
In many ways bulk is a more pertinent assessment of a sling's particular advantages compared to another than weight is. Our harnesses have a fixed amount of storage space on the gear loops, and reducing the bulk of our slings means that we can carry more gear if we need to, or have less bulky items to get in our way while climbing a pitch.
The thickest slings in this review are more than double the width of the narrowest slings, so the potential to cut down on bulk is significant, and should not be overlooked. Slings that are thinner and take up less space understandably receive higher marks for this metric. We started by comparing the widths of each sling, and then also factored in their thicknesses, which often has to do with whether they are of flat, tubular, or cord designs.
Once again, the Mammut Contact Sling is the least bulky, as its 8mm width is two millimeters slimmer than the next closest competitor. The Nylon options we tested, which need to be around 17mm wide to be equally as strong as the much thinner Dyneema options, are of course bulkier. Bulkiest of all are the cord slings, especially the Beal Dynamic Sling , which is as thick as a piece of climbing rope, and is also rather stiff.
Climbing slings are an essential part of every climber's rack and come in a surprising array of choices considering how simple a piece of gear they are. While any sling that you choose to buy will perform the job well, we feel there is no reason not to select the very highest performing ones if you have the chance. In general, Dyneema slings offer the best combination of performance and weight, but will cost you more.
Nylon slings are a good alternative if you need to save some cash. Cord slings are great for specialty purposes, and having one or two on your rack can really help, but you wouldn't want an entire set of them. We hope that we have helped make your sling purchase easier and led you towards the best product for you. We wish you happy climbing! GearLab is founded on the principle of honest, objective, reviews. Our experts test thousands of products each year using thoughtful test plans that bring out key performance differences between competing products.
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