UKH

Hi all. When making a cord loop to clip your axe tethers into do people use an overhand or a pair of double fisherman’s?

I assume an overhand is neater but perhaps a bit less strong? 

In reply to smithaldo:

I use 4mm accessory cord with a double fisherman's. It seems neat enough as the cord is relatively thin.

I don't think that knot strength is so much the issue - more about how easily it might work its way undone through regular use, which I've noticed is something that can happen to overhand knots in cord when e.g used as zipper pulls on packs or clothing. I don't think this will happen easily with a double fisherman's, or at least it's never happened with mine.

As far as I know the tethers are only rated to 2kn-4kn or so anyway (or sometimes not even sold as rated at all) and are not intended for any kind of weight bearing beyond securing the tools.

That said maybe a double fisherman's knot is bulkier when using thicker cord, but 4mm is rated to 4kn anyway and so the only reason I can think of to go thicker might be from a durability/longevity perspective. But the 4mm seems to be holding up okay so far after a few seasons of light use.

In reply to smithaldo:

I had to go and look because I couldn't remember, so I took a pic while down in the cellar. 4mm double fisherman it seems 

In reply to TobyA:

double fisherman's here too

In reply to TobyA: do you not just clip the krab through the bigger hole? Or do you use that for what I call a ‘fear clip’ if you need to rest on the axe with a sling attached to your harness with a krab on the end ready placed?

In reply to smithaldo:

Throw them in the bin and climb leashless. A more faffy item could not exist.

In reply to ianstevens:

Yes it could. Old style ice axe leashes were far more faffy. Try winding a screw in while you have an axe hanging off your wrist.

In reply to ianstevens: ha, obviously not full leashes, just tethers.

Like Mike says, it brings back painful memories trying to screw a non turbo screw in with an axe dangling round your wrist or indeed trying to fiddle out of a leash, place the screw and fiddle your wrist back in, then tighten with your teeth.

I tried full leashless about 15 years ago but tended to overgrip and get pumped too quick.

tethers just seem to be a god half way house for me  

In reply to smithaldo:

I find doing that actually incredibly awkward as the krab inevitably rotates to 90 degrees constantly and if shaft plungeing on snow slopes gets right in the way.

Single fisherman's for me but I've either put a bit of gaffer on the tails or a couple of stitches just to stop them working their way loose.

In reply to beardy mike:

I have thanks. Never again.

In reply to ianstevens:

Maybe you're just lucky enough to never be a klutz, but for the rest of us tethers can be the difference between succeeding or not on a pitch. This pic came up in my FB memories earlier - 11 years ago today (eek!).

In reply to TobyA:

Is that climbing shoes hanging on your harness?

In reply to Stefan Jacobsen:

Looks like but I think they're mitts.

In reply to Stefan Jacobsen:

Nah, mitts. It was about -15 as I remember it. All the other photos in this review taken on the same day I think. https://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/clothing/softshell/marmot_zion_jacket-4425

In reply to TobyA:

Mitts make sense

In reply to TobyA:

10 years on, where is neoshell? There was a great craze for new membranes a little while...

In reply to beardy mike:

I think it got killed by the deep pockets of the marketing department of WL Gore Inc. I think even with the massive marketing power of TNF and futurelight, they fought the gore and the gore won...

In reply to beardy mike: Luxury.

Most of our beefier Scottish and alpine routes were done using DMM drive ins and Snargs. You simply couldn't put many in without your arms going to jelly.

We used to dream of winding in screw ins and tangling up our leashes.

In reply to TobyA:

Maybe it'll be due a revival if Gore can't keep using their traditional recipe due to PFA concerns?

In reply to HammondR:

I remember the Fyffe and Peters Handbook of climbing showed me that I would be able to put my forearm through my wrist loop and hang by the crook of my elbow whilst hold my snarg or scrube to pound in. It looked so obvious in the nice line drawings in the book, attempting this on steepish ice on Ben Nevis a few years later proved the reality was slightly more tricky!  

In reply to HammondR:

Haha yeah - totally. I used those dubious Russian titanium screws for a long time until I got into continental ice what was bullet hard and found that they only would go in a few inches causing you to tie them off with a sling. So after winding the bastards in with your leashes getting tangled all the while, you then had to get off a 60cm sling over your axes with your leash on and tie a clove hitch one handed. And then poo your pants every time you looked down at your basically useless protection as you got even more pumped from overgripping.