UKC

Hi!

Maybe this is a bit or a random question, but whats peoples thoughts on a triple bowline harness?! Obviously not to climb with regularly, but more as a "just in case" back up in an emergency situation should you ever find yourself in that kind of a position!

As I say random, but just interested in what peoples opinions are, if at all any!

Thanks!

In reply to Irishpotatos: I tried it once to protect a short easy scrambling step with some ice (i.e. just to catch a slip rather than a fall). It was time consuming to tie and adjust, not comfortable to wear and took up half of my short rope. Suffice to say I now carry alpine harnesses for scrambling if I suspect we may want to rope up.

In reply to Irishpotatos: It's unecessarily complex and uses up a lot of rope. For the odd scrambling situation I would just tie a bowline round the waist and for descending a classic abseil or the better variantion. I think it's called a New Zealand or something because that is where it originated.

In reply to Irishpotatos:
Wouldn't using a sling and krab be easier?

In reply to Irishpotatos:

Cheers for your views guys!

In reply to GridNorth:

Hi mate,

When you say its unnecessarily complex & uses a lot of rope, can you elaborate? Have you had issues or bad experiences using one?!

The Harness itself is relatively simple to construct and the amount of rope used is roughly twice the length of your body (give or take a little). Its definitely not a comfortable harness to wear!
I was shown how to make it years ago and always have a spare length of rope in my rucksack as a back up to enable me to make one! I suppose its just an old habit of mine!

Cheers for the reply though! Much appreciated!

In reply to Irishpotatos:

Never used the triple bowline for this, but after a quick google it looks fine as an improvised harness. I may well have a play and see if I like it more than my usual method!

The Thompson knot is the one I'd choose if I knew I'd have someone's full weight on the rope (ie a bowline around the waist would not be suitable), although it does take a while to tie and quite a lot of rope.

All very dependent on situation of course.

http://wildernessmedicine.wikispaces.com/knots (Thompson knot on this page somewhere).

In reply to Irishpotatos:
I'd agree with most of what's been said. It's a bit of a party-piece really. It's only possible use is for emergency lowering if there's nothing else available. By adjusting it appropriately you can have the suspension point at chest height so the "victim" is in a relatively stable position.

In reply to jayjackson:


Cheers mate, very informative! I'll have a play about with the Thompson knot as I'm not familiar with making it!

In reply to Andy Long:

Cheers for the reply andy!

In reply to Irishpotatos:

You can make a harness by simply taking 2 big loops and typing an overhand in the middle. Takes a bit of practice to get the loops the right size, but you end up with 4 smaller loops, one for each limb, with the overhand in the middle. I've lowered people with one.

In reply to jonny2vests:

Cheers, I'll give that a go as well!

Thanks for the reply!

In reply to Irishpotatos:

Surely a triple bowline harness means you're probably going to die 3 times over!

In reply to Irishpotatos: I'm with fire munki. Sling and krab for sit harness plus same for Parisian Baudrier (chest harness sort of thing) . We used it in the alps when a mate had left his harness at the campsite.