UKC

Hey everyone. So, I mainly boulder and do easy ish (well within my limit) trad plus a bit of mountaineering. I’ve hardly ever done sport climbing. My partner is wanting to start sport climbing this summer. 
At the local wall I saw someone using a petzl adjust lanyard when they were setting routes and wondered what it was. Upon further research and utube vids it seems that they are common place in sport climbing, used to clean the anchor. When I last sport climbed I just took an extra quickdraw for this. The adjust seems like a better option and is versatile enough for use in other situations where I’d of previously just use a sling. 
What are people’s opinion of these lanyards and are they worth it or just another gimmick that I don’t really need?

Thanks. 

They're a useful tool, but as you say, you can achieve the same thing with a sling or long quickdraw. 

They do have some other good uses so might be worthwhile if you plan on taking your climbing elsewhere, otherwise I would probably save my money. 

Pro tip - don't climb all the time with it attached to your harness. They get in the way and are generally annoying. You can easily thread your lanyard before the last go on a route before cleaning, use it and then remove it. 

Necessary - No

Useful - Yes

It depends on what you are doing. I like mine, though it doesn't get loads of use. It really comes into its own during multi pitch sport. They are getting popular for ski mountaineering too. There are plenty of scenarios where they are not required but are nicer than the option made from whatever is on your harness. The decision is, "is a dedicated piece of gear worth it or am I better using what is on my harness?"

I use one - it's good, but extending it when you're pumped to buggery and barely holding on to the chains at the top of your red point is annoyingly hard to do (moral of the story, extend before you leave the ground).

Useful when working a route.

It is a bit of a luxury item - not necessary, but nice to have. It's not a gimmick but I wouldn't walk back to my car to get it unless the car was very close.

I also have a Kong Slide (cheap DIY version) but I reach for the Adjust when packing simply because it's more convenient (basically because it is easier to tie a lark's foot than a fig8).  If the cost puts you off and you've got a bit of old rope then the Slide is a good compromise.

I’ve got 3 versions.

Kong Slyde: cheap but not v nice to use. Does a job.

Petzl Connect: nicely made, works well, bit stiff to extend.

Rock Empire Pip: the adjuster bit doesn’t look quite as gucci but it’s much smoother and easier to adjust. 

I’ve done more full reviews on YT but the above is a quick summary!

I think they’re great in certain uses but I certainly don’t always have one on.

Thanks everyone, so maybe not as essential as first thought. But I am a bit of a geek for gear though and love a new toy every now and again. I will probably get one and see how much I end up using it. Cheers. 

Don't forget to check out the dual connect adjust. It provides an additional fixed tether for extending your abseil device. If you do a lot of abseiling when climbing/mountaineering it might be useful. I quite like it.

https://m.petzl.com/INT/en/Sport/Lanyards/DUAL-CONNECT-ADJUST

For me most routes I'm leaving 2 draws at the top of the route either because I'm going to work it or my partner is going work/attempt it on my quickdraws as it's bad practice to top rope through the anchors directly so I don't need a lanyard as i just put thequickdraws in then lower. If someone else has put the draws in or I am stripping the route straight away I'd rather carry one extra draw to attach myself to the anchor for re threading than a lanyard that is bulkier and more likely to get in the way when climbing. I might hang a bit awkwardly for a minute or two whilst doing this but personally I think it is a better trade off. The most important thing is you know the advantages and disadvantages for each way. For multi pitch routes I can see them being more of an advantage.

I've only had a Petzl Adjust since last summer, but for many many years previously had Beal Dynaclip (same idea but no adjustor bit on it) and maybe a year and a bit ago, got the Simond/Decathlon knock off of the Dynaclip https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/climbing-single-lanyard-75-cm/_/R-p-114525 . Obviously the adjustability of the Adjust is very nice, but it is heavier, bulkier and a lot more expensive than the Simond and Beal versions. 

I remember noticing that loads of climbers in France had some sort of cows tail arrangement on their harnesses when I first went sport climbing there back in the 90s. When I've climbed on the continent in more recent years it still seems pretty normal. Not for people working hard routes, but for folk like me ticking their way through 5s and 6s, hopefully onsight, so threading anchors and the like regularly. Obviously they're the sport climbing equivalent of hexes and mark you out as sensible but a bit of a punter.

But I was out the other night for a quick climb at a sport crag and had forgotten to bring either of my leashes, so had to fashion one out of the 60 cm sling that my sport quickdraws and other sport bits and bobs are normally racked on. I was the last person on a route so needed to strip the back up slings on the top anchor, being in direct with a screwgate is nice than with a single quickdraw and a lot less faff than back to back quickdraws.

Why are you holding the chains? 

Yep I got the double before a trip to Orco and the Grand Paradiso. Perfect for multipitch abseils, but using it for single pitch sport both there and back in the UK, the second leash is actually a bit annoying as most of the time I just don't need it. Hardly the end of the world, but unless you are doing lots of route cleaning, bolting, photography from a fixed line or anything like that, I think in the UK the single Adjust is probably the better one.

There's a new Petzl adjust coming out that has cord spliced in and the connection end so you larks foot the cord instead of the rope which reduces the bulk and presumably weight. The adjuster has been modified too to make it less stiff to adjust. I doubt either change will make it less expensive though.......

I actually think this one is a bit more of a gimmick. It's even more bulky, heavier, more faffy and the only advantage, having a short fixed tether for you belay device, is a problem easily solved by clove hitching in your belay device to your simple standard connect adjust.

I used to do this all the time, cows-tailing a short static sling in the belay loop and wrapping it around your body to clip at the back of the harness. Whether it makes you look like a punter or not I don't know, but I've stopped using it because chaining a couple of quickdraws is faster, easier, and acceptably safe. Certainly here in Spain that's what everybody does these days.

Regarding the lanyards, I've never really seen the point. For multipitch routes a sling is less bulky and more versatile, and for sport climbing you can use 'draws, as mentioned. So the lanyards just seem like extra bulk and faff - the ability to adjust the length doesn't really outweigh those negatives. Unless I'm missing another benefit?

Google Purcell Prusik and make your own out of Sterling cord. They do have some limitations: only adjust down to half the length and can be awkward to shorten with one hand. But you can use them for rappelling and general rescue / unloading a belay device in guide mode. 

Because I'm weak and lack moral fibre...

I agree, I've been tying an alpine butterfly on a fully-extended connect for multiple abseils, works pretty well.  Can't imagine having 2 lanyards dangling around the joint and getting in the way.

I got a Petzl adjust after 30 years of sport climbing without one.

I really like it, and it's permanently on my harness when I'm on a sports climbing trip.  Unlike others, I don't feel that its obstructive or heavy compared to carrying a rack of draws.

If anything I'd say it's more useful for newbies than for more experienced climbers.

- Having a screwgate fastened into the anchor feels much more secure than an extra quick draw

- The lanyard gives you more flexibility about your position for threading, sometimes a real advantage if the anchor is awkwardly placed

- I also suspect that there's less potential for newbies making fatal mistakes when threading such as accidentally knocking the weight-bearing quickdraw open.

Agree with everyone about how awkward the original one is to extend - for me it's become second nature to extend it fully before setting off.

It's really not that bad, but I don't leave mine on my harness if I don't need it. Probably we all have things in climbing that we find ridiculously annoying that lots of other people aren't that bothered by. For me, DMM Belay Master krabs - Arggghhhh!!!! Hate them. Other might just be "meh - occasionally annoying, but useful in some circumstances". So I fully accept that a second lanyard might drive you to violence. But if you're chilled person you might find the Double Adjust helpful in certain circumstances!

I’ve got the Dual Connect on my ‘work’ harness because we do a lot of moving on fixed lines, abseiling etc. on the short arm then clipping into the belay/structure with the long arm, it works well. I’m not qualified to work on helicopters yet but they do the same - winch on the short arm, clip in with the long arm. It’s really nice, but as others have said it’s a bit bulky and expensive if you’re not hardcore using it. 

For multipitching on my ‘play’ harness I’ve got the basic Connect. You can clovehitch your abseil device in to create an extension like you’d do with a sling and still have a little bit of adjustability. 

On the weekend I did some single pitch sport routes where the final ring was on the top of the blocks so you could just stand there to clean the routes and I didn’t bother with the Connect.

I’ve seen people using them for resting on hard via feratta as well.

One thing I don’t like is trying to extend them with any sort of load. 

They definitely have their place, they’re good bits of kit but not essential.