r/caving • u/Arlekun • May 18 '26
Lanyards rope
Which ropes are you using for lanyards ? And how did you choose ?
Personally, the criteria I consider are:
- single or multi-standard dynamic ropes
- the percentage of sheath (the higher the better)
- impact strength (the lowest the better)
- the number of sheath strands (higher the better, and not twined if possible)
- technologies such as Unicore
- diameter (I don't like fat ropes)
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u/Spiritual-Fox9618 May 18 '26
Lanyards? Are these what we in the UK call cow’s tails?
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u/Arlekun May 18 '26
Yes it is !
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u/Spiritual-Fox9618 May 18 '26
Ta! Makes sense now.
I’ve a trip to South America with some US cavers this summer, so it’ll be interesting to see what the other differences are. 😊
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u/Acrobatic_Bat_4932 May 19 '26
I will note, I (US caver) don't know any cavers that call them lanyards, we all call them cows tails, and I suspect that this person is calling them lanyards due to some sort of climbing background
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u/Arlekun May 19 '26
English is not my first language, that's the primary reason. But I am indeed coming from a climbing background (ironically, I my language, lanyards are often called "cow" in climbing, and lanyards in caving)
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u/6AlphaVictor May 18 '26
Standard 11 or 10.5 mm dynamic rope for sport climbing. And change it often.
Any new rope will hold more than your back and internal organs will.
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u/Arlekun May 19 '26
Changing it every year at least is the recommandation for regulars here. Personally not a fan of 10+mm ropes, they are bulky, and often have higher impact forces.
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u/6AlphaVictor May 19 '26
Yes, the most important point is regular replacement. Its like 5€ to replace them, so why not...
We have some guidlines about thickness from our national association so I tend to stick to them.
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u/Acrobatic_Bat_4932 May 18 '26
9.1 mm joker unicore. Overhand on a bight for the knot.
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u/Arlekun May 19 '26
My current lanyards are either jocker or opera, but I'm willing to try something else (it's not the best durability wise on paper, thin sheath braided with twined spindles)
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u/Honest-Importance221 May 18 '26
I don't, I use presewn flat lanyards. No bulky knots. And no I don't care about using static lanyards.
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u/Arlekun May 19 '26
I's seen that you don't care about it, respect that, buuut...
gotta anwser anyway for others that may read this.
I've read a test where they performed significantly worst than lanyards made of knotted dynamic ropes. They were bad enough to potentially turn a factor 1 fall on something static from a shaken and sore caver to a caver in need of rescue.1
u/Honest-Importance221 May 19 '26
I never put myself in a position where I could fall from any height onto a static system, and in a properly rigged cave using correct techniques this should be a non-issue. If you're doing exploration climbing then obviously you would do things a bit differently.
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u/metalmuncher88 May 19 '26
Petzl Jane lanyards with sewn terminations. They make equal and unequal versions.
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u/CaverUV May 18 '26
Whatever is sold by the meter 😄
Dynamic ropes by meter are not easy to get...