Grant Prattley

Founder and consultant at Over The Edge Rescue. Rescuer, instructor, guide, author, designer, and adventurer.

Is 16mm webbing strong enough for rescue?

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Is 16mm webbing strong enough for rescue? webbing anchor header

The post tackles a practical question for backcountry rescue teams: is 16mm tubular webbing strong enough for anchor rigging, given the appeal of reducing weight in a rescue kit? To find out, the team ran a series of pull tests comparing different wrap-and-pull configurations — Wrap 1 Pull 1, Wrap 2 Pull 2, Wrap 2 Pull 1, and Wrap 3 Pull 2 — across several real-world surfaces: pins, carabiners, smooth rock, sharp rock, and edge-protected sharp rock. A baseline was first established using 25mm webbing before switching to the thinner 16mm webbing to see how it held up.

Does a smaller radius have more friction?

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Does a smaller radius have more friction?

The post tackles a common assumption in rope work: that a smaller-radius device — a carabiner, mallion rapide, or belay device — produces more friction on a rope than a larger one, since the rope is thought to have more internal resistance as the radius decreases. To find out if this holds up, the team ran friction tests comparing stainless steel mallion rapides at 12mm, 10mm, 8mm, and 7mm, all using the same 8mm static rope. The results are checked against the Capstan Equation, which doesn’t include radius as a factor in the first place.

Which Has More Friction, One Carabiner or Two?

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Which Has More Friction, One Carabiner or Two? Which has more friction One Carabiner or Two

With rope diameters trending smaller, there’s a common claim that two carabiners create more friction than one for a Munter hitch or a belay device like the Reverso. This post tests that claim across three stages: measuring the coefficient of friction directly, running slow-pull tests on different devices, and finally trying it out on a practical 10m abseil, using both round and frame-style carabiners.

Semi-Auto Reset: A Faster Way to Reset Your Pulley System

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Semi-Auto Reset: A Faster Way to Reset Your Pulley System 6on1 VT Prusik reset

Semi-Auto Reset Resetting a pulley system in rope rescue can eat up time and limit your throw length. This post covers the Semi-Auto Reset — attaching a cord to the travelling pulley’s rope grab so an edge person can reset the system multiple times faster than walking it out. It covers cord sizing, compatible devices […]

Pulley Systems 101: Setup, Types, MA, and Progression

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Pulley Systems 101: Setup, Types, MA, and Progression Pulley Systems 101

Learn pulley system basics A pulley system lets you haul a rescue load up vertical or sloping terrain, from a single pulley at the anchor to multi-pulley setups for heavier loads and smaller teams. This post covers pulley system setup, the three system types (simple, compound, complex), mechanical advantage, and progression. Pulley system setup Pulley […]

2:1 Load Release Hitch: does it work?

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2:1 Load Release Hitch: does it work? 2:1 Load Release Hitch MMO Test 8mm cord

What’s in this post? We undertook testing to confirm the 2:1 Load Release Hitch rescue setup and see if it was suitable for both single and two-person loads as far as maximum force (tied off with a Munter Mule Overhand) and had enough friction for lowering during load transfer. The Load Release Hitch problem A […]

Setting up your Prusiks for Lightweight Rescue

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Setting up your Prusiks for Lightweight Rescue Measuring the Prusik bight

What’s in this post? We review how to set up 8mm Prusik loops for 10mm rescue rope.  Context Prusik Loops are tied with 3-wraps (3-on-3) onto the rescue rope to form a progress capture or rope grab in a pulley system for rope rescue. Pulley system setup Prusik Cord The Prusik cord we choose to […]

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