Best Anchor Chain: Metolius PAS vs. Bluewater Titan Loop vs. Sterling Chain Reactor

I'm a sport/trad climber looking on buying an anchor chain to use while setting up a TR or getting in position to belay a follower. I've researched a little on the failure properties of spectra/dyneema and nylon but am not sure if I'd really have to worry about taking a factor 1 or 2 fall on it in the situations that I anticipate using it in. What would be the best option for my situation?

rope

2 or 3 months ago, Climbing magazine did a brief write up on the benefits and risks of some of the different tethering systems. You may want to check that out.

As for which is best...they're just sewn slings intended to hold body weight. It's hard to imagine that one of them is significantly better or worse than the others. When sport climbing, I use a Metolius PAS because that's what the store had when I decided to buy one. It works just fine.

Darren Mabe wrote:rope

What he said. I have a chain reactor, and used to use it a bunch. Now I just use the rope on multi pitch, or my trad draws (slings, which I'm carrying anyway and don't clutter up my belay loop the whole time I'm not using them) when setting a toprope or rap. The chain reactor doesn't see much use these days.

You could try supporting a small company that will never EVER have anything produced outside of the US - buy one from Misty Mountain.

PS, It's nylon.

But yea... you don't really need one.

+100 for misty. I have been using their gear for years and have had nothing but great experiences dealing with them. Handmade in USA!

I'm all for supporting Misty Mountain. What are the chances of factor 1 or 2 falls in those situations. I really just want to know if I'd ever be in danger of breaking my anchor chain. If so, what real world situations could cause this (I'm not talking "80 kg mass dropping 120 cm...")?

Darren Mabe wrote:rope

+1

I only use a personal anchor for canyoneering.

If you need one for rappelling on multi-pitch climbs, you have a ton of slings that you can make one. I take a double length dyneema (48") runner, basket hitch it though my tie in points, tie an overhand knot in the middle, and done... Personal Anchor for the rap.

John Farrell wrote: +1 I only use a personal anchor for canyoneering. If you need one for rappelling on multi-pitch climbs, you have a ton of slings that you can make one. I take a double length dyneema (48") runner, basket hitch it though my tie in points, tie an overhand knot in the middle, and done... Personal Anchor for the rap.

This is what I do.

metcalfd wrote:I'm all for supporting Misty Mountain. What are the chances of factor 1 or 2 falls in those situations. I really just want to know if I'd ever be in danger of breaking my anchor chain. If so, what real world situations could cause this (I'm not talking "80 kg mass dropping 120 cm...")?

A factor one fall is very possible in any situation in which you are at the anchor. All you have to do is stand up so that your belay loop is level with the master point or bolt that you are clipped to, and then fall. If you are slightly above the point that you are clipped to, then you are approaching a factor two fall.

The point is not to buy a piece of gear that is designed to hold a fall of this magnitude, but simply to avoid this kind of fall altogether. Shock-loading the anchor is just not an option in the minds of most climbers, which is why people are telling you to use the rope (dynamic properties). In the end, you are standing right next to a presumably bomber anchor - just hold on to that and don't fall.

Like most people, I usually just use the rope and a clove hitch on a locker to attach myself to the belay, and in situations where I'm not tied in (rapping, cleaning a single pitch route, etc) I use a shoulder sling or a few draws or whatever happens to be on my harness. The main reason I do things this way is that I hate having a sling or PAS permanently attached to my harness.

If you are buying one, get a Misty. Great company and it is nylon, which has proven to be a very durable and strong material for such applications. They are also nice as an anchor themselves, because they are easy to shorten and equalize.

Dudes, dudes. The personal anchor is mainly for tying into a rappel anchor while you set up the rope. Obviously you can't use the rope for this. Sure, you don't need it and can use a few draws, but it's still useful.

Thanks for all of the feedback. I just wanted something that I could use to quickly clip into an anchor at the top of a pitch while I set up the rope for whatever. I do use the clove hitch method and would plan to still use it in addition to the anchor chain. Nylon definitely sounds like the best option for safety so I'm thinking the Chain Reactor or the Misty Anchor Chain.

This also helped me make my decision. It gave me an unsettling feeling about dyneema:

dmmclimbing.com/knowledge/h…

Rope...Or if you prefer, a Purcell Prusik which is normally what I will use when setting up a toprope anchor for others after leading something. It allows me to quickly move around and adjust my anchor with a quick slide of the knot. Its even faster then adjusting a Clove. And in this specific instance it allows you to untie from the rope and use it how you see fit. Its def one of my fav's. I havent used anything else since I found it. I'll use the rope if Im swapping leads, however rarely do I find that my partners are willing to. So this is probably what I use most to give myself flexibility at the anchor, and I can easily continue leading after my second anchors in. Remove it and up I go.

Here is a nice video someone made at Climbing that shows its construction, its use, and its benefits over other premade tethers.

climbing.com/print/techtips…

and heres some past discussion on it.

rockclimbing.com/cgi-bin/fo…

Stich wrote:Dudes, dudes. The personal anchor is mainly for tying into a rappel anchor while you set up the rope. Obviously you can't use the rope for this. Sure, you don't need it and can use a few draws, but it's still useful.

touche. shoulder length sling girth hitched to harness?

to be fair, i use daisies for aid applications, and have lately been psyched with the yates adjustable daisy.

cms829 wrote:Rope...Or if you prefer, a Purcell Prusik which is normally what I will use when setting up a toprope anchor for others after leading something. It allows me to quickly move around and adjust my anchor with a quick slide of the knot. Its even faster then adjusting a Clove. And in this specific instance it allows you to untie from the rope and use it how you see fit. Its def one of my fav's. I havent used anything else since I found it. I'll use the rope if Im swapping leads, however rarely do I find that my partners are willing to. So this is probably what I use most to give myself flexibility at the anchor, and I can easily continue leading after my second anchors in. Remove it and up I go. Here is a nice video someone made at Climbing that shows its construction, its use, and its benefits over other premade tethers. climbing.com/print/techtips… and heres some past discussion on it. rockclimbing.com/cgi-bin/fo…

Seconded. I rarely use a dedicated tether anymore, but when I do, I like the purcell prusik. Fairly dynamic, you can make it yourself for practically nothing, and it's adjustable.

Another vote for Misty being a great company if you do decide to buy a PAS-style tether. You can't go wrong with them or Metolius.

i use a PAS that i got a while ago and i find it useful for setting raps, etc ...

but when i tell new people to buy their gear, i just tell em to buy a double length nylon sling and use that ... much cheaper ...

one useful thing to teach yr second is to clip the pas/sling to the nut tool when cleaning, so as to not drop it, or clip it to a particular piece yr cleaning (and resting on the rope already) so as to not drop it when yr whacking it, or attach it to the haul loop of your pack so you can drop the pack in a chimney mid climb if need be ...

i always keep a sling hitched on my harness personally ...

Frankly, I think all the doomsday fear of factor 2ing your anchor chain and blowing it apart is over the top. Can you mess up and do bad things? Sure but that's true of a LOT of climbing equipment. Knowing your equipments limitations and making sure you AVOID situations where you'll be at risk and, if unavoidable, taking extra caution that you don't mess up is part and parcel with being a climber.

I've found use of a PAS-like device useful in numerous situations. Do I take it along on multi-pitch stuff where I'll have a rope, plenty of slings etc etc? No. But for stuff like 1/2 rope cragging where I might be cleaning an anchor 10x a day it's SUPER handy.

I've used both Nylon (Sterling Chain Reactor) and a PAS Dyneema Blend (Metolius is 36% Dyneema/64% nylon).

Other than the "able to hold a high fall factor" issue, which again, you shouldn't be doing ANYWAY, it's 6 of one and 1/2 dozen of the other.

I need to replace one soon and will probably get the new 22kN PAS - I like that it's rated the same as all my other slings.

I think the fact that BEARBREADER, with whom I have many friendly jousts over his belief that you DON'T need fancy gear, uses one says something right there!

I use a PAS, because the others have stupid acronyms.

Agree with the above, at belays use your rope--far safer than ever using dynemma/spectra, more adjustable, too.

as for the purcell--my problem is that one of the loops (either to your anchor or to you) is a single-strand of cord. dunno, thoughts on this--that seems like a slightly weak spot to trust your whole enchilada to...

many AMGA courses/guides use a double-length NYLON runner...tie a square knot in the middle, put your anchor biner at the far end, your rappel device at the middle clipped thru the loop above AND below the square knot, then girth-hitch to yourself at the near loop.

use it as a long tether at an anchor, then set up rappel on your device and when you unclip to start your descent, clip your anchor biner back into your belay loop--now you've got an extended rappel device (so it can't touch your third-hand backup and release itself) and you have redundant loops of nylon attaching you to your rappel device.

thoughts on this system? it doesn't adjust like a purcell, but it's way stronger than a single loop of perlon/cord....

coppolillo wrote:Agree with the above, at belays use your rope--far safer than ever using dynemma/spectra, more adjustable, too. as for the purcell--my problem is that one of the loops (either to your anchor or to you) is a single-strand of cord. dunno, thoughts on this--that seems like a slightly weak spot to trust your whole enchilada to... many AMGA courses/guides use a double-length NYLON runner...tie a square knot in the middle, put your anchor biner at the far end, your rappel device at the middle clipped thru the loop above AND below the square knot, then girth-hitch to yourself at the near loop. use it as a long tether at an anchor, then set up rappel on your device and when you unclip to start your descent, clip your anchor biner back into your belay loop--now you've got an extended rappel device (so it can't touch your third-hand backup and release itself) and you have redundant loops of nylon attaching you to your rappel device. thoughts on this system? it doesn't adjust like a purcell, but it's way stronger than a single loop of perlon/cord....

7mm Mammut pro cord, just as one example, has a single-strand breaking strength of 12.5 kn. The usual tensile strength of nylon webbing is 22 kn if I remember correctly. With a purcell prusik you have a single loop girth-hitched through your tie in points, and two loops that form you attachment to the anchor. It's plenty bomber.