Slings- how in the world do you keep them from tangling???

So I just did my first multi pitch trad lead this last weekend and I fought with the slings every inch of the way. I was more concerned starting out about my rack and how I would keep that in order, that was no big deal. I never once thought that slings would get to be a annoyance. Everytime I went for my long doubled slings they would be tangled up with another sling. And between pitches I would sort them out again and them they would tangle up. I carry them across my opposite shoulder as my rack and I keep the short ones on top, long ones on bottom. Any ideas as to what I am doing wrong? What do you guys do out there?

Why don't you keep all that crap on your harness instead of slung around your neck?
Seems safer and easier to manage - cams on front loops, slings on rear loops. Never had to deal with tangled slings...

I put the majority of my slings on my harness, usually the longer slings towards the back, so I know if I'm getting a double or triple length.

I also like to sling two or three over my shoulder just in case its easier to remove that than grab my my harness for some reason or another.

Practice makes it a lot easier. And practice this stuff when you aren't on lead! It helps! It helped me when I first started to trad lead...

Also there are various methods for doubling over the slings - I'll let others chime in on those methods...

I usually clip double length runners to my harness in the form of compact alpine draws (toward the back, as others stated).

When slinging runners over the shoulder, I always put them on one at a time. It greatly reduces tangling.

Occasionally I put a single sling over my shoulder and clip all the rest of my alpine draws to it (vs on my harness). Works well too.

Going with alpine draws is a real easy way to rack slings. Simply double or triple a sling between two carabiners and rack them on your harness as you would a quickdraw. I assume that's what you're using to clip your sling to the rope. With the alpine draw method, you just clip one end straight to the sling on the piece of gear, then clip the other end to your rope after you extend it to your liking. The carabiner the piece of gear was racked on will just be dangling off the sling on the gear. I usually do keep a few slings around my neck and under an arm though. Just in case.

If you want to carry double length runners over the shoulder the best way it to toss it over your shoulder and connect with a biner. You can keep them racked like this under everything else you're carrying around your shoulders (other runners, gear sling) because you can just unclip the biner and pull them out from everything.

I don't like carrying these slings over my shoulder though unless I'm seconding a pitch (easier to throw over your shoulder when you're in the middle of a climb). What I typically do is fold in half, have clipped to a biner, then take the other side and start twisting. When the twists are getting tight clip that end into the biner too and it all coils up into a nice neat package.

Thanks for the input. I like the alpine draw style sounds easier and it means I have a biner on the sling already, handy. Practice is what I am going to be doing a lot of, that is why my rack did not give me problems is that I had practiced that a lot, I just never thought that slings would pose a problem.

Thanks y'all.

I also don't like long slings over the shoulder, but for following I will do that just to keep up the pace.

Your questions leads me to a question: How many pitches have you seconded? I would normally think of this issue as something you would have seen multiple leaders handle and therefore kinda have sorted out. Reracking at the top of the pitch would have given you a chance to see how they're racking them. I'm kinda confused... Maybe I don't understand your difficulty exactly or your question maybe??

With four-foot-long slings, I double them over. Then I clip a single 'biner on it. Now hold the 'biner still and twist the sling with one finger about 12-15 times. You should now have a snug loop where the 'biner and your finger are. Clip the loop on your finger with the 'biner and you're done.

Twisted four footer

I've found that twist-racking my slings is the best way to keep them separated and out of the way. With spectra, you can normally rack 3-4 48" slings on one large locking biner and 4-5 12" slings on a nonlocking biner. (If you know you're going to use one in a cruxy section, take one off the biner and loop a single sling around the head for ease of one-handed placement.)

"One way to rack your cordelette is to fold it in half, then half again, and half once more, or until it's down to a manageable size, then twist it up, as in the steps below:

Step 1: Fold in half, again and again until it's small enough. Don't let go of the tails. Steps 2 & 3: Twist the remaining material a few times until it presents as small a profile as possible. Steps 4 & 5: Clip to a large carabiner and it's ready to go on your rack.

chockstone.org/TechTips/Cor… Instructions
edit: Ninja'd by Mark.

Why I love using alpine triples... (How does anyone safely double????...never mind. edited after Marc H posted). Using only one hand, I can pull the sling from my harness, clip into the gear/bolt, and most importantly... extend the sling... again, using one hand. This comes up often when I have to keep one arm jammed in the crack while placing pro. If you carry slings over your shoulder, you'll find attaching that sling to a desperate placement is a challenge, especially if you have to match hands to be able to lift the sling over your head and shoulder.

I agree with most here... my trend is to rack most pro on a shoulder sling (easy to pass off to your partner), nuts and slings go down on the harness. This facilitates faster belay changes. As a 2nd, you clean gear onto you're harness, as I hate rope drag, I usually deploy most of the slings. Then at the belay change, you take the depleted rack from your partner, and reorganize it for your next pitch, while your partner move's the remaining slings and nuts, as you're move the cams back onto your shoulder sling. Just my 2 cents....

Wannabe wrote:Your questions leads me to a question: How many pitches have you seconded? I would normally think of this issue as something you would have seen multiple leaders handle and therefore kinda have sorted out. Reracking at the top of the pitch would have given you a chance to see how they're racking them. I'm kinda confused... Maybe I don't understand your difficulty exactly or your question maybe??

Seconded??? Who does that? Lead all the climbs!!! No I am kidding, I had a guy that I followed for about 1 and a half years. Climbed a lot of different stuff. Everything I learned I learned from him. Now I am learning for myself that some of the things he did don't work for me, or I was not paying enough attention and so I am doing it wrong.

JonathanHillis wrote: Seconded??? Who does that? Lead all the climbs!!! No I am kidding, I had a guy that I followed for about 1 and a half years. Climbed a lot of different stuff. Everything I learned I learned from him. Now I am learning for myself that some of the things he did don't work for me, or I was not paying enough attention and so I am doing it wrong.

Fair enough. Maybe I just "get around" more or aren't as choosey about who's rope I'm riding on. I definitely saw better and worse ways to do this and am still sorting out what I prefer myself. For a minute I thought you might be a ... TROLL ;-)

Killis I actually own two of the rabbit runners. They got left in the gear bin for some reason. And yes I agree they are amazing it was not by choice that they were left behind, more forgetfulness.

I use Yates rabbit runners. Amazing and the only "cordalette" anchor point I bring with me if I'm not going to be building an anchor out of rope.

+1 Alpine draws

Alpine draw