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Adjustable and Dynamic Cow’s Tails

Adjustable cow’s tails allow one to change the length of the cow’s tail easily.

The problem with a standard cow’s tail is that if one falls from above the anchor, the resulting fall factor can be quite high. This is especially true for via ferrata, where fall factors of 5 or 10 or even more are possible. Dynamic cow’s tails incorporate a shock absorber of some form so that the forces generated in such falls are greatly reduced, hopefully to within human tolerance. The ones listed here are commercially produced, and except for the gear4rocks and Kong Slyde, include their own sling rope. These should only be used in the situations recommended by the manufacturer. Most of the anchor brakes can also be used to make dynamic cow’s tails, if the manufacturer endorses such use.

Gallery

The weights in the following table are for the entire kit, unless otherwise noted. The dimensions are for the brake plate.

Image ID Device Description Acquired Weight Height Width Thickness Std. volume
Camnal 2871 Camnal Adjustable 10 mm. lanyard /w aluminum block motorpartsvalue, 2021 135 63 20 35 43
Camp Swing 2775 Camp Swing Forged Al, slot /w cross bar, round eye Eastern Mountain Sports, 2020 149 88 23 31 62
Eiselin Sport 708 Eiselin Sport Forged Al, unfinished, 5-12 mm. rope holes, oval eye Eiselin Sport, 1997 59
(plate only)
81 48 10 39
Kong Doble Longe (Slyde) 698
2670
Kong Doble Longe (Slyde) Milled Al plate, soft anodized, rope hole & slot, eye.
  • Inner Mountain Outfitters
  • Bob Thrun Collection, 2017
38
(plate only)
63 49 10 31
Krok R2D2 2827 Krok R2D2
(Р2Д2)
Al plates, steel spacers Krok, 2021 87 70 48 26 87
Krok Shock Absorber 1697 Krok Shock Absorber Milled plate, painted, 2 slot gear4rocks, 2010 49 68 40 10 27
Orion-Alp Positioning Clamp 2886 Orion-Alp Positioning Clamp (Орион-Альп Зажим для позиционирования) 2 steel plates /w 5 steel spacers Artyom Babin (Артём Бабин), 2021 164 72 56 26 104
Mammut Klettersteigset 785 Mammut Klettersteigset Forged Al, Anodized, 5 12 mm. rope holes, L-shaped eye Inner Mountain Outfitters, 2003 437 90 49 9 40
Petzl Progress adjust 2697 Petzl Progress adjust Adjustable lanyard /w aluminum block Inner Mountain Outfitters, 2017 181 70 21 40 57
Petzl Zyper 703 Petzl Zyper Forged Al, unfinished, rope hole, V slot Inner Mountain Outfitters, 1997 294
(without
carabiners)
109 40 14 61
Simond Aerofrein 786 Simond Aerofrein Milled Al, soft anodized, 4 10 mm. & 2 16 mm. rope holes, 15 mm. eye Inner Mountain Outfitters, 2003 576 87 46 8 32