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.

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 ↓
	2871	Camnal	Adjustable 10 mm. lanyard /w aluminum block	motorpartsvalue, 2021	135	63	20	35	43
	2775	C.A.M.P. Swing	Forged Al, slot /w cross bar, round eye	Eastern Mountain Sports, 2020	149	88	23	31	62
	708	Eiselin Sport	Forged Al, unfinished, 5-12 mm. rope holes, oval eye. Weight listed is for the plate only.	Eiselin Sport, 1997	59	81	48	10	39
	698 2670	Kong Doble Longe (Slyde)	Milled Al plate, soft anodized, rope hole & slot, eye. Weight listed is for the plate only.	Inner Mountain Outfitters Bob Thrun Collection, 2017	38	63	49	10	31
	2827	Krok R2D2 (Р2Д2)	Al plates, steel spacers	Krok, 2021	87	70	48	26	87
	1697	Krok Shock Absorber	Milled plate, painted, 2 slot	gear4rocks, 2010	49	68	40	10	27
	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
	785	Mammut Klettersteigset	Forged Al, Anodized, 5 12 mm. rope holes, L-shaped eye	Inner Mountain Outfitters, 2003	437	90	49	9	40
	2697	Petzl Progress adjust	Adjustable lanyard /w aluminum block	Inner Mountain Outfitters, 2017	181	70	21	40	57
	703	Petzl Zyper	Forged Al, unfinished, rope hole, V slot. Weight listed includes rope but excludes the carabiners.	Inner Mountain Outfitters, 1997	294	109	40	14	61
	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

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