BlueWater Omni Sling

[deacl]

Hi,
I'm a brand new member.

I saw an article saying that the Bluewater Omni Sling can be used to tie into a bolt to make a rappel anchor that can be retreived leaving nothing behind.

Is there a description, hopefully with photos, about how to set this up?

thanks much,
-deac

[stevebrezovec]

deac,
I noticed you are in California. Would you happen to be in the Bay Area? If so, I'm in Berkeley and would be happy to show you how this works in person, much better that way, lots of subtleties that aren't to be trifled with.
I can probably send some photos soon showing this in action.
Can I post photos here, Rich?
S

[skianddive]

Steve,

You can attach small pictures with your posts - just click on the "Manage Attachments" button that appears below the window where you type your text.

You will then be given the opportunity to browse the files on your system and select the ones you want to upload.

The limit for each .jpg files is 39.1KBkb

[deacl]

deac,
I noticed you are in California. Would you happen to be in the Bay Area? If so, I'm in Berkeley and would be happy to show you how this works in person, much better that way, lots of subtleties that aren't to be trifled with.
I can probably send some photos soon showing this in action.
Can I post photos here, Rich?
S


Steve,

Yes, I'm in Sunnyvale and can easily find my way to Berkeley. ;-) That would be great. I haven't yet bought a BlueWater, but I have a daisy chain that might suffice for demo purpose.

My email is deacl@hotmail.com to arrange a time and place of your convenience.

thanks mucho,
deac

[David Black]

Stevie,

A few months ago I figured out a new and much improved retrieveable with the omni. Rich and Ram have seen it. Would be happy to e-mail you some pics if you want.

[deacl]

Stevie,

A few months ago I figured out a new and much improved retrieveable with the omni. Rich and Ram have seen it. Would be happy to e-mail you some pics if you want.


Yes, I'd much appreciate it. I"m at deacl@hotmail.com

thanks,
-deac

[stevebrezovec]

Dave,
Would I!? Of course, can't wait; send to stevebrezovec@gmail.com. RAM's mentioned it but you can imagine him trying to show me...idiot savant.

Deac,
You can contact me that way as well. I am usually available Tues & Thurs night if you want to come up for some pizza and some canyoneering stuff; there are some other fellas in the area as well who mean to come by here as well. Perhaps we can make a Saturday of it some time soon.

Watch also for announcements of the upcoming canyoneering slideshows in the Bay Area in June & July, the Nor Cal ACA courses in July, and a free canyoneering festival in August.

Stevee

[rcwild]

Deac,

The Macrame and Omni Sling anchor systems work best around trees and round boulders. Not so well through bolts.


Dave,

I haven't posted your new Omni Sling variation photos yet because I was concerned that a beginner may not be able to figure it out correctly. Stevee won't have a problem. Better to take some clear step-by-step photos before distributing broadband.

[David Black]

I received several responses on this. FYI I'll send the step by step instructions to Rich this weekend and have him tweak them so they're clear. I'll leave it up to him to post it when he's comfortable with it. The new system is easy but it requires a specific range of rope diameter. Screw ups would be fatal.

[BoulderJason]

Hey There,

Just wondering if the step-by-step photos for the 'new' onmi sling anchor rig got posted. It's been a while since I used it, and can't quite remember the particulars. Thanks folks,

Jason

[David Black]

It's nothing like the old omni-sling anchor. Some time ago I left a few folks with the information to post, but I don't know if it was actually posted anywhere. My reluctance to post it myself has been due to safety concerns. The new system works great with rope diameters over 9mm. I wasn't so sure about 9mm itself (Bluewater Canyoneering rope, etc). I felt like I had to make damn sure it worked safely before I passed it around.

I've demonstrated the system to a couple of dozen folks over the past year. A few months ago I showed it and several variations to RSI..so by now I'm sure the folks at Bluewater have seen it and I haven't heard any screams from them yet.

Last week I finally faced the 9mm issue by rigging all my rappels with the new system. The big question was re the likelihood of the toggle loops blowing through. I overloaded both wet and dry rigs and didn't have a single failure, which should be obvious because I'm still alive to write this. But the two Colorado rookies who watched me set it up on an 80-footer will probably need therapy.

This system makes macrame-style systems and The Slick! obsolete, and is a real positive step toward keeping webbing trash out of the canyons. I won't post the steps here, but if you have Yahoo and check my photos (shiadilaah@yahoo.com) on Thursday, I'll have a picture of the system posted. The steps will be obvious from the picture.