[TowerTalk] Fall Harness-My Choice

[Roger (K8RI)]

On 8/18/2010 4:18 PM, Dick Green WC1M wrote:
> <snip>
My opinion:
> clipping/unclipping take a lot out of me.
At my age, more than once they've prevented me from making a full climb 
as my forearms were cramping.
>   I've also got the beginnings of
> osteo arthritis, and sometimes my hands get very stiff after several hours
> of working on the tower. They also tend to swell and cramp. The added strain
> of clipping and unclipping makes this much worse, reducing my ability to
> grip the tower when decending. It's a real safety consideration. As best I
> can, I minimize time on the tower to compensate.
>
> Further, as Dave points out, fall-arrest lanyards can let you fall as much
> as 6 feet before you stop. While you won't be stopped with a dangerous yank,
It's still pretty abrupt.
> like you would with a standard lanyard, it's still going to hurt. Also, much
> has been written here about the dangers of being suspended in a fall-arrest
> lanyard after a debilitating fall. That said, I make it a practice to attach
> my fall-arrest lanyards as high above my head as I can reach in order to
> minimize any drop. Of course, this may not be feasible when moving around
> the tower,
I hook each on different faces of the tower.
> but that problem isn't solved by the cable system either, and
> short lanyards are worse.
With the "squeeze lock" using the thumb to release the lock it's much 
faster and far less fatiguing for old hands.
> At first I rejected the idea of Dave's short, non-arrest lanyards. I'm not
> convinced that a fall of even a couple of feet without a shock absorber
> would not result in injury.
It depends on the individual and each is a group of tradeoffs.
With the short fall you are less likely to be injured on/from  the 
tower. Conversely the long fall arrest lanyards are more likely to cause 
injury from the tower itself.  Either way you are playing the odds. 
However how your body handles the stop depends on your physical shape 
and how well the "full body harness" fits. Overweight is not conclusive 
to surviving drops uninjured.   I've stopped far quicker than what a 3 
foot fall would present and I was not hurt. OTOH it was not something 
I'd do for fun.  As a note, I've never fallen while working on a 
tower...yet.   My towers don't have pegs, but you can still chin your 
self on the cross braces, or pick your nose on the leg bolts.  Both are 
hard on body parts and messy.

<snip>

My preference would be the short lanyards with fall arrest, but I must 
emphasize that it a personal preference.

73

Roger (K8RI)