'It won't hurt you,' they say

Other episodes referenced:

00:00 It slips they say
00:39 What is a prusik
02:01 What is a purcell prusik and how to tie it
05:27 Uses for Purcell Prusik
07:59 Pros and cons
09:12 Slow pulls
10:43 When do you break
11:51 Drop Tests
14:09 Rabbit trails
17:54 Graphs and Charts

[J.Cannon]

This beginner who's trying not to die appreciates knowing that prusiks should be 3mm narrower than the host rope. Thank you!

[hoggif]

This is interesting to get more into different type of personal anchors. Looking forward to seeing Petzl adjust and hopefully Kong slyde as well. I guess that would cover almost all common personal anchors.

[trollmcclure]

I've tried the two finger method and it really makes the hole bigger. Excellent

[JCO]

Glad I'm a caver, not a climber. We don't have to worry about shock-loading. All of our lines are static, most of them 11mm pit rope. Avoid sharp edges and you're fine. In fact, we have a couple of 13mm static ropes that will cut a groove in the limestone rather than get damaged themselves. We use those for fast and dirty recon of new sites. The only drawback is they're very heavy.

[kevinorr]

I appreciated this simply because of the knit tying tutorial. Then, additionally the shock absorption was quite interesting. I’m not a fall-geek, and still enjoyed your efforts.

[chrissonnenschein]

Been using things like this purcell prussik for roof and chimey jobs for years. Never taught, but seemed good use of knot skills learned in my youth helping arborists. So glad to see testing on something I do. But yes, It is not my sole safety for steep pitch or other serious consideration where I may think a deadly whipper would be on the agenda before the next break.

[stereothrilla]

I use this as an adjustable manual handbrake on a temporary rope zip line on my property. It trails behind the zip line pulley with no weight on it. You lightly wrap your hand around it (with gloves on of course) and as you’re approaching the end of the line you take your hand off. As the prusik is trailing the pulley and all of your forward momentum and weight are on the pulley which is clipped into your harness as the prusik starts to engage it starts to shift your weight from the pulley to having your weight on the prusik giving you a soft catch. Work’s beautifully! As the pulley then naturally travels back to you as it has less resistance, it shifts your weight back onto the pulley at which point you can easily reach up and tend the prusik with your hand again. The system also does a wonderful job at not turning you into a human pendulum. I know this is not ideal zip line setup but for a line that gets moved around the property and setup with dramatically varying levels of speed and height the system works extremely well. Way better than trying to rig and re rig tire, compression spring or bungee breaking systems all the time.

[BudgetAdventure]

as a user of the Purcell Prusik, this is a super useful video! I use a 3 /2 wrap instead of just having 3 wraps on each side.

[novadea]

Very interesting, goes to show that no matter what kind of PAS you're using DO NOT FALL ON IT, at best you'll be hurting.

[andyman]

The consistency of inconsistent materials is super comforting, and these videos are great for understanding climbing systems.
Thank you

[mountainmandoug]

This is an outstanding video. So informative, covering the topic so well. I will recommend it to many people.

[boondocksaintsfan]

Not sure if this is going to make sense, but there are two concepts I was given for the Purcell Prusik.

1st: You can tie it with the knot inside the prusik loop to maximize how short you can make the loop, but limits the extension a little. The std design with the knot outside of it limits how short you can make it.

2nd: This concept came from an OG SAR climber I know...you can make double Purcell Prusik by using a much longer cord (30'?), and tying a second Prusik on the tail end (where you usually connect to your harness) after completing the construction of the std Purcell. You then pass the first/completed Purcell Prusik through that second one and you can girth hitch the middle to your hard points. This gives you two adjustable tethers (and a mountain of cord).

[mitchell]

Love the Purcell Prusik on a loop! I've been using them for over 10 years as my primary anchor system. I use 2 of them as my PAS for sport climbing and 1 when multi-pitch climbing. 6mm accessory cord tied with a double fishermans knot girth hitched to my harness hard points It's so nice to be able to easily get into the most comfortable position at an anchor. Great video, thanks for testing!

[GrigoraAus]

I find an easy way to make the purcell is to make the Prussik on an empty toilet paper roll, that way it's shaped nicely and easy to dress. then put the other end through and then pull out the roll and tighten.

Yes other methods are easy enough, but especially on longer purcells its nice to get all the twists out and such before putting it through the prussik and this holds it all in place nicely.

[kulmajaba]

Great stuff. I use a Purcell prusik as a personal anchor, but I place the double fisherman close to the prusik knot to maximise the length adjustability. Probably doesn't effect the strength much but a friend had the double fisherman get partially inside the prusik when the prusik got loose, so that's a risk to be aware of.

[sakithree]

This is all super interesting!! But, I'd also love to see some less "extreme" fall examples.
Yes, I know these fall factor ~2 falls are interesting to see, and it's always fun to see gear break.
However, I think some "sensible" falls where the person isn't really above the attachment point (FF < 1) would be very informational!!
It would be amazing to be able to see the different forces one would feel if one fell on pas (dyneema loops), dyneema sling, nylon sling, purcell, connect adjust, etc.

[pierceklinke]

Cool to see these results! I use a 60cm nylon sling (girth hitched) for my PAS when single pitch climbing and when I am multipitch climbing I always clove in using my rope. Seems like regardless of what method you use, the basic gist is don't go above the anchor and if you do then don't fall onto your PAS

[harlanstockman]

From now on, this will be the youtube video I'll search for when i try to remember how to tie this!

[niknik]

Dude, your videos have gotten soooo much better! And still improving man, this was such a good video!! Thank you!

[BenjaminEmbrace]

Recreational tree climber
Arborist climber
Bushcraft enthusiast

I start your videos without enough time to finish them, but I usually look forward to and do come back … I love your videos
Thank you for making them!