turps wrote:
But now I think that unless a strap is used anywhere theres almost no need a dampner at all. As the stretch in Synthetic rope doesent have the Potential energy stored to transfer much energy to a metal shackle.
Would be good to get some old rope and do some mythbuster testing.
To save you some mythbuster testing I have had a synthetic rope break during an early Nav Nite comp
Unfortunately for me I put myself too close to the vehicle and was struck with the recoiling rope
It was wet/muddy at the time and we were winching up a steep track. Where it hit my bare arms I ended up with welt lines and was lucky it didn't get my face.
I had the dampener approx. 10m from the hook and the rope broke right near the dampener and pulled straight through it. I had 25m of rope at my feet before I even knew what happened.
So in my experience synthetic rope does have a certain amount of recoil and still requires respect in terms of safety. In saying that I don't know what the ideal requirement for dampeners should be but they ARE a required safety item.
As for the long winches at Viewmont I don't know how I would have carried extra dampeners as well as the winch rope & hook, 2 extension ropes, 2 bow shackles, tree trunk protector and the compulsory dampener
As shown by the pic below