KONG Slyde Adjustable Sling , Black

This thing is pretty amazing, but it sure shakes people up when you put it to use. If it isn't clear how it works: the section of 9 mm cordage (8 mm works, too, and it might result in slightly lower forces in case of a fall, plus it's easier to find) that you use presses on itself and locks the distance from your belay loop carabiner (where the Slyde clips) to the end of the rope that ties to another carabiner that gets clipped to the anchor. You clip that carabiner to the top anchors of a climb, so the rig serves the same purpose as a daisy chain except that it is fully adjustable without unclipping. A small benefit is that you can quickly and easily adjust and readjust the length of your tether without ever being untethered. And there's no chance that you could accidentally clip between two adjacent pockets of an old-style daisy chain, which substantially reduces its strength, should that strength be called upon. The big benefit is that falling on your Slyde tether does not abruptly load the anchors as would be the case if you were using a Dyneema daisy chain. The Dyneema daisy chain has no give, so it's about the same as being died to the anchors with a wire cable and that translates to the possibility of very high forces applied to the anchor with even a short fall. Accordingly, Black Diamond makes their daisy chains out of nylon, which would add a small amount of give. But the Slyde deliberately allows the rope to slip a bit and so substantially reduces any sudden force. Kong has worked this out with the gear they make for viaferrata, where falls on tethers are a big worry and all modern systems have some built-in slip to reduce abrupt forces. The Slyde is a very clever device, just be sure you understand how to use it and set it up correctly. Wouldn't hurt to test it in the safety of your garage over a bouldering pad 8-)UPDATE: I've seen a number of examples of the Slyde being used incorrectly, so I thought I'd update my review to show the correct way to rig it. The official cordage size is 9 mm, but that's hard to find unless you cut up a rope. 8 mm actually works fine. You can jump around as hard as you like while hanging from it without causing any slippage. Make the cord long enough so that you can extend the top carabiner as far as you can reach, but no farther. Petzl makes a similar device called the Connect, but it lives at the end of the cord at the top carabiner while the other end of the cord girth hitches to your harness. It looks somewhat more convoluted, and it costs $50. The Slyde rules!

Fast shipping. Great product.

Awesome, works great! Best with ropes closer to 9mm. I tried using my 9.8 and it's way too big to easily adjust.

Really nice for rappelling long routes. Adjustability without compromising safety is great.

Does what suppoused to do

ok

Works quite well, surprisingly easy.. it's smaller that it appears or it is smaller than I expected, but doesn't affect function.. not all my beiners fit.. I'm about to order another one.

A little tricky to use but light and handy. Doesn't work well as a cow tail. Well made but not really a huge advantage over a loop style PA.