Teufelberger Antishock Chainsaw Lanyard

The Teufelberger antishock chainsaw lanyard is a saw tether with an elastic section that stretches to absorb the jolt when you drop or release a top-handle saw. It keeps the saw attached to your saddle and makes the catch gentler on you and the saddle.

What antishock means in practice

Let go of a climbing saw on a fixed strap and it falls to the end of the strap with a hard yank on your saddle. Do that a few hundred times a week and it gets old. The antishock design builds in stretch, so the saw decelerates instead of snapping to a stop.

The same stretch gives you a bit of reach when you pull the saw into a cut, then draws it back toward your hip. See other chainsaw lanyards if you prefer a retractable reel or a longer strap.

Elastic saw lanyards are popular with climbers who use their saw constantly, since there is no mechanism to clog with chips or oil. The trade-off is that the elastic wears and loses stretch over time, so it needs replacing more often than a plain strap. Keep an eye on how quickly it pulls back.

Attachment and inspection

Clip the lanyard to your saddle's saw attachment point and to the lanyard ring on the saw. Keep it separate from your climbing line, lanyard and bridge. Set the chain brake every time you let the saw hang.

Check the elastic, the webbing or cord, the stitching and both connectors before each climb. Replace it if the elastic is tired, cut, burned or frayed. Top-handle saws are for trained climbers working within ANSI Z133.