Rope Grabs and Lanyard Adjusters

A lanyard adjuster is the rope grab on your flipline that lets you take up slack or let it out without retying a hitch. These devices clamp the lanyard rope under load and slide when you work them, which makes positioning on a spar or around a stem quicker and more controlled.

What a lanyard adjuster does

On a spar or a big lead, your flipline holds you in position while you work. The length has to change constantly as you climb up, move around, or lean back for a cut. A lanyard adjuster lets you do that with one hand: pull the tail to shorten, work the device to lengthen. Compared with tending a friction hitch on a lanyard, a good mechanical adjuster is quicker, more consistent, and less likely to creep.

Some climbers still prefer a hitch and pulley for its smoothness and low cost. Mechanical rope grabs win on speed and on not having to tie and dress the hitch every time you set up.

A good adjuster also makes it easy to reach a comfortable lean-back angle, which takes load off your legs and lets you work longer without tiring on a big trunk.

Matching device and rope

Every rope grab is tested on a range of rope diameters and constructions. Running one on a line that is too thin, too stiff, too slick or worn can make it slip or grab too hard. Check the device manual's rope list and buy the lanyard and adjuster as a matched pair when you can, or as a complete lanyard kit.

Pay attention to how the adjuster attaches to your saddle. Most clip to a side D with a locking carabiner, and the carabiner should be loaded along its spine, not across the gate. Follow the manufacturer's diagram for which end of the device faces the lanyard and which faces the tail.

Some lanyard kits come with the adjuster, rope, snap and swivel already matched and assembled. That takes the guesswork out of compatibility and is a good place to start if you are building your first kit.

Using one on the job

On removals, the adjuster lets you snug in tight to the trunk before a cut and back off quickly afterward. On spars with a steel-core flipline for the cut, keep a second point of attachment in place, so that a flipline is never your only connection when a saw is running near it. Practice adjusting under load at ground level before you use a new device aloft.

When you change position around a trunk, keep your hands clear of the device and the rope path. Let the adjuster do its job and move the lanyard around the stem with steady pulls rather than sudden jerks.

Inspection and care

Lanyard adjusters are life-support gear. Use them only as part of a system meeting ANSI Z133 and the manufacturer's instructions, and only after training. Check cams, springs and pins for wear, burrs or sticking before each use, keep them clean of sap and grit, and retire any device that has been dropped hard, shock loaded or that does not lock and release cleanly. See matching lanyards in our fliplines and lanyards section.

Replace the lanyard rope when it shows wear even if the adjuster is still fine, and check that the new rope is still within the device's approved range.