Teufelberger BSB Split Tail, White, with Tight Eye

The Teufelberger BSB split tail uses white hitch cord with a tight sewn eye on one end, made to tie a compact climbing hitch on your line. Climbers who replace tails often like a pre-sewn eye because it clips cleanly to a carabiner and keeps the hitch short.

Why a tight eye

A split tail is the short length of hitch cord that forms your climbing hitch, with one end clipped to the saddle carabiner and the other tied off. A tight eye sewn on one end takes the place of a knot. It sits snug on the carabiner gate and does not roll, which keeps the hitch short and easier to tend.

A shorter hitch means less slack to pull and a quicker advance, especially when you are tending with a pulley below the hitch.

White cord also makes it easy to see the hitch against bark and a dark climbing line, which helps when you are checking the hitch from a distance or teaching a newer climber what to look for.

Setup and inspection

Tie the hitch your system calls for, often a Distel or Valdotain tresse, then finish the tail with a stopper knot that you can check at a glance. Test the hitch close to the ground on your actual climbing line and adjust wraps until it grabs and releases well.

Hitch cord takes heat and abrasion every climb. Check for glazing, stiffness, cover damage and wear near the eye before each climb, and replace it early. Use it within the maker's instructions and ANSI Z133 practice, and get trained on hitch climbing. Compare other cords in hitch cord and split tails.