A personal anchor tether has become an important piece of equipment for most climbers. In the past, climbers tied into anchors directly with the climbing rope. Later they began using daisy chains, a length of webbing with bar-tacked loops that is used for aid climbing. Daisy chains, however, are unsafe since the loops can rip out under load, removing the climber from the safety of those anchors.
As a response to dangerous daisy chains, climbing manufacturers, including Metolius, BlueWater Ropes, and Sterling Ropes, began making personal anchor tethers. The tether is essentially a series of ultra-strong webbing loops connected together and then attached to the front of your harness.
You then use the chain of loops to clip yourself into anchors with a locking carabiner. This method is far superior and much safer than using a daisy chain, plus it's easy to use and to adjust. It's still best, however, to continue to tie a figure-8-on-a-bight knot with your rope and clip that to anchors as your primary tie-in point.
The past couple months I've been using a BlueWater Titan Loop Chain (TLC), which competes with the Metolius Personal Anchor System (PAS) and the Sterling Chain Reactor, on sandstone, limestone, and granite cliffs around Colorado Springs.
I recommend the Titan Loop Chain--it's ultra-light, just the right length, super strong, and less bulky than the others. I found it ideal for clipping myself into bolts at the top of sport climbs to thread the anchors for lowering and was out of the way on my harness when I was racked up for crack climbs.
Read my comprehensive Guide Review for the BlueWater Titan Loop Chain and find out about it, including lots of pros and one significant con.
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