Description
- Bluewater Titan Loop Chain
- Manufacturer: BlueWater Ropes
- Category: Personal Anchor Tether
- Weight: 66 grams
- Length: 44 inches
- Width: 13 mm
- Strength: 18 KN (kilonewtons)
- Colors: Red and blue
- Suggested Retail Price: $24.99
- Price Paid: $14.83
- Warranty: 1 year
- For more information: BlueWater Ropes
Features
- 5 six-inch-long loops connected to each other
- All loops are blue except for the red end loop making identification of end loop easy
- Made of Dyneema
Pros
- Strong
- Lightweight
- Durable
- Narrow profile; not bulky
- Moderately priced
- Good for sport climbing, traditional climbing, alpine climbing
- Functional and easy to use
Cons
- Made of Dyneema—doesn’t stretch
About Personal Anchor Tethers
While climbers used to always tie themselves into belay anchors with the climbing rope, now many climbers prefer the convenience of clipping onto anchors with personal anchor tethers. The latest and best type of tether to use is a personal anchor system like a BlueWater Titan Loop Chain (TLC).
TLC is Light, Strong, and Slim
The BlueWater Titan Loop Chain competes with the Metolius Personal Anchor System (PAS) and the Sterling Chain Reactor. The BlueWater TLC is the lightest, strongest, and least bulky of these three systems, making it ideal for use on long traditional routes when you have lots of other gear racked on your harness gear loops. The BlueWater Titan Loop Chain is also great for sport climbing, allowing you to quickly and safely clip into bolt anchors, as well as alpine climbing with its light weight.
Easy to Use
The BlueWater chain is easy to use, particularly since its sewn loops are blue except for the end loop, which is red, so it’s easy to know where the end loop is for quick clipping. Its slim profile and light weight keep it out of the way behind quickdraws and cams on your harness.
Drawback is Dyneema Material
The biggest drawback to the BlueWater Titan Loop Chain is that it is made of 13 mm Titan Dyneema, a very strong material. Strong is, of course, great but the drawback is that Dyneema has the least fall absorption of the three anchor chains since Dyneema doesn’t stretch as much as webbing with more nylon such as that in the Sterling Chain Reactor. This lack of stretch creates more loading on anchors in case of a fall, even a short one, since energy is not absorbed by stretch.
Also Tie-In With Your Rope
Materials like Dyneema excel when they are used for quickdraws since a climbing fall onto the sling material and the carabiners is mostly absorbed by the dynamic rope. In anchor systems where there is not any load-absorbing component then very high impact forces can be applied to the anchors. It’s best to use the BlueWater Titan Loop Chain as part of your anchor tie-in system, especially if you are climbing long routes and using multiple gear anchors. Anchor chains are not meant to be shock-loaded and can break or fail under load. Also clip yourself into the anchors with your climbing rope, which despite the new personal anchor tethers, is still the best method to guarantee your safety and is a great back up to your BlueWater TLC.
