Suspension Bondage Is Dangerous

We love suspension bondage and we’re excited to share it with you. We want to be very clear, however, about the risks involved.

1. Suspension bondage involves unavoidable risk. Like rock climbing, suspension is a risky activity. Good preparation and training can reduce your risk, but even if you do everything right there is still a chance that you may be injured or killed, or that you may injure or kill another person.

2. We don’t have all the answers. Unlike rock climbing, suspension bondage has no professional standards bodies and no expert consensus about best practices. This book is based on years of study, practice, and consultation with outside experts. Nonetheless, you should be aware that suspension is still a developing field, and our understanding of the best way to do things is still evolving.

3. You can’t learn suspension from a book. The only safe way to learn suspension is to work with a qualified instructor or mentor. This book is a valuable adjunct to expert instruction, but not a substitute for it. Without a skilled teacher to guide and evaluate you, you cannot learn suspension without placing your partner in tremendous danger.

4. Don’t get ahead of yourself. Suspension is fun and exciting, and you will likely be tempted to rush ahead and try activities that you aren’t yet ready for. We can’t stress enough the importance of proceeding slowly and methodically, and always working within your skill level.

5. Always use good judgment. Your best defense against mishap is your own common sense and good judgment. Always be mindful of what you’re doing, and err on the side of caution.

Your partner is placing tremendous faith in your competence and judgment. If you are careless or overly ambitious, they are likely to pay a heavy price for your foolishness. Make sure that you are worthy of their trust.

Suspended Animation accepts no responsibility for any injury or death which may occur as a result of the activities described in this book. By reading this book, you agree to take full responsibility for your actions and their consequences.

Introduction

What’s New in 2016.1

Suspension bondage is a new and rapidly changing field. As we figure out better ways to do what we do, our curriculum needs to change to keep up.

If you’ve read a previous version of this book, here are the most important changes since the last version. If you’re new here, you can skip this section.

Birmingham bowline

Old: Bridge knot

The bridge knot was effective, but too complicated.

New: Birmingham bowline

The Birmingham bowline is much easier to learn.

We’ve changed our introductory Y hanger from the bridge knot to the Birmingham bowline. Although the bridge knot works well, it’s a difficult knot to learn—this was probably the most difficult part of the curriculum for most students.

The Birmingham lacks the adjustability of the bridge knot, but it’s much easier to learn and is faster to tie. We’ll add an adjustable hanger to a future intermediate class.

Tri-axial loading

Old: Carabiner

Rigging a yoke with a carabiner causes tri-axial loading of the carabiner.

New: Ring

Rappel rings are rated for multi-directional loading.

When rigging a suspension bar, it’s important to use a yoke to keep it from tipping. Our previous technique used a carabiner at the top of the yoke, which subjected the carabiner to tri-axial loading.

A better solution is to use a rappel ring, which is rated for load in any direction. This isn’t critically important: climbing carabiners are enormously strong, and they should be good enough for our purposes even when improperly loaded. But given a choice between doing something the right way and doing it the wrong way, we prefer the right way. We’re funny like that.

Changes to the wrap and tuck

Old: Wrap around all lines

Wrapping the working end around all the lines.

New: Only wrap some lines

We now prefer to wrap around only the lines that attach to the carabiner.

In the past, we’ve taught that when tying a wrap and tuck at the bottom of a vertical line, you should wrap around all the lines: the lines that attach to the carabiner and the original line that attached to the harness itself.

We now recommend skipping the original line: there’s little benefit to including it, and if you aren’t careful it can introduce slack that may cause your partner to roll to one side.

Either way is OK: if you prefer to wrap around all the lines, feel free to do so.