Do you know how to tie-off weblocks safely?

It should be common knowledge that weblocks ALWAYS need a proper tie-off. After analysing weblock slippage and weblock tie-offs at festivals and gatherings we would like to show you our prefered and recommended methods for the two most common weblock types.

Why do weblocks slip in the first place? During tension and release cycles such as bouncing or falling and even walking, webbing slowly slips in standard weblocks. The amount of slippage depends on several factors:

Type of Material: Most slippage can be seen in Dyneema lines, followed by Polyester and then Polyamid (Nylon) slacklines. Also the weave, thickness, impregnation, the age and use of the line and several other factors have an influence on webbing slippage
Weblocks: depending on the weblock design and geometry, different slippage can be observed
Length of Line: Most slippage can be observed on lines under 100m long, where there are more variations in tension.
Tension of line: Higher tension longlines show less slippage, lower tension highlines show more

Details on Webbing Slippage and Tail-walks!

Our first report on Webbing slippage from 2015

On a sidenote, there is actually one weblock on the market that does not need a tie-off! The ISA certified weblock called Orange from the company Radrigs. It is still recommended to tie-off the weblock to have an extra backup.

Here is the mechanism, how slippage can lead to a tailwalk and full failure of the webbing in the weblock: