Derrick Weiss brought his 7 year old climbing gear to the lab and we pulled on it randomly. We tested some random things like the Belgian Knot, pulling on climbing slings against the stitching, and even drilled holes in the quickdraws to tease the last EPISODE we did where we drilled holes in carabiners.
A Quick Summary
The climbing slings broke 10% and 20% lower than what they are rated for.
The dog bone broke at 21kN and its 2 carabiners broke at 24kN and 25kN
Sliding X in a dyneema sling broke at 34kN but the girth hitch master point broke at 28kN which is totally fine. Anything above 20kN is super good enough.
Pulling a climbing sling against the stitches did not lower the force as we got 21kN. It would probably deform that spot if you did it all the time but it isn't dangerous.
ATC in guide mode shredded the rope at 5kN, the ATC loop broke at 8kN and the eye broke at 31kN
Drilling 3 holes in the dog bone saved 0.3grams and reduced the strength about half, that was a fun way to end the video, DON'T DO THAT FOR GEAR YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON!
Extra Thoughts
The girth hitch master point, when one leg was cut, slipped at a very low rate. That is probably more of a result of it being around a large smooth surface and it would be way way better than a sliding X if a normal carabiner was used at the master point. If you need 1 leg to be really isolated, then tie a bfk.
The Belgian Knot is a trick to adjust a sling, usually industrial slings. If you need a sling half the size that is easy, but if you need it to be a specific size, this could be an answer. It has held up at "full knot strength" (50% reduction) in this VIDEO but it slipped at 8kn in this video and shredded the sling. Not the best solution for dyneema products!
What's Next
We tested other climbing gear that was NOT super good enough
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