Slider Keeper, The Test

[Hooknswoop 19]

The Issue:

There has been some debate about weather a slider keeper around the reserve flap is a good idea or not, specifically, will it release the slider in case you have to cutaway after stowing your slider?

The Hypothesis:

If built correctly and installed correctly, there should be no reason for a slider keep to not release the slider in the event of a cutaway. To test this, I built a slider keeper, installed it around the reserve flap and after stowing the slider, cutaway. I used my intentional cutaway rig.

The Design:

Type IV, 1-inch tape, double the length of the reserve flap plus 1 1/2-inches. A 2-inch by 1-inch piece of loop Velcro and a 1-inch by 1-inch piece of hook Velcro. Mate the Velcro to form a loop around the reserve flap. Opposite from the Velcro to form the loop, sew perpendicular to the loop another length of 1 inch, Type IV. The length is set by where you want to keep the slider at, where the yoke sits on your back, and the size of the slider, but it is not a critical measurement. A 1-inch by 1-inch square piece of hook Velcro is sewn over the junction of the loop and vertical slider keeper Type IV. Fold the other end of the Type IV back onto itself one inch from the end and sew a 1-inch by 3-inch piece of Velcro 3/4 of an inch from the fold-over. This leaves a 3/4-inch tab.

How It Works:

After opening pull the slider down, peel the Velcro and slap it back on. You have a 3-inch by 1-inch piece of loop to hit a 1-inch by 1-inch piece of hook Velcro with. In the event of a cutaway after stowing the slider, it can release the slider three ways. First, the Velcro used to actually hold the slider will probably peel, at most it is a 1-inch by 1-inch connection of Velcro. Second, the Velcro used to make the loop can release, again, at most it is a 1-inch by 1-inch connection of Velcro. Lastly, pulling the reserve will allow the loop to slide off the reserve flap, releasing the main. It is unlikely that either of the 1-inch by 1-inch Velcro connections wouldn't release before then.

The Result:

I cutaway after stowing the slider. I took an extra second or two to really mash down the Velcro. The slider keep released the slider as if it had never been stowed. Zero hesitation. Tests on the ground showed it wouldn't even come close to lifting the rig, a J-4. Tests with a spring scale showed maximum pull force to get the Velcro to release was 12 pounds. This is brand new Velcro and the 12 pounds was the highest reading, generated only after mashing down the Velcro as much as possible. The other tests were in the 5-8 pound range.

The Conclusion:

A slider keep of the design I described has almost no chance of preventing a cutaway. I would like to say that it has zero chance, but nothing is that certain. It is easy to use and keeps the slider down and out of the way.

Hook

[wmw999 2,584]

Wonderful. Nothing like ruining a perfectly good argument with facts

Great post -- thanks for going to all that effort. Hope you had fun doing it (somehow I think there was fun involved)

Wendy

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[MrHixxx 0]

What do you think the chances are of the keeper sliding off the flap in a deployment and fouling the reserve somehow? Could the velcro catch a line and jam in a slider grommet and keep it up? This has been my main apprehension with a design that comes off of the the flap with a deployment.

I have the ball type stow (see picture). Mine releases from the stow loop only, with a good tug. I adjusted the loop size, so there was enough tension to hold it in place when it is stowed, but it releases if you try to pick the rig up by it. The elastic cord that attaches it to the flap is tacked on the under side next to the binding tape.

In addition to the slider keeper, I have stops on my front risers that hold it down at the sides after pulling the grommets past them.

My system is probably far from perfect, but it is what I ended up with after processing the possibilities...


-Hixxx

death,as men call him, ends what they call men
-but beauty is more now than dying’s when

[Hooknswoop 19]

Quote

What do you think the chances are of the keeper sliding off the flap in a deployment and fouling the reserve somehow? Could the velcro catch a line and jam in a slider grommet and keep it up?

Next to nill. It will stay on the reserve flap in a reserve deployment. It would have to be yanked off to get past the tabs that hold the reserve flap shut. The Velcro is covered until you peel it to stow the slider, and the loop part of the Velcro is on the end of the keep.

Hook