Round and soft slings
A round or soft sling is a continuous loop of webbing with no hardware, and it is the most used anchorage sling in Australia because it does almost everything. Wrapped around a beam, a column or a structural member and choked back on itself, it makes an anchor point in seconds without tools.
Round slings on this page are rated between 26kN and 40kN. The 26kN rating is the common one and it comfortably exceeds the 15kN minimum an anchorage point is generally required to hold for a single person system, which leaves headroom for the way a sling loses strength when it is choked or loaded over an angle.
Length is the decision that matters more than rating. Measure the girth of what you are wrapping, add enough to make the connection comfortably, and round up. A sling that is too short forces a sharp bend at the connector; a sling that is far too long puts the connector where you cannot reach it.
Webbing slings and anchor straps
Flat webbing slings and anchor straps do the same job with a wider bearing surface, which matters when the structure would cut or abrade a narrow round sling, or when you want to spread the load across a wider contact patch.
Anchor straps with sewn end loops or D rings are the choice where the sling is left in place as a semi permanent anchorage, on a cross arm or a beam. Several of them come with a wear pad, which is the part that takes the abrasion instead of the load bearing webbing.
Endless webbing slings work the same way as round slings and are usually the cheaper option where the anchor is smooth and the sling is used occasionally.
Sharp edge and cut proof slings
Standard webbing fails fast against a sharp steel edge, and it fails faster under load. Where the anchorage runs over a cut edge, a rolled steel section, glass or a parapet, use a sling built for it.
Cut proof slings use an aramid or high modulus fibre core inside a protective jacket, and they are tested against a defined edge radius rather than only in a straight pull. The Skylotec 40kN cut proof and Technora ranges on this page are built for that. So is the Steel Ankor wire rope sling, which solves the same problem with steel instead of fibre.
A sharp edge sling is not a substitute for edge protection. Where you can protect the edge, protect it, and use the sling as the second line of defence.
Tie off adaptors and girth hitch slings
A tie off adaptor is a short sling with a small end and a large end, designed so it can be choked back on itself without the connector loading a bend it was not designed for. It is the correct way to wrap a beam when you do not want a karabiner sitting against the steel.
A girth hitch sling with D rings gives you a fixed attachment point at each end, so the sling can be adjusted to length and the connector always lands on hardware rather than on webbing.
Both exist because choking a plain round sling incorrectly is one of the most common anchorage errors on site.
Choosing a rating and a length
Work backwards from the anchor, not from the sling. Establish what the structure will hold and who signed that off. Then choose a sling with a rating that exceeds the requirement for your system with margin, remembering that a choked sling and an angled sling both carry less than the marked straight pull rating.
For length, measure the girth of the anchor point, add the connection allowance, and buy the next size up. Slings on this page run from 0.3m to 9m depending on the range.
If the sling will be left in place, choose a wear pad or a cut proof construction and inspect it before every use, because a sling that lives outdoors ages faster than one that lives in a kit bag. Where a sling is not suitable, a permanent roof anchor or temporary anchor may provide a more appropriate anchorage point.
Inspection and when to retire a sling
Inspect a sling before every use by running the whole length through your hands, looking at both the webbing and the stitching. Anything that cuts, abrades, melts or discolours the webbing takes the sling out of service.
Retire a sling on any cut or nick to the edge of the webbing, any broken or pulled stitching, any glazing or hardening from heat or friction, any chemical contact, any burn, and any load event where the sling arrested a fall. Retire it if the label is missing or illegible, because a sling you cannot identify is a sling you cannot rely on.
There is no repair. A damaged sling is destroyed, not set aside, so it cannot come back into use by accident.
