I know there is a thread with a bunch of info on what people carry for rescue/repair/bailout, but I've got some specific questions about what to carry for a pin kit.

Bare minimum seems to be: rope, two biners, prussik, and some webbing. So my questions are what sizes and lengths do people carry for prussiks and webbing loops?

Thanks, one more question...how long are your prussiks?

Thanks! Absolutely, in fact I volunteer your landlords boat to be pinned for the sake of real life practice..

Prussik depends on the rope you have.  My throwbag has some pretty thin rope so I use an even thinner prussik, I believe the prussik line should be at least 1/3 smaller than the rope your pulling on.  I keep a 3 foot sewn sling in my pin kit, but I have a 10+/- foot piece of webbing that I wear around my waist that serve as an anchor/harness/utility line instead of unfurling my throwbag/safety tool (I use it to clip pinned boats or any other application that I find it useful for).

two 3 ft sewn slings will get you pretty far though.  You should also have at least one pulley.  In a perfect world everyone would carry at least one so when the defecation hits the oscillation there is enough gear to make a 3:1.  The pulleys greatly increase the strength of your system.

I recommend testing your prussik out in the back yard to insure that it will hold on your rope when it's wet.

I say pulleys are light no resin not to carry 3. A good alternative to pusiks are some of the new school light weight ascention / rope gripper products. They work even on freezing rope in many cases. Also the new ones are light and non bulky.

ROck Exotica also makes a great sheave/rope grip combo called a wallhauler.

I have never seen anyone except Darren carry an 11mm rope in their kayak, and that was for some seriously committed boating....

tiblocs....similarly to prusiks, tiblocs have a specification for minimum rope diameter. much easier to jug up a rope on tiblocs than prusiks, though. not sure how well tiblocs actually work with the spectra rope.

i think the main issue is that everybody carries a spectra rope these days, which according to technical specs are way too small for either tiblocs or prusiks of large enough diameter to have sufficient strength.

i have always considered whether, in serious situations, i should carry a full size rescue rope in order to avoid issues with anchoring the small-diameter spectra rope...

comments and insights welcome

So the loop can be wrapped around a tree or other suitable anchor and clipped into the system quickly.

I wondered the same, but the advice I was given was as I replied.

if you take time to dress your water knot when you tie it, shouldn't be an issue to get it undone, especially on webbing. To me, it's quicker to undo a water knot than to tie it, so I keep my webbing tied like a sling.

agreed, girth hitch works, but much better to wrap a sling and connect both loop ends with a single locking biner, or better yet, the wrap2/pull3 to which Sam refers.

Excellent info, I really like the spectra sling idea, especially since it is so versatile. Does anyone know where you can purchase spectra webbing (I'll be buying a couple slings but I've got another project in mind too)

Edited by BrianP - 10 Jul 2012 at 8:56am

I think you meant the wrap 3 pull 2 ... in order to do that your water knot gets tied as you put it on. then undone as you take the system down. Still most folks that leave there webbing in a loop with a knot after the girth hitch and being in a loaded system then gets thrown back in the boat. I have been on a couple rescues where the anchor point was to big and the old pre looped water not that was in your last loaded rescue system 6 months ago is fused and impossible to get undone and i'm totally guilty of having this happen. If the system has been loaded and your truly yarding on something that water knot is not quick to get undone unless you do the 3-2 right.....   

the wrap 3 pull 2: http://www.mazamas.org/your/adventure/nw/wrap-3-pull-2-about-the-strongest-anchor-you-can-build/

Edited by FLUID - 10 Jul 2012 at 9:47am

Totally a great thread !! No real scenario is going to be perfect. You might be in a gorge where we often are where trees have been gone for thousands of years and all you have is a boulder or granite nub to anchor off. Maybe the wrap 3 pull 2 doesn't work and you have to tie two webbings together just to loop a piece of old growth thats the only thing chocked in there.

Gear is a must and simple is better but most of the time thinking outside the box is your best resource. Being fast and efficient is whats going to save a life. Rescue skills are what you do in the first four minutes. I mean in the end the Z drag stuff is all recovery most of the time anyway. Lets be honest.........