Short vs. Long Bridge?

I mostly rock it short, but I have on occasion been glad to be able to let it out. I also use that feature to make it easier to put on and take off the harness.
 
Currently I’m running a very short single bridge. I like my system to be close. It’s good for spar work and comfortable for me on rope ascent . Also good for taking slack on the return of limb walks, less arm extension and fatigue in my opinion.
I know others that like the adjustable bridge but personally I’m not interested in that
 
My recollection of the why for long bridges was when DRT got the auto tending pulley feature (yeah that's a while ago) it was desired to be able to simply pull hand over hand on the tail to hoist yourself back in from a limbwalk etc and the efficiency of doing so greatly increased if there was room between you and the hitch assembly for longer yanking-strokes. Downside was if you needed to reach back up to the top side of the hitch assembly it was a long stretch. I guess the sop was to go out medium/short bridge and then extend your bridge for the return trip.
 
Bart_ said:
My recollection of the why for long bridges was when DRT got the auto tending pulley feature (yeah that's a while ago) it was desired to be able to simply pull hand over hand on the tail to hoist yourself back in from a limbwalk etc and the efficiency of doing so greatly increased if there was room between you and the hitch assembly for longer yanking-strokes. Downside was if you needed to reach back up to the top side of the hitch assembly it was a long stretch. I guess the sop was to go out medium/short bridge and then extend your bridge for the return trip.
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That's what I have seen in some videos. I tried it out, and I can see the benefits. didn't take much practice to get going.
 
In addition to above, I find adjusting the length of the bridges changes my center of gravity a bit so I'm more comfortable/ sitting. That's one thing I really like on a long day 'cuz I can vary use of my muscle groups a bit. DMM put out some really quite good adjustment videos with Taylor Hamel doing the honours.
 
ghostice said:
In addition to above, I find adjusting the length of the bridges changes my center of gravity a bit so I'm more comfortable/ sitting. That's one thing I really like on a long day 'cuz I can vary use of my muscle groups a bit. DMM put out some really quite good adjustment videos with Taylor Hamel doing the honours.
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Yea, it also changes how it grabs your legs/hips.
 
I've run two bridges for a long time now, gives me options for multiple lines and different setups. For a few years, one of them was adjustable with a Roll n Lock. I found myself hardly ever taking advantage of it.

Think it was about a year and a half ago, I went back to just two normal bridges, one short, one regular length. Short bridge just has a small dmm ring. That's my go-to for most days. On my longer bridge I have a Gyro triple swivel. That's good for 2 rope situations.
 
Same guy who told me of grandpa ladder complained about certain double D Weaver(?) leather saddles just squeezing his butt badly - 25 years ago time frame. I can see on modern saddles the attachment being centered about dead center in front of your hip joint, but there's also the legs-of-the-triangle effect where longer bridge segments form a more outward net pulling while a really short bridge can seem like a spreader bar would reduce the inward "squeeze". There is an art to the vertical attach position in front of your hip joint that it's height determines your natural balance angle when sitting. I believe this is a result of or indeed creates load distribution between waist loop and leg loops. At one point it was a new feature in adjustable saddles. Not sure how many current model saddles are fixed attach height vs adjustable. I guess point being bridge attach point may have as much importance as bridge length. Random thoughts as the sun goes down
 
I go with two bridges, one adjustable with a roll n lock. Both go though one ring, the fixed one is basically a standard length. I find myself sucking in the adjustable one vs swapping my rig to that and lengthening it. Makes dialing in my chestie great for longer climbs
 
evo said:
I go with two bridges, one adjustable with a roll n lock . . .
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I keep that same setup too, with a short bridge for my power ascender when I am using it, and the main bridge adjustable to get the ZZ or bone up above the ascender. The roll n lock makes it instantly adjustable. I think I first saw that in a vid by Mumford.
 
flyingmosstreen said:
I’ve been trimming with the Kinisi. Can’t seem to figure out how not to have the thing ride up under my rib cage. My monkey beaver 2.0 stays in place no matter what. Any suggestions for adjustment?
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I had to adopt a more relaxed style of climbing. It's hard to describe, but I know what you mean about it riding up. The MB, and the Petzl Sequoia both stayed lockes on my hips, but the looseness of the Kinisi has been a feature rather than a bug for me. I think it's why it doesn't make the skin on the front of my legs go numb. The one time I tried my buddy's Treemotion OG, it seemed the same to me in that regard.
 
Matias said:
I had to adopt a more relaxed style of climbing. It's hard to describe, but I know what you mean about it riding up. The MB, and the Petzl Sequoia both stayed lockes on my hips, but the looseness of the Kinisi has been a feature rather than a bug for me. I think it's why it doesn't make the skin on the front of my legs go numb. The one time I tried my buddy's Treemotion OG, it seemed the same to me in that regard.
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Relaxed like, setting the harness at your hips before progressing through a move? I’ll get in the tree this weekend and see if I can dial things in a bit more. I love the options for setup and have been using the adjustable bridges for everything from ascent (tightening down) to cabling and being able to get my climbing setup above my face for a clearer work area. One thing maybe that I’ve noticed btwn the MB and the treemo/Kinisi is the elasticity of leg attachment. And the lack of in the MB maybe that plays into the back pad remaining locked in. That and the adjustable lumbar that can fine tune the back pad.

Sorry to derail…
 
I can see a similarity or connection between trying to up-angle (vs pole lineman pose on spar/spurs) support yourself with your lanyard on your side D's which rides your saddle up into your ribs. If the saddle can be adjusted so the bridge force tightens into the leg loops sooner ie shorter distance bridge anchor to top of thigh I think it might help. Or if the bridge attach point to waist band is the adjustable part maybe lengthen that. I feel reasonably confident about the proportioning effect but I'm not sure about same-proportions but both segments a bit longer or shorter. Maybe that affects the balance too.
 
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