Tug of War Split Rope

[Jamin_Mayer]

Incredible. It looked like 1" diameter rope and it snaps.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlcU-u-xsH4&feature=

I wonder how much force tug of war's put on rope?

 

[Tom Dunlap]

On level ground a person can generate about 60% of their body weight in pulling load.

 

[boreality]

It looks like those pullers could hope to generate 5%. That rope had to be worn out.

 

[chewbacca]

Yeah looks like old brittle degraded boat rope.

 

[surfarmer1]

Rope looks old to me...

look at the video and see the dust (the rope powders) when it breaks...

that is a sure sign of age.

 

[Tr33Climb3r]

Kinda funny if no one got hurt...funniest trick in the book letting go so the other team falls

 

[Maui Palm & Tree Care]

haha every year at my churches youth retreat im a leader for the senior high school boys and we always use that dirty trick against the girls. dont feel bad for the girls. samoan and tongan hawaiian girls are BEASTS. they're bigger then a "BMW"... big mexican woman.

 

[boreality]

Another trick if you want to win is to have everyone on your team twist the rope the same direction.

 

[Norm_Hall]

That's an old rope for sure. Look where it breaks, rite at the knot!

 

[opposablethumb]

Reminds me of when I was at summer camp as a kid -

It was time for a tugofwar between the older kids.
They couldn't find the tried and true 3 strand, 2", manila rope...so...they pulled out a retired dynamic rope from the climbing tower storage.
The whistle blew. Both teams of a dozen or so teenage boys on each side started pulling. They both started moving backwards in opposite directions. The bandana tied to mark the middle of the rope wasn't moving at all.

Next thing - SNAP!

Both teams flat on the ground. The guys in front of the line on each side had huge bruises and whelps from where the rope pounded them like a giant rubber band.

Everybody was ok, and it wasn't very funny.

 

[DonaldRobertson]

That's very interesting to know.

 

[DonaldRobertson]

[ QUOTE ]
On level ground a person can generate about 60% of their body weight in pulling load.

[/ QUOTE ]
That's very interesting to know.

 

[BobT]

More than 30 years ago, a high school in Pa. tried to set a Guiness record tug-o-war. They got a 3/4 inch nylon rope from the fire department and put 500 persons on each side. That size rope is about 20,000 lbs, so each kid would have to pull about 40 lbs to break the rope. It did break and I think there were some fingers lost.

About that time I was able to borrow a dynamometer to measure the pull on a rope. I found that a person could pull his weight on a steady pull with good traction. It was possible to go over that for a short peak. The video mentioned here showed a small group on a polished gym floor, which is not the best traction. The problem with pulling on a rope is getting a good grip. An ascender or prusik loop is needed.