The third time’s the charm!

Here’s yet another twist on our grapnel design. It takes inspiration from UK climber Michael Spraggon‘s idea to recurve the tines for more reliable line-snagging performance. Instead of the simple upward bend of the original tines, the new tines coil around and inward, still leaving plenty of space between tine and shank for the line to enter the coil.

At our direction, our fabricator gave us a variety of new prototypes based on this concept. We tested them snagging both throwline and rope. We threw them both right-handed and left-handed. In a trial of 40 well-aimed tosses (not including air tosses), the winner snagged the line 36 times – an impressive 90% success rate!

About the name of this product: The winning prototype was marked with yellow tape, and the final product is powder coated in yellow. Around the workshop we’ve been calling it the Yella Grapnel, so there you have it. We think you’ll be so pleased with your success using this grapnel, you’ll yell with joy, so there’s another reason to call it “Yella.” Sorry, we couldn’t help it.

When does a tree climber want a grapnel?

When you make an in-tree throw to another branch and your throw weight slides back down, dangling out of reach...
When you want to traverse to another branch in the same tree, or traverse into a neighboring tree...
When you want to retrieve a line hanging out in branches too skinny to climb on...

This is an essential tool for tree climbers. With this little (3 ½ inches long) grapnel you can retrieve a line or rope from as far away as twenty feet. It’s small enough to carry in a pocket or gear bag on every climb. And when you need it, it can save the day.

We supply each one with 20 feet of 1/8” black throwline. Bright yellow color.

Wt 2.9 oz