Sewn daisy chain as a gear sling
Leash, lanyard, tether, daisy . . . Lots of different names for pretty much the same thing, a short sewn bit of webbing that connects you to the anchor, especially handy when you’re rappelling. (When you are going UP a route, it's generally best practice to use the rope you’re tied in with to directly connect to the anchor, not a leash.)
And no, I have absolutely no idea why this is called a daisy chain . . .
Modern “personal leashes”, such as the Metolius Personal Anchor System (PAS), are made of connected full strength loops. Use them for just about any kind of connection to the anchor, clip two adjacent loops, make a rappel extension, whatever, it's going to be bomber no matter where you clip it.
Metolius PAS. Each sewn loop is full strength (22 Kn)
image: metoliusclimbing.com/pas_personal_anchor_system.html
But, before the PAS came along, many climbers used a sewn pocket daisy chain as a personal leash. Even though this is designed for aid climbing and bodyweight only, the convenient pockets were too tempting to pass up. And hey, the sling as a whole is rated to 20+ Kn, right?
Sewn pocket daisy chain
Well, these pockets disguised a potentially lethal problem. Each pocket is sewn with bar tacking that's only rated to about 2 Kn (about 440 lbs.) Clipping one pocket is okay. But clip two pockets and put any sort of a serious load on it, you could potentially break the sewn bar tacks and be completely off your anchor! Large problem!
Clip ONE loop on a sewn pocket daisy? No worries.
Clip TWO adjacent loops on a sewn pocket daisy? Break those bar tacks and you’re gone, YIKES!
Fortunately, most modern climbers are aware of this potential problem with pocket daisy chains, so many folks have a semi-retired pocketed daisy that’s now collecting dust in the bottom of the gear bin. Well, here's a possible use for that.
The sewn pocket daisy makes a pretty sweet gear sling!
Hook it around your shoulder, and adjust it by clipping a carabiner or a quick link in the loop that fits your body.
Now, you have a bunch of sewn loops available, which keep all of your gear from bunching together, the main problem of the traditional single gear sling.
One more tip, for big wallers: A sewn pocket daisy like this is great for securing gear (rock pro, shoes, water bottles, stuff sacks) at your bivy/portaledge.
