All too often in the suspension world, someone comes up with an idea for a suspension that is amazing but we don’t have the exact right tool for the job. Being the creative family that we are, this situation becomes an episode of MacGyver, which is awesome, however all too often we see this situation unfold in unsafe ways.
A few weeks ago, I showed up to a suspension day and was asked to take care of an 8 point lotus suspension, 4 hooks in the legs, 2 in the back, and 2 in the chest. Hell yeah I want to do this! So, we get Chris cleaned and hooked, which was awesome because it meant working with some old friends, one of whom coached me up my first time. Anyhow, back to Chris, we get him ready to go, and then it’s time to start rigging and I hit a roadblock. The only rigs we have are small rigging plates, which would be fine other than the hooks in the chest. If I’d continued to use a standard bearclaw, he’d have riglines running directly in his face and pressing into his chest and back.
Pics courtesy of James Santangelo