HMSP How to Tie A Swiss Seat

Self-evacuation and rope rescue is built around systems of equipment. One of the fundamental pieces of gear is your harness. While a commercial harness is almost always the most comfortable option, there are many safe options for tying an improvised harness. The Hermon Mountain Ski Patrol uses the Swiss seat and this video demonstrates how we tie this harness at Hermon Mountain.

[@simonsignolet5632]

Thanks. A really good demo of how to tie this. This method is new to me. I look forward to the full body harness by adding a sling.

[@cadidiot_101]

For those doing this for JROTC or another military prograom this is NOT the method you should use. For that method please refer to TC 21-24 (Rappelling) and FM 3-97 (Mountaineering). Notable differences in the methods include:
>The back is inserted top to bottom where the excess is fed toward the center of your back and there is no overhand knot tied
>The line is NOT fed through the first front loop as shown at 3:05
>The short and long lengths are NOT brought around the back
>That method of hooking the carabiner is upside down. The locking mechanism should still be on top but the hook should face forwards
This does not mean this method is wrong for the purpose shown (and this is similar to the method for tubular webbing), this is just not the military's method for rope

[@russellandreasen2682]

26 years in the Army and taught JROTC for 12 years...I hope my former students don't see this video.

[@cadidiot_101]

@@russellandreasen2682 Did the 4 years and never learned the right method until LET4 year when we got a recruiter for the area that had some experience in the area. Went on to ROTC and where we did it by the books and it was nice to have the prior knowledge. Also made Air Assault last summer a little easier

[@capedmarauder]

Great video, thanks! Have been waiting on ski lifts so many times and wondered....what could I do?

[@ricardoaguilar4750]

Thanks so usefull and practic

[@teddyruxpin3811]

wouldn't a water knot be better than a square knot? a water knot is the only safe knot to tie with webbing as far as i know.

[@cameronrogers5991]

Text books will tell you the water knot is the only safe one. Real world application is different. Have repelled with a hasty harness that was tied with square knots numerous times with absolutely no issues. Whatever your preference ends up being, just train with it.

[@choonwahyee9101]

Swiss army 's seat harness! We , both know !

[@us24575]

What size is it - 1 inch tubular webbing?

[@andybrook-dobson726]

Interested why you would do this rather than say use sling. The swiss seat, whilst clever and elegant, doesn't seem that simple or quick, which the sling is. What advantages do you see of the Swiss seat?

[@RemoteFrontierMedicine]

Hi Andy,
The short answer is that some people in our patrol do use slings (I use a 240 cm dyneema runner to tie a full body harness) and some use commercial harnesses. However, for many of our patrollers this the only harness they will use and they use it for self-evac, for evacuating others from the lift, and for low angle rescue. The patrol leadership choose the Swiss Seat and in particular this tying of the Swiss Seat to ensure a solid, multi-functional harness that patrollers could use for any purpose. Having everyone tie it this way means we can all check each other. Once we get some decent snow I'll shoot another video on tying the full body harness with the dyneema sling.

[@CowboybubPercussion]

@@RemoteFrontierMedicine for this purpose, wouldn’t a hasty harness be much not only be much quicker, but easier to tie under high stress?

[@adventureswithfrodo2721]

hope you practice this sitter in a chair. I did like the comment about the slop. thanks.

[@RemoteFrontierMedicine]

If you haven't yet had a chance, check out this video: ua-cam.com/video/L0Y4RQRw2PU/v-deo.html Doing this sitting is indeed a whole different animal.

[@70athens]

would you be so kind to tell me the specs for the webbing? thx for your help :)

[@RemoteFrontierMedicine]

For this we generally use 1 inch tubular webbing. www.rocknrescue.com/product/1-inch-nylon-tubular-webbing/

[@70athens]

Thank u for the reply ;)

[@70athens]

thank you very much :)

[@GRockBlues]

How to squish deez two nutz!

[@lukastaylor8100]

not a swiss seat just fyi

[@hurc661966]

Anything that involves destroying your nuts is probably not a good idea.

[@cadidiot_101]

If you do it right you will destroy your hips more than your nuts