UIAA Standards 2017

The new Via-Ferrata standards ensure a higher level of safety through the reduction of force generated in the case of a fall. HYDRA.EVO and COLT.EVO comply with the updated standards and are now available.

Nevertheless taking a fall in a Via Ferrata is always dangerous and may result in severe injuries. With our FERRATA.BLOC we have developed a tool that prevents long falls back to the last fixation of the wire. Available as Add on or integrated to HYDRA.EVO.

What are the essential changes?

The construction and length of the shock absorber has been changed (maximum extended length increased from 1.2 to 2.2 m) to minimize the force for both light and heavy climbers. While under the previous standard, a Via-Ferrata set was optimized for an average user-weight of 80 kg, the new standard ensures that the set is optimized through a weight range of 40 – 120 kg. For users weighing 40 kg the associated force cannot exceed 3.5 kN, or 6 kN for users weighing 120 kg.

How is this technically put into practice?

The increase in length of the shock absorber allows a webbing with variable resistance to be used. While the first part of the webbing can be opened more easily, the resistance increases successively along its length. This results in the individual response of the shock absorber based on the user’s weight.