SKYLOTEC has over 65 years’ experience of manufacturing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for industrial fall protection where safety standards far exceed those in sport and mountain climbing. This expertise is harnessed to produce high-quality climbing equipment and guarantee the highest safety standards. SKYLOTEC products don’t just meet the relevant safety standards, they exceed them.
This also applies to the new German Alpine Club (DAV) Safety Commission and TÜV requirements for via ferrata sets. SKYLOTEC via ferrata sets meet the new standards even when subjected to regular strain. In addition to this proven protection, SKYLOTEC has gone one step further and developed a new innovative solution to one of the main issues concerning via ferrata equipment.
The current EN 958:2006 PPE directive does not specify a minimum and maximum user weight for via ferrata sets. Lighter users can be subjected to significant impact forces that may lead to serious injury even when wearing via ferrata equipment. Following extensive research and development, SKYLOTEC has developed a new, innovative energy absorbing system that is supplied with all SKYLOTEC via ferrata sets from 2013.
The TSS (Two-Step System) has the advantage over a conventional tape energy absorber that it is triggered not at one, but at two stages. This provides a new level of via ferrata safety, especially for children and lighter users.
For users weighing 30 to 50 kg, in the event of a fall only the first stage is triggered. For users weighing over 50 kg both stages are triggered. As a result, the system adapts to user weight and keeps the impact force below 6kN. This staged braking significantly reduces the impact force on the user. The Two-Step System absorbs force dynamically, reducing the impact force. This is illustrated on the graph below.
The TSS shock absorbing system is the tape energy absorber for reliable and secure via ferrata protection for children and lighter users. SKYLOTEC always recommends using a belay to bring up children or users weighing less than 30kg.
Energy absorption TSS shock absorbing system: