Ok fellows here is more that you need to know to be safe. All harnesses that are certified to TMA standards, must pass certain test. These test criteria have been adopted from the same standards that OSHA certified harnesses have to pass. One of the tests is the Total Arrest Force Test, which in, the harness must be dropped twice the distance of its tether with a 220 lb mannequin and it cannot generate more than 1,800 pounds of force as it stops. The Total Arrest Force is the amount of force that is placed on the body whenever you fall and the harness stops you from hitting the ground. If a harness had a straight web tether in this test, it will generate over 3,000 pounds of total arrest force and could never be certified. So to have a harness be certified, it must have ways to absorb energy. It does this by the tear-away sections in the tether. If you look at your harness tether you will see several, usually 4-5, sections that are overlapped and then sewn, this is the tear-away sections. If you read the small print on the tether warning label, you will see somewhere that it says, Prolonged Suspension Can Be Fatal. If you ask any harness manufacture how long of a time you have, they will tell you 15 minutes. So when you fall in a dramatic fashion, these sections tear out and absorb a lot of the energy that is generated during the fall. But what you also must remember is that each one of these sections will add 3 to 4 inches to your total drop, so you will fall an additional 15 to 20 inches and the stretch in the harness on the body will add another 4 to 6 inches. So in a genuine fall from your stand you can fall an additional 15 to 24 inches father than you started. And if you have slack in the tether in the first place like the one guy says he likes to lean out, by the time the harness has stopped your fall your chest or neck can be even with the stand platform. And at that level 90% of the hunters will not be able to get back up on to the stand. If you fall on the side of the tree where the steps or ladder is located, it is usually no problem to recover. But if you fall on the other side of the tree, you may not be able to get back up. Each year usually 20 to 25 hunters are found dead hanging in their harnesses. Two years ago, two hunters were found dead in one weekend in Ohio. This past year, two were found dead near me, one near Oakland MD and the other Beaver PA. These deaths are not widely publicized as treestand deaths. The media usually just says a hunter was found dead in the woods. Everyone needs to understand and be aware of suspension trauma and how quickly it can kill you. In the last few years, the Consumer Product Safety Commission was putting a lot of pressure on the TMA, which I am a member, to solve the Self Rescue problem because of Suspension Trauma. The Suspension Relief Strap which all TMA harnesses are to have now was turned down as a solution to self rescue by the CPSC. Suspension Trauma is a very dangerous problem. You must be aware of it, or it can cost you your life. If you would like to learn more about Suspension Trauma, all you need to do is google Suspension Trauma, there are article after article written on the subject. In Part 3, I will go into what happens to the blood in your legs while hanging, and what NOT to do if you get down. Dr. Norman Wood
