I am commonly advised from reliable sources that British kayaker Peter Knowles introduced throwbags to the market on a wide scale with his green slime throwbags back in the 's. Before this time people made their own throwbags ranging from rope stored in an empty plastic bottle to a tennis ball with a length of rope attached to it. These were the tools you used to rescue your fellow rafters or kayakers when they had taken a swim.
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As with any sport our technical understanding of new techniques & materials has rapidly changed over the past 30 years. I myself partly owe my livelihood to the throwbag. I spend day after day teaching students on how to use a throwbag. Whilst delivering raft guide courses & Rescue 3 courses around the world some of the most common questions I am asked are: “Which is the best bag to buy” or “Which is the best throwbag”?
I have decided to compile this article to help you make an informed decision when purchasing your next throwbag or deciding which throwbag to use.
A throwbag simply consists of a bag of floating rope to be thrown across a stretch of moving or still water to make a conditional rescue with a swimmer. The condition being that the swimmer is able to hold the rope. The rope inside a throwbag must be able to do 2 specific jobs Float and be Visible.
Imagine throwing a rope to a swimmer only to see it sink to the bottom of the river rendering it useless to the person who needs rescuing. All throwbag ropes must contain properties that make them float. The most common ropes contain a high amount of the material called polypropylene. Polypropylene has excellent floating properties this will allow the rope to stay on the surface of the water so that your swimmer is able to hold on to the line. Polypropylene has 2 big disadvantages.
Polypropylene has a very low melting point so introducing friction to the rope is not a good idea. Compared with climbing Dynamic (stretchy ropes) or abseil Static (Non-stretchy ropes) Polypropylene is not very strong your average 8mm-11mm diameter polypropylene ropes have an unknotted static breaking strain of between 8kn -13kn that’s 800-kg compared to most static abseil ropes that have a static breaking strain of >25kn.
When researching which bag to purchase you may want to spend some time looking at what you will be mainly using the bag for.
Will you just be rescuing swimmers occasionally? (recreational occasional use)
Will you be rescuing swimmers & hauling pinned kayaks & rafts? (Commercial use & rescue teams or heavy use)
If your answer is the first option, you may want to look at a Lightweight rope with a high Polypropylene content so that the rope will float. These ropes tend to be very lightweight which is easy for carrying and throwing but the breaking strain will be low. The bags that fall into this category are:
Whetman Equipment Patria 18m
Hf Weasel 18m
If your answer was the second option, you may want to look at purchasing a more robust rope. More robust ropes tend to have an outer sheath made of polypropylene to make the rope float. The inside of the rope or the Core can be made of materials such as Dyneema, Novobraid, Nylon, or Polyester The bags that fall into this category are:
WWTC Craft Series.
HF Compact Alpin.
NRS NFPA rope rescue bag
The rope must be highly visible Most rope manufactures use a yellow base as it is easy to see in a variety of different water colors. The NRS Pro rescue NFPA bag for example has yellow as the main color of the rope with a red braid running through the rope. The red braid is multi-functional not only does it make the rope more visible, but the braiding is raised from the rope to promote extra grip when using the rope.
The bag itself plays an important role. The shape of the bag must be aerodynamic to fly through the air easier when been deployed. Most bags are nowadays a tapered cone shape. The Bag needs to be a bright color & highly visible. The neck or opening of the bag must be secure so that the rope does not escape and cause a snag hazard. The neck must also be wide enough for the bag to be repacked easily with wet cold hands.
In the mid 's there was a shift away from having a handle at one end of your throwbag. Several cases emerged of the handle becoming a snag hazard and causing injuries & even fatalities on the river. The industry took note and decided to no longer tie a handle in the end of their throwbags to reduce the chances of the bag snagging should the end become loose in the water. To this day some of the major manufactures at the request of their emergency service customers still tie a handle into the end of their new throwbags. This is an informed choice on behalf of the user. Your throw bag should not have any loops at either end of the rope that are big enough to put a small hand through. This includes the bag end of your throwline.
Common best practice is always to carry an accessible knife when working with rope near the water
Like most things in life a product that works for one person may not work for another. The same can be said about throwbags. In an extreme way of thinking the ability to successfully deploy your throwbag when needed literally could mean life or death!
It is important that you choose a bag that you are able to throw the furthest distance. A small framed person with small hands may have a problem throwing a 25m wet 11mm diameter rope. Yet the same person may have more success throwing a 15m wet 9mm diameter rope. A good friend once told me when choosing a throwbag apply the following rule.
“Small hands = Small rope. Big hands = Big rope”.
The ability to efficiently manage your rope with wet cold hands is important. Thinner ropes 10mm< tend to be lighter and easy to carry. Ideal for those who want to wear a their throwbag on a waist mounted belt. Thinner lighter ropes can generally be thrown a further distance, but they do tend not to be as strong as the thicker ropes.
With competitive price and timely delivery, LANTON PACK sincerely hope to be your supplier and partner.
One quote I have heard many times over the years is that “Thinner ropes cause rope burn for both the rescuer & the swimmer”
This bag proved to be one of the most popular models amongst the guides. When I asked them what they liked so much about the bag the responses were.
Guides opinion - “Its light & easy to throw” “The bag was easy to repack” “The rope was easy to handle”
Mark's opinion - Wherever I travel in the world somebody has a weasel this has to be one of the biggest selling throwbags of all time and probably for a reason. However, HF insist in having a plastic piping around the loop on the bag end of the line this automatically creates a snag hazard. I always advise my students to remove the plastic piping and re- tie the handle to create a smaller loop.
The relatively new to the market the Palm Lightning is again very popular. The lightning is very comparable to the HF weasel in design with a few extra add-ons that make this a good bag. The wire rim on the opening allows a large area for quick repacking after been thrown. The magnetic closure system feels great and was easy to operate with wet hands.
Guides opinion - “really easy to repack” “Easy to throw you can see where the lightning comes from” “Looks very stylish”
Mark's Opinion - Palm have a reputation for attention to detail in their designs. The Lightning is proof of this. I remember in years gone by the frustration of repacking a Palm throwbag & struggling to be able to fit all of the rope in through the narrow neck. A simple design change has eradicated this issue. I also like the fact that all palm bags now have a totally clean bag with bag end loop made from webbing reducing the opportunity for snagging.
Whetman equipment are a relatively new company to the throwbag market. Although Steve Whetman is himself a veteran kayaker. The Tapir is an instant eye opener as instead of having rope the bag contains 18m of flat floating webbing. A huge positive for the tapir is the fact that the bag is made from mesh allowing it to be quick draining and very light.
Guides opinion - “Very comfortable & Light to wear around the waist. “So, light I had to thoroughly wet the bag before I threw it” “The closure buckle was easy to operate with wet hands.
Mark's opinion - For anyone who has a really poor throw that lacks distance this is the bag for you. The combination of ultra- light webbing and a mesh bag make this one of the lightest bags I have ever put my hands on. At first, I was not sure that the bag was going to last a week of hard use with it been so light but it the bag managed fine. In-fact when I offered the photographer a bag as payment for his pictures he chose the Tapir 18.
Bags from the whitewater training centre (WWTC) have been a popular with the guide community for some time now. Recently the emergency services have started to follow the trend. WWTC bags are stored in a PU storage system on the waist which is very hardwearing an also has the option to have a flip line pocket added to the waist belt if needed. The bag is easily secured to the carry system and has the ability released quickly when needed. WWTC have created the braid of their own rope to make it one of the strongest 8mm ropes available on the market. The glow stick storage loops & padded carabiner park also get a thumb’s up.
Guide opinion - ” The rope has a really secure feel to it” “The carabiner storage is really clever it feels like the little bit of extra weight gives the bag more momentum. “fly’s like a bird”
Mark's opinion - When I see a guide wearing a WWTC bag I know they have done their research before buying the bag. I have used the same WWTC bag for full time use for the past 5 seasons. WWTC bags are mixture of intelligent design & durability.
The go to bag for many rescue teams operating in Austria & Germany. This is a true professional rescue bag. After removing the plastic piping from the bag end this the workhorse of big bags. The clever handles in the neck of the bag allow for quick repacking and can even be used when throwing the bag. The 11mm rope with core floats really well and with its 13kn static strength is ideal for MA systems and hauling both rafts and kayaks around the river or river bank.
Guide opinion - “A Little heavy to throw with the full 25m but this reminded me I needed 5m for belaying” “The thick rope is great for a 2nd recoil throw” “The rope was super visible when I was a swimmer it made me feel secure holding onto it in the water”
Mark's opinion - I like this bag, I am a fan of the 11mm rope for all round use. As with some of the guides I normally pay out a few meters before throwing to make the bag easier to throw. The handles on the neck are one of my favourite details to this Bag.
Where would any throwbag review be without a bag from NRS. The NRS bag is the only non-European bag in this test. NRS bags seem to be the outfitters choice when supplying bags to be used by their guides. NRS bags are durable & very cost effective. The design is basic yet functional. The mesh band allows the bag to drain easily and the florescent bag colour makes the bag easily identifiable. The Rescue Pro has a NFPA rating which means the emergency services in the states can use it
Guide opinion - “The loop on the bag end is all wrong” “The foam in the bag allowed it to float really easily” “Cool to repack & throw”
Mark's opinion - “The pro rescue bag is great for first time users on training courses the bag is easy to throw & Repack. As with the HF Bags you need adjust the loop at the bag end of the rope before use to make the knot safer & smaller. I really liked the raised red braiding in the rope which helps with grip when belaying. Big thumbs up to NRS for using the Sterling grabline rope.
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