Do You Top Rope Solo? Then You Need This New Piece of Kit

Top rope (TR) soloing is an underused tool for working projects, allowing you to take your time dialing in crux sequences without the need of a belayer. It’s also simply a fun day out route climbing when you can’t find a partner or are feeling anti-social. The technique is increasingly used in multi-pitch climbing as well, where experienced climbers can save time and effort with the second following with a TR solo setup.

TR solo systems can be pretty complex, and the details matter if you want an efficient and safe system. One necessary piece of gear in any setup is some type of neck or chest strap to keep the upper device in the correct position while climbing – otherwise the device doesn’t feed smoothly. Tommy Caldwell famously uses the elastic headband of an old headlamp for his DIY setup. Lots of other DIY varieties exist, often using some combination of thin elastic and static cords.

If you TR solo a lot, you’ve likely played around with different systems for keeping your upper device stable. I’ve tried a few things over the years, including copying Caldwell’s method. Avant Climbing Innovations recently introduced the Top Rope Solo Neck Lanyard, a readymade neck strap that is hands down the best solution to this problem I’ve ever encountered. It sure beats any of my DIY solutions. There are four things that make picking up an Avant lanyard for your next TR solo session a no-brainer: efficiency, adjustability, comfort, and safety.

The Avant lanyard is quick and easy to set up. You place the looped bungee lanyard around your neck, insert the pass-through loop through your upper progress capture device, and then clip this pass-through loop through a micro carabiner at the end of the lanyard. You can then adjust the length of the lanyard with a slide adjuster behind your neck. This simple setup is such a time saver when moving between routes, especially on a multipitch. To learn more about how to use the Avant lanyard, check out their instructions.

With the slide adjuster, the lanyard fits everyone – it’s a one-size-fits-all product – and this means that it can be shared by partners while on a multi-pitch (if needed). The quick adjustability is great for getting that perfect tension with the progress capture device depending on what angle of terrain you’re climbing. The bungee stiffness has been calibrated to not restrict climber movements while on undulating terrain, keeping the progress-capture device upwards in all positions.

Unlike a lot of DIY solutions, the Avant lanyard is very comfortable to wear around the neck. The lanyard is constructed out of a thin bungee cord. This cord is then wrapped incased in smooth tubular webbing for a comfortable feel around the neck. When not in use around the neck, the lanyard can be stowed on your harness using its built in carabiner.

The Avant lanyard has two smart safety features. The first is that the lanyard is designed to break at a load of 35 lbs, preventing any choking hazard. If the lanyard gets snagged around something during a fall, the bungee will snap. The second feature is that the pass-through loop contains a rigid rubberized section to prevent the cord from jamming the progress-capture device. All TR solo systems have the risk of a piece of material getting sucked into the device, causing it to fail. This is why two devices must always be used. Avant has smartly reduced this risk by covering the majority of its pass-through loop with rubber. This limits the amount of cord wiggling around, reducing the chance of a jammed device.

To learn more about the Avant lanyard, I reached out to Brent Barghahn, owner of Avant. We discussed how he came up with the design, safety features, longevity, and more. You can read our interview below.

Originally from a small town in Minnesota, Barghahn was drawn to mechanical engineering through his early experiences building custom sports equipment. In university his focus shifted to rock climbing. After graduating, he moved to Salt Lake City to work in gear design at Black Diamond. Now living in Flagstaff, Arizona, Barghahn’s climbing focuses on technical routes, big walls, and crack lines, with lots of rope-soloing. He’s free climbed four routes on El Cap, lead rope-soloed up to 5.14, and projected many upper grade single- and multi-pitch trad routes.

Avant hosts a growing number of unique trad, multipitch, top-rope solo, and lead-rope solo products. We recently reviewed their “Flip-Stop” Cam Carabiner Stabilizers, which you can read about here. If you’re looking for other ways to level up your outdoor climbing, check out their “Quick-Fire” Cam Release,  “Snack Pack” Multipitch Storage Pouch, and “Tech-Tether” Multipitch Phone Leash.

Interview with Brent Barghahn

How did you come up with the idea for the lanyard?

I personally wanted a lanyard that was comfortable in free climbing movement, versatile enough to share with a partner while fix-and-follow multi-pitching, and universal enough to use with off-the-shelf progress capturing devices without dremeling or DIY mods. I had a rough version of the same features which I’ve used and loved for a few years. I wanted the final version to be high-tech and low-bulk, so I integrated heat shrink and swages inspired by the ultralight rigging seen in paragliding.

Here in Northern Arizona, we have a lot of rappel-in crags, so top rope soloing is convenient and popular. This gave me the opportunity to optimize this lanyard until it was perfect! The pass-through loop specifically couldn’t be easier to use with any device of your preference, and really speeds up transitions during a top rope solo mileage outing.

I’m impressed by the safety features, both the 35-lb break limit and the rigid rubber covering on the pass through loop to prevent the cord from jamming the device. Are there any other safety features I’m missing?

Those are the two primary safety features! The two other safety-related features are the integrated racking carabiner so that the lanyard isn’t dropped while up on a route, and the webbing padding to avoid neck burns in the case of snags. The rear adjustment is also arguably a safety feature – without adjustment it is difficult to hold progress capturing devices upwards with the correct tension across different routes of varying steepness.

I’ve experienced no wear or tear on the lanyard in the several times I’ve used it. I could imagine wear down low on the bungee and pass through loop with heavy use. Is this product expected to last many years or is it intended to be replaced regularly?

The lanyards should easily last a couple of seasons. My personal prototype lanyard is still working well a year later, despite frequent use. It was a balance between durability and the thin fail-safe design features, though, so this purposely lightweight lanyard won’t last forever.

Where is the lanyard made and assembled?

I was making these lanyards in my garage from prototyping through early production, but could not keep up with production demand (and still climb as much as I’d like, the whole goal of a climbing industry business!). I took the time to find a great contract manufacturer overseas that now makes them to better consistency and quality than I could achieve with my garage setup.

Your company offers such a unique array of products. Can you tell me about how and why you started Avant Climbing Innovations?

When I quit my climbing gear Design Engineer job in 2020 to climb full time, I thought I would be done inventing new gear. But I kept tinkering in the time since, and came up with a collection of interesting accessory gear that I was using for my own climbing objectives. I specifically had created various lead rope solo accessories to be able to solo redpoint climbs near my limit.

The aspirations to create a brand truly began when the Flip-Stop prototypes came to life. This little innovation improved my own trad climbing experience enough that I wanted to bring it to the climbing world. And, since I was doing the brand start up work either way, it made sense to bring all the rope solo accessories to market, too!

Avant is really a collection of gear improvements I’ve made to solve my own needs over the last years. At a point this last fall, I realized there were enough interesting innovations to bring a small brand to market. Enough friends had been asking for the home-made versions of the gear that it seemed worth committing to mass production. I am pleased to now offer these gear solutions widely to all climbers.