Review: New England Dynaglide Throwline

New England Dynaglide Throwline.- 2mm

Manufacturers guff – DynaGlide™ is a highly visible, snag-resistant 12-strand throwline of 100% Dyneema® SK-75 fiber that is pre-stretched and tension set and then coated with tinted vinyl in a controlled curing operation, binding the vinyl to the fibers. The result is a very strong, very low stretch throwline that is compact and “slick” that glides easily over branches and through crotches in trees without snagging or catching. The lightweight design permits the use of lighter weight throwlines than traditional throwlines.Available in 2mm diameter in two high visibility colors: Orange and Green

Bought a pair of these lines almost a year ago to replace my old polyethylene lines that were getting a bit short and knackered. I’ve given them a fair test I’d say!

So, Its a throwline. What makes it worth £15 odd per line?

Well New England consider this line to have two unique selling points –

Its Dyneema.

Its got a funky vinyl coating.

There are other dyneema lines out there, though they’re not marketed and packaged as throwlines. Its important to note that a dyneema line is a completely different animal to the classic polyethylene.

Its static, so it won’t stretch and its super strong. (I’ve hung off it!) This means if the bark friction is too great, you can’t twang it down in the same way because there’s no elasticity. More on this later!

A quick note note on the strength of Dyneema. I know a couple of guys wo work at the National Trust, where they’re not allowed to climb. If they see a hanger / dead limb they’ll isolate it with the throwline, tie it to the landrover and drive off!

Dyneema also stores well. I doesn’t have the same knotty, tangly bad habits of some braided lines like Zing-it. I’ve let some of my less able groundies put the line away and its very forgiving (just like me)! Its also splicable (is that a word?) with a hollow braid splice.

Anyhow, lets get on to that coating and back to that friction issue. I use 8oz bags and basically, the friction is too great. Its a real fight to get the bloody bag down on smooth bark like Ash. Smaller diameter branches are worse than larger ones. I lob it a bit harder now to ensure that enough line runs through the union to allow greater velocity on the down side. Then for isolation, I’ll clip another bag on. The dynaglide runs fine with 16oz.

When the lines were new, it was worse! The coating wears off in the first couple of weeks til it is pretty much non-existent. What was the point? I couldn’t tell you…

I’ve adapted to the line because I thought it would break in more and get smoother with time – one year in and it ain’t happened!
My other reason for sticking with it was that I got sick of hitting a good point, pulling my rope in and the line snapping. This, I can say, has never happened!

All in all, dependable stuff. However, if you like light bags, prepare to change your style!