Is there any type of line that anyone would recomend?

Or is there a pre-made kit with line and harness that would be compact enough to leave at an office?

yeah I submited an order for 2 parachutes... still waiting for the answer... damn slow moving purchasing dept! I'm on the 20th floor as opposed to 46 in WTC so my parents kind of sleep better.

Matt

Building manager: "As soon as the flying pigs submit a flight plan, we'll know when there'll be open air space..."

<img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Here's what I would do...

Get two 120' lengths of Green Line rope:
Green Line - MajorSurplusNSurvival.com

Get 6 Caribineers (2 sets):
3 Caribineers - MajorSuplusNSurvival.com

Take one of your two lengths of rope and cut it into 6 20' sections for swiss seats. Make sure you sear the cut ends of the rope with a lighter so that they don't fray over time. I always wrapped the ends with electrical tape as an extra precaution. Throw it all in a cheap WalMart backpack.

Learn how to tie swiss seats quickly and practice with the equipment till you're comfortable. This should get up to 6 people out of 11 stories. You could also use one of the caribineers as a quick link if you've got a good anchor point to hook in to. Tie a figure-8 knot in one end of your rappelling rope and put the caribineer through the loop.

That's the safest (yet cheapest) way to be prepared. If you're willing to spend more, here's some upgrades (in rough order of importance):
1) You could drop the extra coil of rope and get climbing harnesses (however many you need).
2) Locking carabineers, but if you're in the dark in a hurry it may not matter - you might not take the time to lock it anyway.
3) You could get figure-8's and have them threaded into the top end of the rope. Then you could just hook into the lowest one on rope and go!
4) You could buy better rope, but as a one-shot escape rope Green Line is more than adequate. I used it as my primary stuff for years and I'm still here to talk about. But there are better ropes (higher breaking strength, smoother, etc.) out there.

OK, how's that for a start? <img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Since we keep talking about it, I went ahead and found a link. The instructions look about right to me. <img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

How to Tie a Swiss Seat

The way I figure it. If you are in a non government building less than 20 stories you are not a target anyway.

Large buildings in major cities are the target as well as gov instalations, nuclear facilities and a large crowd complex's .

If your low building is attacked and you survive the impact you have a pretty good chace of getting out anyway ie: Pentagon

Its the tall buildings that your screwed.

Sorry climbers.
I be damed if I am waiting around trying to figure out knots, homemade harnesses and tie off points when I am already out a window floating down in seconds.

Military pilots are not issued ropes for a reason.

No matter how you cut it chutes are faster and a more convenient way of getting on the ground from great heights.

Or else they should rename it the 82 rapelling division.

Did anyone actually watch those video's?

Mike

Yeah, its that being-caught-in-the-crosswind,-smacked-against-the-building-and-plummeting-to-my-death-as-the-chute-folds-up thing that bothers me... <img src="images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Jumping out of a plane is a little different than jumping out of a building, to wit:
1) Its not very feasible to try and rappel 5000+ feet while moving laterally across the ground at 200 mph.
2) There is nothing underneath a flying plane that can interfere with a chute.
3) When you're at 5000+ feet and your primary chute fails, you have a good 30 seconds to cut away and pull your secondary. This can't happen at 300 feet - time to impact: 4.3 seconds. <img src="images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

I also agree that this is a low-probability emergency. But if I worked in a high-rise I'd at least give the matter some thought. And this site is about being prepared, isn't it?

Oh yeah, and since we agree this is a pretty low-probabilty emergency, would you rather buy $100 worth of climbing gear (that you can use for other things) or a much more expensive piece of specialized equipment?

hey to wit:

The risks of a chute are no greater than repelling out of a burning inferno. When the flames are at your back you will want a chute!

Those chutes are designed to survive bumping up against a building. They are not high performance ram air chutes. More of a training chute for dummies, much safer.

There are huge risks jumping out of any plane at any height.
A building is no different.

I have jumped out of choppers at less than 500ft many times (have you?) and it is no different than 5000 only quicker landing.

Yes, rapelling may work and chutes may work. I prefer the chute directing thank you. Further more, I value my life more than $100 for basic climbing gear. If I thought my life was at risk because of who I worked for and where it is $2k is a small price to pay.

The different variables to this risk assesment are endless this is a stupid either or conversation anyway.

I just prefer the chute thanks,

Mike

Getting a little snippy there, dude... why the hostility?

Jumping out of a building is no different than jumping out of a plane? I can only disagree. I've already given my explanation for my position on this.

To answer your parenthetical question, I have rappelled off of cliffs as high as 300 feet, in the dark, and in the rain, and in constricted conditions (pits). I have parachuted out of planes. But I have never jumped out of helicopters at 500 feet... in other words, I wasn't in the military.

I spent my youth learning physics and advancing the knowledge base of this country. You may not agree, but I think that is at least as noble of a pursuit as being trained to defend it physically... does the fact that I am not a rescue jumper or an airbourne ranger invalidate my opinions on this board? Alas, I cannot "out macho" you, but I would hope that I could still have something to offer here.

Would I spend virtually any amount of money to protect my life? Certainly. But the financial argument is valid because money I spend on a parachute that I will probably never use, is money that I could have spent on tools that might be more useful to my survival.

And if this conversation is stupid, then why are you still keeping up your end of it?

If you're trained to BASE jump, or at least skydive, then go for it! But I think the risk of using a parachute untrained are pretty dang high... even with a canopy chute. I'm told a fair percentage of active and experienced BASE jumpers die every year. I think that percentage is much higher than say, mountaineers. I can look up the hard numbers for you if you like, but it might be better if you do the research yourself. That way you don't have to take my word for it. If you can prove me wrong, then I will gladly and humbly "stand corrected."

I'm not getting snippy haha.

Your the one who wrote" to wit".

Anyway, there is merrit for both ideas for sure.

And yes you do have much to offer this converstation. I am not slamming you or your rational personally. No disrespect toward you.

We all get caught up prooving our own preferences I guess.

My opinion stops here and now on this subject. I'm tired haha.

I just know what chutes can do and am comfortable in their performance in this scenario.

Mike