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A sling is an item of climbing equipment consisting of a tied or sewn loop of webbing that can be wrapped around sections of rock, hitched (tied) to other pieces of equipment or even tied directly to a tensioned line using a prusik knot, for anchor extension, equalisation, or climbing the rope. A gear sling is used to organise or carry equipment, and slings are also a component of quickdraws. Usually sold in lengths of 10 cm, 30 cm, 60 cm, 120 cm or 400 cm at either 10 mm or 12 mm widths, slings usually have a rated breaking strength of 22kn.
In recent years, slings have started making use of dyneema often sold under the brand name Spectra. It has limited applications however as this material is not dynamic (does not stretch) and therefore a fall on it may involve undesirable shock loading of the other pieces of equipment and the climber. It also has a much lower melting point resulting in it being a poor choice for making prusiks. It is lighter and smaller than the traditional nylon sling, and therefore has become popular. Dyneema is also much stronger per pound.
Slings can also be called runners.