Tried out a new idea recently — having the Fifi on the carabiner at the top of the aid ladder, instead of attached to the harness. To shorten the daisy chain I loop up a bit and hook it on. I always found it awkward to pull up with one hand and the other hand trying to hook a harness Fifi to the daisy as it floats about in the breeze.

Fifi on top seems to work well: you can orient it with your top hand as you pull up, then grab a loop of the daisy with the other hand to hook it on, all in front of your face. It is less likely to self-unhook when the daisy goes slack as you move about, and is very easy to flip off when you want to release it. Seams to be OK top-stepping as the Fifi sling slides up the spine of the carabiner smoothly, not that I’m that good / brave at top-stepping yet!

This set-up reduces the crowding on the harness where the daisies are girth hitched. Only drawback I can see is the need for two Fifi’s but they weigh bugger-all. Not sure how this would go with three and four ladder set-ups. Haven’t quite settled on where / how to attach the Fifi at the top of the ladder yet, but in general the trials have been a success. I used it on the Dusk Wall project and various experiments in a tree at home.

There may be some tried and true wisdom for having the Fifi on the harness that I’m yet to discover being a total aid novice, but it seems a whole lot easier to me. Perhaps the adjustable daisy has superseded this whole set-up anyway; haven’t tried one though.

Big thanks to Owen who gave me his spare Fifi hook so I could try this out.