HMS
HMS or HMS biner are synonims for a pear shaped biner. The origin of the name is the German name for a Munter hitch, which literally translates to "Half Clove-hitch belay". In French too, a munter hitch is called "Half Clove hitch" (demi-cabestan). Back to German. In German, Munter hitch belay is called - HalbMastwurfSicherung. Breaking it up, and with a litlle imagination, we get:
Halb - as half,
Mastwurf - mast and wrap, so wrapped around a pole, as a clove hitch,
and finally,
Sicherung - which is similar to securing, or simply, belay.
Put all these back together and we get - HalbMastwurfSicherung - HMS.
A Munter hitch is a hitch tied around a pole or biner, and can serve as an improvised belay device. When reversing the rope direction the Munter hitch flips inside the binner but that requires a wide, pear shaped and symetrical biner. With a D-shaped biner, the hitch can easily get stuck and not flip .
So, to summarize, an HMS is a biner that is pefect for HMS belay, or simply, a pear shaped biner.
Contributions to this page were made by Mica Yaniv and others...
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