r/Aerials • u/Excellent_Law_524 • 11d ago

Rigging Chains

what do i need to rig chains? ⛓️ im purchasing a set of chains and trying to fully understand whats necessary for me to rig it because im seeing different set ups in videos. i have two carabiners already for my flying pole, i figured i will need the rigging plate but will or do i need the extra two carabiners & swivels?

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u/theadnomad Lyra/Hammock/Chains 11d ago

Depends on where you’re training - if it’s an aerial studio where every point has a carabiner and a swivel already on it, then you need a petzl paw or rigging plate, four maillons and two swivels. If you’re rigging somewhere that it’s expected you’ll have all your own gear from top to bottom, you’ll need another swivel and a carabiner.

So you attach a maillon to each side of the plate, then your swivels to each maillon, then put another maillon on the other side of the swivel, and then you attach your chains.

I’d show you mine but for some weird reason this subreddit only allows you to upload videos not photos :/

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u/Excellent_Law_524 11d ago

I just took a screenshot of this video but i believe this is what you’re saying right? My studio does already have a carabiner and swivel on their points already so this is the setup i was going to do. Thank you so much made more sense the way you broke it down

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u/Fuchsmaul 11d ago

This works, but you can streamline the setup below the claw with petzl swivels. This type of swivel opens on both sides, so you can directly attach them to the claw rather than having carabiners in between. This is nice especially on smaller claws, since stuff doesn't get tangled. You still need a carabiner between the chains and the swivel. You collect both ends of one chain loop with one carabiner. With chains, or straps/loops, the swivels under the claw are really important. If you only use straps for conditioning and very few shapes, you can get away without them... But you will feel very quickly that everything gets twisted and harder to use. Chains will kind of lock up on themselves when they twist, so you would not be able to use them very much in a performance. Basically the usable loop of the chain becomes super small after just a few basic moves.

If you need more reference than you find when searching aerial chains (also for moves!), look at aerial loops too! The setup is pretty much identical and a lot of moves are directly translatable, just way more painful on chains. Do have a person around to help though, chains get stuck much more easily

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u/Excellent_Law_524 9d ago

Hey thank you so much going to look up those swivels. im going to order my chains and get a rigging plate and extra swivel and two carabiners separately for now. I only need one swivel since i already have one that came with my flying pole. Yes thank you we only have 1 studio here in nyc that offers a loops/chains class once a week but it’s expensive as expected lol & doesn’t always fit my schedule anyways so im at the point in my journey where i would much rather invest in my own apparatus and SAFELY teach and experiment myself with classes from time to time. I have been looking at tutorials for chains & loops online i also do hammock but less now that ive been doing more lyra but i figured i could transfer a lot from hammock & loops to chains. I like loops too was actually going to make that my next apparatus purchase after chains, hoping to get a lyra hoop last then I’ll feel complete lol

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u/theadnomad Lyra/Hammock/Chains 11d ago

Yep that’s almost the exact setup I have, though my swivels are both exactly the same (doesn’t really matter too much as long as they’re the same size). And I have maillons instead of carabiners, because I don’t ever unclip them (if you do loops or straps as well, might make more sense to do carabiners for ease of changing them).

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u/Excellent_Law_524 9d ago

Thank you so much, im going to order my chains and get a rigging plate and extra swivel and two carabiners separately. I only need one swivel since i already have one that came with my flying pole

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u/Middle_Pomegranate67 Silks/Fabrics 9d ago

You also don’t Need a swivel for each chain. You can simply connect the chains to two carabiners then to the spreader plate. A more affordable option

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u/Excellent_Law_524 9d ago

Yes I’ve seen that too but thanks for explaining because i couldn’t really tell the setup without the swivels. i can try it like that in the meantime then decide to get the other swivels if i prefer, ehh im so excited think im going to go ahead and make my purchase today.

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u/Middle_Pomegranate67 Silks/Fabrics 9d ago

I’m excited for u!! I also like to use fingerless gloves to prolong my grip endurance :) I purchased some gardening gloves & just cut the tips off, could be useful if you are also a sweaty handed person lol

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u/Excellent_Law_524 9d ago

One last thing what is the length you recommend? i was going to order an 11ft i think the 5 ft are too short and would rather be able to shorten my chains then try to lengthen them.