A two metre lanyard spends most of its working life not being two metres long. The rest of the time it trails behind the user, catching on things, getting stood on, and abrading against steelwork. Expandable webbing contracts to 1.4 metres and stretches to 2 metres as needed, so the lanyard follows rather than drags.
The practical benefits are all about nuisance rather than protection: less snagging, less wear, less to trip over, and a tidier working area. The fall protection is identical to a conventional lanyard of the same rating.
**One thing that catches people out:** fall clearance must be calculated on the **fully extended 2 metres**, not the contracted 1.4 metres. The webbing extends completely under load, so the contracted length plays no part in the calculation.
Key Features
- Expandable 1.4 m to 2 m: Contracts when not extended, so nothing trails.
- 45 mm webbing and 45 mm absorber: Full width construction.
- Scaffold hook and snap hook fitted: Ready to use.
- Three expandable options in the range: single tail (this one), Y forked (FA 30 800 15), and versions with an integral woven absorber (FA 30 900 20 and FA 30 1000 20) rated to 140 kg.
- Maximum user 100 kg including tools on this model.
Technical Specifications
| Code |
Tails |
Length |
Absorber |
Max User |
Cost |
| FA 30 703 20 |
Single |
1.4–2 m |
45 mm pack |
100 kg |
£32.08 |
| FA 30 800 15 |
Y forked |
1–1.5 m |
35 mm pack |
100 kg |
£48.49 |
| FA 30 900 20 |
Single |
1.4–2 m |
Integral woven |
140 kg |
£46.24 |
| FA 30 1000 20 |
Y forked |
1.4–2 m |
Integral woven |
140 kg |
£93.72 |
| FA 30 514 20 |
Single, kernmantle |
1.4–2 m |
35 mm pack |
140 kg |
£41.16 |
The FA 30 900 20 and FA 30 1000 20 have the absorber woven into the central webbing with progressive deformation, rather than as a separate folded pack.
BS EN 355 | Expandable | Calculate Clearance on Extended Length
Conforms to BS EN 355 for energy absorbing lanyards. Fall clearance must be calculated on the fully extended length, not the contracted length. The webbing extends completely under load. Category III PPE under Regulation (EU) 2016/425. Inspection by a competent person at intervals not exceeding 12 months.
Suitable Applications
Work involving constant movement where a trailing lanyard is a nuisance and a hazard: scaffolding, steel erection, tower work and general construction at height. The expandable webbing earns its cost on any job where the operative is moving continuously rather than working from one fixed position. Where the work is static, a conventional lanyard does the same protective job for less.
More About This Product
The lanyard is where most fall protection systems are specified wrongly, and almost always in the same direction: a restraint lanyard used where fall arrest was needed.
It happens because the two look alike, cost similarly, hang in the same place in the store and are both described as lanyards. The difference is a folded pack of stitched webbing — the shock absorber — and on some designs it is tucked inside a cover where it is not obvious at a glance. A restraint lanyard is engineered on the assumption that it will never take a fall, and if it does, the forces reaching the body are far beyond what the human frame tolerates.
Fall Clearance: The Calculation Nobody Does
Ask most people how much clearance a 2 metre shock absorbing lanyard needs and they will say two metres. The real figure is a great deal more, and the gap between those two numbers is where people get hurt.
The calculation stacks up as follows. Lanyard length — as marked on the lanyard. Shock absorber deployment — the pack tears progressively and extends significantly. The figure for your specific lanyard is on its own label and must be read from there. The user's height below the attachment point — the dorsal D-ring is at shoulder height, so add roughly 1.5 m to reach the feet. A safety margin — because the calculation assumes ideal conditions and reality rarely provides them.
Added together these come to considerably more than the lanyard length, frequently more than double it. On a low working platform a shock absorbing lanyard may not prevent the ground being reached at all.
Where the clearance is not available, the answer is a retractable block, which arrests in a far shorter distance, or a restraint system where a fall is prevented rather than arrested.
How to Use the Expandable Lanyard
- Calculate clearance on the extended length: 2 m, not 1.4 m.
- Attach to the harness dorsal D-ring.
- Anchor as high as practicable.
- Check the webbing still contracts: If it no longer returns to 1.4 m the elasticity has gone or it has been loaded.
- Inspect the absorber for deployment before every use.
- Fit edge protection where the webbing may cross an edge.
Warning: Calculate fall clearance on the fully extended length. Using the contracted length underestimates the clearance required. Withdraw immediately after arresting a fall or any sign of absorber deployment.
Safety Information
- For use only by trained and competent persons within a safe system of work.
- Maximum user weight as marked: 100 kg or 140 kg depending on model.
- Calculate fall clearance using the extended length.
- Check the lanyard still contracts to its stated minimum.
- Fit edge protection where the webbing may cross an edge.
- Withdraw immediately after arresting a fall or any absorber deployment.
- Inspection by a competent person required at intervals not exceeding 12 months.
- Store away from direct sunlight, heat sources and chemicals.
Inspection and Maintenance
Measure the contracted length against the original figure, since a lanyard that no longer returns has either lost elasticity or been loaded, and those need distinguishing. Inspect the full extended length on both faces for cuts, abrasion, fraying and staining, and examine every termination. On the pack-absorber models check for deployment, tearing or an opened cover. On the **woven absorber** models (FA 30 900 20 and FA 30 1000 20) deployment shows as elongation or distortion of the weave along the central section rather than a torn pack — a different thing to look for, and worth briefing inspectors on.
Downloads
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How much clearance do I need?
Calculate on the fully extended length — 2 m on this model. The webbing extends completely under load, so the contracted 1.4 m is irrelevant to the calculation and using it would underestimate what you need.
Q: What is a woven absorber?
On the FA 30 900 20 and FA 30 1000 20 the shock absorber is built into the central webbing with progressive deformation, rather than being a separate folded pack. It is slimmer with nothing bulky at the harness end, but deployment shows as elongation of the weave rather than a torn pack — worth knowing at inspection.
Q: Does the elasticity wear out?
It reduces over time, particularly with UV exposure and heavy use. A lanyard that no longer contracts still functions as fall arrest if undamaged, but has lost the feature you paid for — and it should be checked carefully to confirm it is lost elasticity rather than deployment.
Q: Restraint or fall arrest?
A restraint lanyard has no shock absorber and works by preventing you reaching a position from which a fall is possible. A fall arrest lanyard has an absorber and catches you after you have gone over. They look similar, and getting it wrong is the commonest serious specification error in this category.
Q: How much clearance does a 2 metre lanyard need?
Considerably more than the lanyard length, frequently more than double it. You add the lanyard length, the shock absorber deployment figure from the lanyard’s own label, the distance from the dorsal D-ring down to the feet, and a safety margin set by your risk assessment.
Q: Why must I not clip the spare tail to my harness?
On a Y forked lanyard, clipping the unused tail back to the harness creates a direct load path from the anchor to your body that bypasses the shock absorber entirely. It is the single most common misuse of a twin tail lanyard.
Q: What is the point of a twin tail?
It keeps you attached while moving between
anchor points. With a single tail you are unprotected for the seconds it takes to unclip and reclip, and those seconds are when people fall.
Q: Rope or webbing?
Webbing lies flatter against the body and is generally cheaper. Kernmantle rope is rounder in the hand, feeds through an adjuster more smoothly, and is preferred by most people who use an adjustable lanyard all day.
Q: Can I shorten a lanyard by knotting it?
Never. A knot concentrates load and can reduce a textile lanyard's strength by half or more. Use an adjustable lanyard or the correct length.
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FLAGS
1. FA-30-303-XX AND FA-30-503-XX TITLES SAY 1.5m/2m, SOURCE COPY SAYS 1.5m/2m, ONLY 1.5m IS PRICED Same pattern as several other lanyards. The 2m variants are named but absent from the price file.
2. FA-30-500-XX IS THE ONLY LANYARD WITHOUT CONNECTORS Textile loop and thimble eye, no karabiners. That is why it is £13.45 against £20.41 for the otherwise identical FA-30-502-XX. Worth stating clearly or customers will buy on price and be surprised. Red cross added to the short description.
3. ABSORBER WIDTH VARIES 35mm / 45mm WITH NO STATED REASON Both meet BS EN 355. The 45mm appears on Y forked and higher-rated models, which suggests it relates to arrest energy, but GT's copy does not explain it. Worth asking, since customers comparing two otherwise identical lanyards will notice.
4. TWO ABSORBER TYPES IN ONE RANGE — INSPECTION DIFFERS Folded pack (most models) vs integral woven (FA-30-900-20 and FA-30-1000-20). Deployment presents completely differently and an inspector used to torn packs may miss weave elongation. Worth flagging in your own inspection guidance, not just on the page.
5. FA-30-800-15 TITLE SAYS 1.5m, SOURCE SAYS "1 – 1.5 mtr" It is expandable, so both are right — but the title implies a fixed length. Suggest "1–1.5m Expandable".
