HIKO – Hawk Eye 20M Throw rope

To really appreciate every feature this throw rope offers you need to understand and consider every situation in which you can find yourself as a safety and as one to be saved. Like with every product design – all started with observation, study and analysis. One we concluded without a doubt – there is not one best universally recognized throw rope design. Not even close. A boat designer will tell you that you cannot build a boat that becomes everyone’s favorite. Well…we are not kayak designers so here you have it – everyone’s favorite throw rope. 

To put our money where our mouth is – let’s run it feature by feature:

ROPE:

Many argue this is the most important part. The rope can be easily attached and detached which allows us to offer a variety of ropes. All ropes are made 100% from polypropylene and float. 

10 mm without a core: many prefer the soft feel of core free ropes. They feel nice in hand and are super easy to stuff in the bag – they do not tangle. 10kN tensile / 7.5kN tensile with a knot.

8 mm with core: compact and strong. Not a rope you will want to use 10 times a day but it packs small. It is perfect for as a backup rope in your kayak. 10kN tensile / 8.5kN tensile with a knot.

10 mm with a core: our strongest line equipped to flip rafts, cars and planes. Maybe not planes but small cars for sure. 10 mm feels nice in hand and is perfect for commercial use and frequent deployment. 12kN tensile / 9.5kN tensile with a knot.

BAG ENTRY

This is definitely the most controversial topic. Cords, snap buttons, quick release, velcro the list goes on in terms of the most popular closing mechanism. The functional priorities are identical however. It has to be quick, reliable and durable. 

Wide reinforced entry is a standard feature nowadays but we used it differently. Splitting the edge into four separate chambers, three of which we reinforced with a stiffener, we created an auto-collapsible fold secured by nothing less than a military grade side squeeze buckle – the most intuitive and durable closure there is. The system prevents incomplete unfastening where semi-loosen webbing or cords prevent the rope from uncoiling when thrown. You also get rid of that “choked” edge of the bag that serves no purpose.

MAGIC LOOPS

When feeding the rope back inside the bag you want to do so quickly and neatly. The rim of the bag is equipped with two elastic loops – one on each side. Threading both your pinkies through the loops you have a firm hold of the bag while keeping all your remaining fingers free for feeding. When you reach the end of the rope, thread it through one of the loops so that you can easily locate and grab the end when you open the bag. 

THE BAG CONSTRUCTION

Not that there is something seriously wrong with a classic cylinder. It’s just not optimal. Spherical bottom is not ergonomic when attached around your waist. We curved the wall of the bag to form an angled bottom – this soft transition does not stick out as a cylindric bottom would. Removing thick foam that normally rests at the bottom we saved valuable space. Instead we spread much thinner but stiffer foam along the front wall of the bag. The foam serves as a floatation and  as reinforcement of the entire bag making the feed and deployment of the rope easier and more reliable.  

ROPE TO BAG ATTACHMENT

We wanted a simple but strong attachment of the rope to the bag. When making the knot – figure eight on a bight usually – you want to have some room for error in terms of the size of the loop. This is why we locked the size of the loop on the outside of the bag – creating a miniature webbing sling. One loop of the sling sticks outside the bag creating an attachment loop of consistent size. A metal ring rests on the other side of the sling.  The length of the sling is set for the ring to just barely reach the edge of the open bag. This way your face is protected from the ring when the bag is thrown at you and at the same the ring rests close enough to the edge where it remains accessible to comfortably tie a knot without having to turn the bag inside out.

BAG TO BELT ATTACHMENT

There are two camps. One likes to keep their throw bag in a pouch. The argument is easy detachment and  attachment of the rope to the belt – no need to thread the webbing through loops. Others swear by having simple, weightless attachment via a system of loops and webbing that is secured in a cam lock. 

Well, again, we united the camps. Taking advantage of the ergonomic bag shape we understood that stretching the bag between two points could work. G-hook on one side slides easily into a loop on the lid of the bag. Then you simply pass the bag behind you back where the loop of the sling is simply asking to be threaded by a webbing that ends in a cam-lock. You get the light weight of the pouch-free method and the ergonomy and easy access of a pouch.  

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