Here's a little bit about ladderloc buckles...aka tensionlock buckles. Both those are proprietary names...I wonder what the generic would be... How about cinchable tension-locking buckle. Anyway, I've been seeing people misuse these so I thought I'd write a little post.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ur_cys3NyI0THXuf5qLhEXZnQPndMJ4WlBP79sVr-4uKZHoTtEAca8N80ix4ZpV3DzaT7qFVGV6FNL1N_CEOyIOOaWcyqo4dt9kZ5Rs7ThFZ1Mwga-gGVmwp_vy8vawpJU3916CFVCo/s400/IMG_9974.jpg)
This guide is really only for the three-bar ladderloc. I see people threading their webbing through the bar on the end, and that's wrong. I think that bar's there to keep the buckle from flipping back and releasing the webbing tension. I mean, it works like this---you're just not using your buckle optimally. The end bar isn't as strong as the middle bar so you could potentially have a buckle failure...especially when it gets older and is in sub-freezing temperatures. It's kinda like not closing the quick-release lever on your bike and instead just screwing the skewer tight. It'll keep your wheel on most of the time but there might be a time when it just comes off.
And I'm not saying I didn't make this same mistake when I first started. But I wasn't selling bags for $200 back then either.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK_HzIjUGeiM7yTFR0dczBu6YdOjnQTnKQA1Qy6rZ9Ww7EPTYz2Fh6J0DbmVE4srWlrpYPOrXTmgZ8djlRNligRFLKGZyK68oYSFfwlXiPHO5QbAtyso-X0HguPFsH6wrJpqXHb6y-U04/s400/IMG_9978.jpg)
Here's what it looks like all set up and ready to go.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicI_5WnovIPM8Wbp5G__c2hGJ4v32JKZfefj4Lu2CRyhXqDysK0WvJxnRJ-f92GcSnCFbDtunfa0KI8zuw2Y9Nd8EQOauxf92D2OEKz68MMkeaKokasEH962AqdfUjGUMJB1oNiBpU6q8/s400/IMG_9977.jpg)
And from the side.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8zyxAnqnl1gC85lu2Q3-pT1rZPkMMtPBohCeM2EfUSeNVgdgSuH2c2XffzHHmsG8OrhiWmeSwKr_yrJi7d1hN1k2Jp4zowPYsDs521cl6gQvu_uV8_SK9Yk6jMg6r67-Sd_rh264d5wE/s400/IMG_9979.jpg)
And here's what a two-bar ladderloc looks like. What you might call a low-profile version (with quick-release d-ring added).
Now you know.
Woo!