Deceleration mats
At certain height a safe landing on hard mat is not possible no matter to the level of skills. The human body suffers visible or invisible injuries.
In such case a mat with a capability to ensure reasonably low deceleration must be used.
The best posible position to land is on the back. Arms, legs and neck are minimally stressed in such position.
It's important to know that the minimum deflection of the mat is 30-40 cm at fall from 4 m height. With increased height the deflection must grow ant therefore also the thickness of the mat.
Adjustable mats are preferable to compensate the body mass of the user. However, the awareness that deceleration mats should be used instead of shock absorbing for high falls, is a big step towards increased safety.
Foam mats EN 12503 Type 8 aren't the best solution for high uncontrolled falls. Check the slideshow below. Decelerations at fall can be enormous.
Watch from 45th to 55th second. The body goes deep into the mat - not as deep as in airbag but much deeper than on climbing mats. Height of the fall is cca 4 m - similar to high boulder climbing.
Calculations on Airbags give much better results. Also very high climbing is possible with use of Airbags. These facts could change the future of sport climbing.
Jump from 7500 meters into net!
Speed before deceleration net - 190 km/h
Net deflection -cca 35 meters
Deceleration - cca 4 G