A long time ago I climbed a tree with too smooth of bark with a climber, climbing down I extended the base too far down and it didn't grab on the tree.Fortunately I had a strap around the tree and under my arms, it caught and allowed me to pick up the base again and start over. If I hadn't worn one who knows what the outcome would have been. These fall restraints are inconvenient but so is being dead or incapacitated.