Endless Sling

No Ends, No Eyes, No Fittings — the Round Version to EN 1492-2 and the Flat Webbing Version to EN 1492-1

“Endless sling” is the most overloaded term in the lifting trade. Two completely different articles answer to it, they are built to two different standards, they behave in opposite ways on the same load, and in one market the word means one of them while in another market it means the other. Buyers order “an endless sling” every day and receive something they did not picture — most often a round tubular sleeve when they wanted a flat band, or the reverse. This page exists to settle that question before you order, and then to send you to the right article.

Two families, one word — the endless round sling and the endless flat webbing sling
Nothing to hook and nothing to lose — the loop simply sits over the hook
Turn the loop after every lift — no fixed bearing point, so the wear moves instead of concentrating
Round for round loads, flat for flat loads — the section decides what the sling is good at

An endless round sling in green above and an endless flat webbing sling in blue below

Close-up comparing the round tubular section of a round sling with the flat rectangular section of a webbing sling

Key Features

No Ends At All

Nothing off the shelf has an end to line up, a fitting to lose or a thimble to inspect. The article is one closed loop, and that is the entire point of the shape.

Rotate It and the Wear Moves

With no fixed ends, the bearing point, the hook contact point and the closure can all be turned around the loop. Worn in one spot is not the same as worn out — if you rotate it.

One Loop, Four Hitches

Straight, choked, basket and double wrap all come from the same loop, so one size on the rack covers the whole job.

Never Too Long to Reach

A loop has no fixed pick-up points, so it can be taken up by another turn. One endless sling often covers two fixed-length slings.

Both Families, One Source

We build the round sling from 1 t to 1000 t and the flat webbing sling across the EN 1492-1 band ladder — so whichever the load asks for, it comes from the same factory and the same test house.

Tested in House

Our own laboratory and a 1000 t horizontal testing machine, with CNAS and CE certification, so the figure on the label is a figure we have pulled.

“Endless Sling” Means Three Different Articles — Which One Do You Need?

Before anything else, pin down which article is actually being asked for. There are three, they are not interchangeable, and only one of them is a textile sling at all.

The three things buyers mean by “endless sling”. If your enquiry or your quotation does not say which, it is worth one question before the goods ship.
What is meant	Standard	Section	What it actually is	Where it is the usual meaning
Endless round sling	EN 1492-2	Round tube	A parallel fibre core inside a woven tubular sleeve, closed into a loop. The load-bearing core is continuous — there is no joint in it at all	Europe, and most export catalogues. This is what “endless sling” most often means in a lifting catalogue outside North America
Endless flat webbing sling	EN 1492-1	Flat band	A flat woven band closed into a loop by lapping its two ends over one another and stitching them — the endless type A flat woven webbing sling	North America, where standard web sling type 5 is the endless type. Also common wherever “webbing sling” is the everyday word
Endless grommet wire rope sling	Wire rope standards	Steel rope	A rope grommet closed on itself — a completely different material with a completely different set of rules, inspection criteria and discard standards	A legitimate third reading, and worth checking if the load or the site rules rule out textiles

The single most common ordering mistake in this family. A buyer asks for an endless sling, is shown a round tubular sleeve, and accepts it — because nobody said that the flat band they actually wanted is a different article under the same name. If you want a flat band, say flat or say webbing. If you want the tubular one, say round. One word, added to the enquiry, removes the entire ambiguity.

The Endless Round Sling — for Round, Curved and Awkward Loads

The round sling is a parallel fibre core — the part that carries the load — hidden inside a woven tubular sleeve. The sleeve does not carry the load; it protects the core and it carries the colour and the capacity marking. Because the core is continuous, the loop is genuinely without a joint, and because the sleeve is round, the sling sits into a round load instead of fighting it.

Continuous core, no joint — the load path is unbroken round the whole loop
A round section that conforms — it wraps pipe, coils, rolls, curved castings and awkward shapes closely, without creasing
Capacity far beyond webbing — we build round slings from 1 t to 1000 t
Soft, flexible and kind to surfaces — the classic choice for finished, coated and machined work
The trade-off you must know — the load-bearing core is inside the sleeve, so a sound-looking sleeve does not prove a sound core

An endless round sling in green rigged in a choke hitch around a large round steel pipe

The Endless Flat Webbing Sling — for Flat Faces and Edges

The flat webbing sling is the band itself. It carries the load across its whole width, so it bears on the load over a broadly spread contact patch — which is why it leaves a steel plate or a crate unmarked where a round section would concentrate the pressure. Under EN 1492-1 the endless type is made by lapping the two ends of the band over one another and stitching the lap, so unlike the round sling it does have exactly one joint.

Broad flat bearing — the load is spread across the full band width
One joint, and you can see it — the lapped and stitched closure, made as a full-strength lap and closed by dense parallel rows of stitching
Everything that carries the load is on the outside — the quiet inspection advantage over the round sling
The EN 1492-1 capacity ladder — 1 t to 30 t in the standard bands, and to order beyond
Keep it flat — a flat band twisted into a rope loses the contact area that is its whole advantage

An endless flat webbing sling in blue in a basket arrangement under a stack of steel plates

An endless round sling looped over a crane hook with no ends and no fittings

Round or Flat? The Decision

The two are not better and worse — they are good at different shapes. Match the section to the load and the rest follows.
Property	Endless round sling	Endless flat webbing sling
Standard	EN 1492-2	EN 1492-1
Section	Round tube, circular	Flat band, rectangular
What carries the load	A continuous parallel fibre core inside the sleeve	The flat woven webbing itself
Joint	None in the core — it is continuous	One lapped and stitched joint closes the loop
Round and curved loads	Excellent — conforms and grips the curvature	Fair — a flat band is less happy around tight curves
Flat, wide loads	Fair — the bearing concentrates on a narrower line	Excellent — lies flat and spreads the bearing across the width
Bearing pressure on the load	Higher — a narrow contact line	Lower — a broad contact patch
Capacity range we build	1 t to 1000 t	1 t to 30 t in the standard bands
First inspection point	The sleeve over the whole loop, because the core is hidden	The lap joint and the bearing points, because everything is visible
If it is cut	A cut sleeve is visible, but the core behind it may also be damaged and cannot be seen	Immediately visible and immediately serious — the load path is the band you are looking at
Best for	Pipe, coils, rolls, curved castings, machined and finished parts, and anything above the webbing ladder	Plate, sections, box girders, crates, stillages, machinery, and any flat or boxy load with edges

The rule in one line. If the load is round or curved — or the surface must not be marked, or the capacity is above the webbing ladder — take the round sling. If the load has a flat face or edges and you want the load spread across a broad patch, take the flat webbing sling. And remember the inspection consequence either way: the round sling hides its load path, the flat sling shows you yours.

Working Load Limit, Colour and Safety Factor

Both families are marked in colour, but the two ladders are not the same and the colours do not mean the same things across them. Read the label rather than the colour, and read the standard as well as the band.

The flat webbing ladder — EN 1492-1

Under EN 1492-1 the webbing colour certifies one thing only: the working load limit band, in straight lift. The black stripes give the tonne figure so the two markings can be cross-checked. Reference widths are the published series for this range; the final width is stated on the order acknowledgement.
WLL (straight lift)	Webbing colour	Black stripes	Reference width	Choked (× 0.8)
1 t	Violet	1	Confirm	0.8 t
2 t	Green	2	50 mm	1.6 t
3 t	Yellow	3	75 mm	2.4 t
4 t	Grey	4	100 mm	3.2 t
5 t	Red	5	125 mm	4.0 t
6 t	Brown	6	150 mm	4.8 t
8 t	Blue	8	200 mm	6.4 t
10 t	Orange	10	250 mm	8.0 t

Above 10 t the colour no longer identifies the sling, so the working load limit printed on the sewn label governs.

The round sling ladder — EN 1492-2

Round slings are colour coded to the same capacity bands, but the sleeve colour is a coding applied by the maker: the sleeve does not carry the load and its colour is not a material indication. The core inside is what is rated. We build round slings from 1 t to 1000 t, which is where the heavy end of the whole business sits — beyond the webbing ladder entirely.

Two traps worth carrying in your head. First, the word green means two unrelated things on the same sling: green webbing means a 2 t band, while a green sewn label means the fibre is polyamide. Second, the colour tells you the band but not how much the sling will take before it breaks — that is the safety factor, and the same red 5 t sling can be a 35 t object built to EN 1492-1 at 7:1, a 25 t object built to ASME B30.9 at 5:1, or a 40 t object built to AS 1353 at 8:1. All three look identical on a rack.

How the Length of an Endless Sling Is Specified

An endless sling has no ends, so there is nothing to measure end to end. It is quoted in one of two ways, and the two differ by about a factor of two — which is the most common cause of an endless sling arriving at the wrong length, in either family.

Circumference — the total perimeter of the loop: the length of material in the finished sling.
Effective working length — the usable height you actually get, which is roughly half the circumference, because the loop is doubled when it hangs.

Circumference ordered	Approx. effective working length	Typical use
2 m	1 m	Chokes and short lifts, tight rigging
4 m	2 m	The general-purpose size
6 m	3 m	Basket lifts on plant and fabrications
8 m	4 m	Long sections, bundles and pipework
10 m	5 m	Structure and large plant
12 m	6 m	Standard longest; longer to order

Illustrative — the relationship is the point. The exact figure depends on the section, the ply, the wall thickness and the bend radius, so state which convention your figure is in and we will confirm it on the order acknowledgement. If you would rather, just tell us how far the hook will be from the load — that is the figure you actually care about, and we will size the loop to it.

Rigging the Loop — Hitches and Mode Factors

The label figure is the straight lift rating. Every other arrangement is derived from it by a mode factor, and these factors apply to both families.

Hitch or mode	Mode factor M	What it means
Straight lift	1.0	The label figure. The loop hangs as a U with both parts on the hook.
Choked	0.8	The loop passes round the load and back through itself so it grips as it takes the weight. The natural way to pick up a section or a bundle — and it costs a fifth of the rating.
Basket, 0–7°	2.0	The loop passes under the load with both legs on the hook, legs within 7 degrees of vertical.
Basket, 7–45°	1.4	As the legs open out, the tension in each rises and the usable capacity falls.
Basket, 45–60°	1.0	At this spread the basket gives no more than a straight lift.
Angled choke at 45°	0.7	Choked, and the legs then open away from vertical. A choke placed straight onto the hook keeps 0.8.
Angled choke at 60°	0.5	The most heavily reduced arrangement in common use — check this figure before the lift, not after.

The calculation that catches most buyers. These factors reduce the rated figure — the basket figure does not give the sling a second, higher capacity. And the practical consequence of the choke factor is worth carrying in your head: a 4 t load in a choker needs a 5 t sling, because 4 ÷ 0.8 = 5. That single calculation is the most common reason a 4 t sling turns out not to be enough.

One habit applies to both families and is the cheapest thing you can do for sling life: rotate the loop after every lift, so that the section that was in the hook and the section that bore on the load move to new positions. On a sling with ends this is impossible. On an endless sling it costs nothing — and it is the single habit that decides whether the sling lasts one season or three. If the same section always ends up in the hook, an endless sling wears no better than a sling with eyes.

Inspection, Handling and Limitations

The two families are inspected in opposite ways, and this is the most important practical difference between them.

Endless flat webbing sling

The lap joint first. Every stitch row across the whole lap, the webbing at the step at each end of the lap, and that the two layers are still lying flat and parallel. Broken, slack or pulled stitching condemns the sling.
The bearing points — cuts, abrasion, glazing or a worn edge where the band has wrapped loads.
The hook contact area, and where the webbing folds over itself.
The rest of the band. A flat band carries the load across its whole width, so a cut at any point matters.
Edges. Cuts from the load’s own corners are the classic flat webbing failure, and the classic reason an edge protector was needed.
Glazing and hardening — a band gone shiny or stiff has met heat or sustained friction.

Endless round sling

Start with the sleeve, and accept its limits. Look for cuts, holes, abrasion, glazing and any place where the sleeve has worn thin enough to expose or threaten the core.
Feel for the core. Run the loop through your hands looking for a lump, a flat spot, a soft section or a bulge — a sign the core has been damaged where you cannot see it.
Look for a bulge at the ends of the sleeve and for any displacement of the core inside it.
Check the label for legibility of the working load limit, the standard and the traceability code.

Rotate as policy, not as repair. Turn the loop after each lift so the bearing point, the hook point and the closure keep moving. Turning it only once it is worn is too late.
Keep the band flat and untwisted where you are using a flat webbing sling, and keep a lap joint out of the bearing area where the geometry allows.
Protect against edges with webbing, and against heat with both. Heat and edge damage destroy synthetic slings faster than load does.
Never repair a sling. No stitching, no splicing, no knotting. A knot in a webbing sling can lose half its capacity.
Store clean, dry and out of sunlight, and never on a concrete floor where it can pick up grit.
Record it. Log the lifts, the hitches, the loads and any damage, so a wear pattern is visible before it becomes a failure.

Safety notice: lifting operations are inherently dangerous. Always follow the instructions of the equipment manufacturer, the practice of your national governing body, and the training you have received. Never exceed the working load limit for the configuration you are using — a straight lift, a choke and a basket are three different ratings on the same sling. A sound-looking sleeve on a round sling does not prove a sound core, and a bond that looks intact on a webbing lap does not prove the stitches are. If you are unsure whether a sling is fit for use, or which article is right for your load, ask us before you lift — and if in doubt, take it out of service.

Technical Specifications

Both families are produced to order — the section, the capacity, the length and the marking are all specified against your lift.
Property	Endless round sling	Endless flat webbing sling
Product names	Endless round sling / circular round sling / endless lifting sling	Endless type webbing sling / endless type A flat woven webbing sling / circular webbing sling
Type	Round sling to EN 1492-2 — a continuous parallel fibre core inside a woven tubular sleeve	Endless type A flat woven webbing sling to EN 1492-1 — a band lapped back over itself and stitched to close the loop
Load-bearing element	The parallel fibre core, continuous round the loop	The flat woven webbing itself
Joint	None in the core	One lapped and stitched closure
Material	High-tenacity polyester core (PES) as standard; other fibres on request	100% high-tenacity polyester (PES), blue label per the EN 1492-1 material convention; polyamide (nylon) and polypropylene also available
Working load limit	1 t to 1000 t	1 t to 30 t in the EN 1492-1 band ladder; intermediate bands and higher capacities to order
Safety factor	7:1 to EN 1492-2 as standard; other factors to order	7:1 to EN 1492-1 as standard; 5:1 to ASME B30.9 and 8:1 to AS 1353 built to order
Construction	Parallel core in a woven sleeve; single or double sleeve on request	Single layer as standard; double layer (duplex) on request
Width / diameter	Matched to the capacity; confirmed on the order acknowledgement	Matched to the band — the published reference series is 2 t = 50 mm, 3 t = 75 mm, 4 t = 100 mm, 5 t = 125 mm, 6 t = 150 mm, 8 t = 200 mm, 10 t = 250 mm
Length	1 m to 12 m as standard, longer on request; quoted by circumference or by effective working length	1 m to 12 m as standard, longer on request; quoted by circumference or by effective working length
Elongation	Low; confirmed on the order acknowledgement	Maximum 3% at the working load limit; maximum 10% at the breaking load
Temperature range	−40 °C to +100 °C for the standard polyester build	−40 °C to +100 °C for the standard polyester build
Colour and marking	Capacity-coded sleeve; sewn label carrying the working load limit, the standard reference, the manufacturer, the length and a traceability code	EN 1492-1 capacity colour with one black transverse stripe per tonne; sewn label carrying the straight-lift working load limit, the material, the standard reference, the manufacturer, the length and a traceability code
Testing	Batch tested; test certificate supplied per batch on request	Batch tested; test certificate supplied per batch on request
Packing	Coiled and bagged, labelled carton; custom export packing	Coiled and bagged, labelled carton; custom export packing
MOQ & OEM	Low MOQ for trial orders; full OEM	Low MOQ for trial orders; full OEM — band, ply, width, length, fibre, colour, label layout and packing

Applications

Round slings — pipe and pipeline work, coils and rolls, curved castings, machined and finished parts, pressure vessels, and any lift above the webbing capacity ladder
Flat webbing slings — plate, structural sections, box girders, crates, stillages, machinery, precast units and any flat or boxy load with edges
Bundles of tube, pipe and sections, choked or double wrapped
General yard, depot, port and site work where one sling has to serve many different lifts
Work where the same sling keeps wearing out at the same two points — the reason to move to an endless article in the first place
Cold stores and cold-climate work, down to −40 °C
Wet, damp and wash-down conditions, where a rust-free and rot-resistant sling is wanted
Export consignments and single-use shipments, where the sling travels with the cargo

Customisation, OEM and Quality Control

Both families are produced to order, and because neither carries hardware, specifying one is straightforward.

Section — the round sling, the flat webbing sling, or both for the same lift
Capacity — round slings 1 t to 1000 t; flat webbing slings 1 t to 30 t in the standard bands, and beyond to order
Length — by circumference or by effective working length, 1 m to 12 m as standard and longer on request
Fibre and construction — polyester as standard; polyamide for low temperature and shock loading; polypropylene for wet or mildly aggressive environments; single or double layer
Protection — edge protectors, wear sleeves and pads for the bearing points
Marking — the standard capacity colour and stripes, or your own scheme where the market allows; your label layout, language and figures
Matching items — the same lift supplied as a set, with the same standard and the same marking throughout

How we hold the figure on the label. Lift Sling Rigging Co., Ltd. was founded in 1985 and has been making rigging for 40 years, with more than 200 employees and annual exports exceeding USD 10,260,000. We hold 15 authorised patents and work to multiple international standards. We have our own stretching equipment and laboratory — including a 1000 t horizontal testing machine — and our facilities are CNAS and CE certified, with DNV certification, so our test reports carry weight with classification and inspection bodies. Every length of material is checked before it is cut, every closure is checked on its stitch rows or its core, and every finished sling is checked on its length, its marking, its label and its traceability code before packing, with each batch tested. On request we supply the material certificate, the batch test figures and a sample sling for you to handle and test before volume production begins.

Certification: if your project requires a specific standard marking or a documented certificate with the consignment, tell us before the order and we will confirm exactly what can be provided for the article, capacity and length you need.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an endless sling?

A sling closed into a continuous loop with no ends, no eyes and no fittings. Two different articles are sold under the name. The endless round sling is a parallel fibre core inside a woven tubular sleeve, built to EN 1492-2, with a round section and no joint in the load-bearing core. The endless flat webbing sling is a flat woven band closed into a loop by lapping its ends over one another and stitching them, built to EN 1492-1, with a rectangular section and exactly one joint. A third reading, the endless grommet wire rope sling, is a different material altogether.

Which one do I actually need — round or flat?

Match the section to the load. A round sling conforms and grips round, curved and awkward loads and spreads its bearing over a narrow line — it is also the only one of the two that goes above the webbing capacity ladder, up to 1000 t. A flat webbing sling lies flat and spreads its bearing across the full band width, which is what you want on plate, sections, box girders and anything with a flat face or edges. If your load is round, take round. If your load is flat, take flat.

Is an endless webbing sling really seamless?

No, and it is worth being clear about it. It is endless in use — there are no ends and no fittings — but the loop is closed by a lapped and stitched joint, so there is one made connection in it. That joint is a full-strength lap with dense rows of stitching, and it is the first thing to inspect. If you need an endless sling with no joint at all in the load-bearing element, that is the round sling, where the core is continuous and only the outer sleeve is a tube.

How do I specify the length?

Say which convention your figure is in, because the two differ by about a factor of two. Circumference is the total perimeter of the loop — the length of material in the finished sling. Effective working length is the usable height you actually get, and it works out at roughly half the circumference because the loop is doubled when it hangs. If you would rather, just tell us how far the hook will be from the load and we will size the loop to it.

How much can it lift in a choke or a basket?

The label gives the straight-lift working load limit. A choke reduces it to 0.8 times that figure. A basket at a narrow angle increases it to 2 times, falling to 1.4 times between 7 and 45 degrees and to 1 times between 45 and 60 degrees. An angled choke — choked, with the legs then opening away from vertical — is reduced further, to 0.7 at 45 degrees and 0.5 at 60 degrees. A 4 t load in a choker needs a 5 t sling, because 4 ÷ 0.8 = 5.

Why is an endless sling supposed to last longer?

Because it has no fixed ends. On a sling with eyes, every lift loads the same two bearing points and the same two eyes, so the sling is condemned when those points wear out even if the rest of the article is sound. An endless loop can be turned after every lift, so the bearing point, the hook contact point and the closure keep moving around the material and the whole sling wears evenly. The catch is that it only works if you actually rotate it — if the same section always ends up in the hook, you get no benefit at all.

How do I inspect each one?

The two are inspected in opposite ways. A flat webbing sling shows you its load path: check the lap joint and every stitch row first, then the bearing points, the hook contact area and the rest of the band, looking especially for cuts at the edges. A round sling hides its load path: start with the sleeve for cuts, abrasion and thin spots, then feel along the loop for a lump, a flat spot or a bulge that would tell you the core has been damaged where you cannot see it. A sound-looking sleeve does not prove a sound core.

Can I get a custom capacity, section, length and marking?

Yes. We build round slings from 1 t to 1000 t and flat webbing slings across the EN 1492-1 band ladder, in any length to 12 m as standard and longer on request, in polyester, polyamide or polypropylene, with edge protection and wear sleeves to suit the load, and with the standard capacity marking or your own scheme where the market allows. Tell us the load, its shape, the hitch and the destination market and we will work the specification out with you.

Request a Quote for Endless Slings

Send us the load and its shape, the hitch you intend to use, whether you are quoting circumference or working length, the capacity you need, and the standard and destination market the sling must be built to. Tell us round or flat if you already know — and if you do not, describe the load and we will tell you which one it wants. We will come back with an article, a capacity, a length, a sample and a factory-direct price.

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Endless sling

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Lift sling rigging company produce Endless sling.

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