Caution: Important Information for Care and Maintenance of Aerial Silks

Aerial fabrics are incredibly strong, however, you must inspect for tears before every use. Tears at the edge of the fabric may result in rupture if a number of unlikely conditions occur simultaneously:

1. The first of these conditions is that the user only loads the very edge of the fabric with full body weight.
2. The second of these conditions is that the user is holding just below the edge of the tear.

These are two very rare conditions that are highly unlikely to occur simultaneously, however, it is still possible that they do. Always train and perform with a crash mat underneath. Accidents happen, indeed, circus itself resides inside the impossible and the improbable.

Aerial Silks are intended for double strand usage and should always be used this way. Aerial fabrics are incredibly strong, in fact, as demonstrated with the above video, holding even 10cm of the width is enough to maintain structural integrity when a pre-existing tear is in place on the edge of the fabric. 

Here at Trix Circus we have completed a series of tests for how the fabric reacts when it is compromised with a small tear at the edge. The test involved us loading the compromised fabric while holding different thickness of the fabric. We started with two strands, then one strand, then half a strand and so forth. A summation of the most relevant results are in the table below.

To repeat, you should always use aerial silks and aerial equipment with a certified crash mat underneath. Risk can only ever be mitigated, it can never be completely removed. Education, inspection and record keeping are all tools to help keep circus safe.