What friction hitch are you on?

[atree]

Still in love with the Howard...Dare I say, even better than the VT..

 

How do you tie your howard hitch?got any pics of it?

 

Im really struggling to tie/set my vt correctly

[David Humphries]

How do you tie your howard hitch?got any pics of it?

 

Here's a couple of how I've got it set, & a shot of it set at a trade show.

 

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Edited October 28, 2009 by Monkey-D

[atree]

cheers for that dave,

 

Does the hitch cord tighten up heaps when you pull the slack through?ive found that if the vt isnt tied correctly

[David Humphries]

Not that I've found.

 

Be interesting to hear Toms opinion.

 

 

 

 

 

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[scotspine1]

I have chosen to evaluate friction hitches and investigate their pros, cons etc for accessing the crown and for work positioning. I would very much appreciate learning what you guys use and why, and what is good or bad about it. Ta.

 

Blakes, it feels solid and reliable and moves easy on the rope. Like the fact that its tied with 13mm rope (easy to grip). The weather up here is pretty wet most of the time and the blakes works as well in the wet as it does in the dry. It can also be easily adjusted lengthwise when in the tree.

 

Bad points, sometimes difficult to advance with a micropulley due to the compact wraps unlike the VT etc. Like most other hitches its bad when covered in sap from spruce, pine and firs.

 

Use a 5 wrap (pic shows 4) Swabish hitch for flipline as it can be made a lot shorter than a Blakes, find this helps when working on poles.

 

Hope this helps, good luck.

[Tom D]

I have the same hitch (howard) on my tachyon as andrew on his Marlow, both are tied with OP. The marlow will self tend but the tachyon will not as it seems to bite a bit more on the narrower rope and of course the tachyon is lighter. I have not had any problems with it seizing up though, its stiffer than a vt but not much. And its very consistent, always bites when you want it to. The twisted section acts like a spring when the pulley pushes the bottom of the hitch causing the hitch to break.

[BrendonV]

VT. The way I have it setup is simple one carabiner, no chatter of having two on the saddle. Everything stays put, as it should. Been on this setup for 2+ years, wouldn't change a thing.

 

[geoff]

Blakes & swabish, must play with the VT as it seems the way to go.

[Nick B]

I use a Blakes hitch with a Micro pulley I like it but it sometimes tightens up to much

[pgwisn]

I tried a VT but just couldn't dial it in for a majority of situations; sometimes it'd be quite fine and other times just too loose and sloppy. It got better when I started using the HitchClimber pulley. Then I tried the Michoacan (Martin) using Bailout hitch cord with six wraps, along with a bridge extension and Pantin for entry into the trees and for my weight and style of climbing it has been flawless. Only occasionally on crane jobs when zipping down full speed from the hook after setting slings repeatedly do I get any hockles or twists in my rope. Just tried an XT hitch last week, which wasn't too bad, but not as sweet as the Michoacan.