Rope wrench issue for lighter climber

[JoshFromKY]

I'm fairly new to tree climbing and I have a mentor who has taught me SRT on a hitch climber pulley with a hitch and rope wrench, using canopy and base anchors. I've been practicing limbwalks on my own and have encountered debilitating resistance from the rope wrench when trying to feed slack. Every couple steps I take I have to use two hands to collapse the wrench on top of the hitch to allow myself another few inches of slack. Pulling slack back in is especially difficult. On straight vertical descents, with a little bounce to get the momentum going, the rope flows through the wrench as I would expect it to.

 

The rope wrench I have is the newest edition which Ive been told has a larger diameter slick pin than the old edition and this leaves a smaller space for the rope to pass through. My climbing line is a 12mm Kernmaster and I weigh 135 lbs/61 kilos.

 

The feedback I have got from another forum suggests trying a thinner diameter rope, something in the 11-11.6mm range. This is helpful, but don't plan to buy a completely new rope. Others say to try out the Hitchhiker. My mentor said to ask on forums for an older model of the rope wrench with the thinner slick pin.

 

I wanted to gather some input from ArbTalk and ask if anyone does have an older rope wrench or hitchhiker they are willing to sell or trade?

[JoshFromKY]

Also it was helpful to hear others recommend limbwalking less and redirecting over my target column more. I plan to practice this, but nonetheless the issue with the wrench binding remains a hindrance.

[Adam Bourne]

Forget limb walking mate, you need to workout what will be your best route to take with regards to what work is required to the tree.

If you intend on going through natural forks then try and install a false redirect above the crotch. Try to avoid tight angles going through natural redirects if you intend on coming back through. Positioning of the false redirect is key to help you with the backtrack.

Try a few different hitch variations on the rope wrench setup a few less wraps on some hitches helps a long way when it comes to light climbers.

[Joe Newton]

I've found the same on tachyon, which is thinner than your rope. The only solution is thinner line.

 

11mm velocity is an absolute dream.

 

The redirect thing is a hooks pint but doesn't remove the need for limbwalks altogether.

 

Sent from my SM-G930F using Arbtalk mobile app

[MattyF]

Grabbing the wrench so it collapses the hitch works for me on long angles...with a bit of practice you work out how much slack you need , a long loosely tied VT helps as well.

[Marc]

I hink you need to play around with your hitch a bit, especially if you find taking slack out is as hard as paying out slack- binding hitch.

 

I climb on 12mm with a Knut hitch which I tie with 10mm friction hitch as I tend to find 8mm bites to hard, it's a very personal thing though so just play around till it's right.