Mrs going srt kit advise please.

[Rob Thompson]

Hello tree bods,

I'm Rob and I'm a climber. I've been in the game for over 20 years now. I climb mrs with a hitchclimber in an O rig on a pulley saver. I have a blakes on my other end. I climb one prussic and one blakes on my short rope. I have a vt on my side strop. (Why is everyone calling a side strop a lanyard now ?). I've used various different options within mrs, but I would now like to add srs/srt to my game.

Unfortunately, I don't know anyone who's using the srs/srt system. So I've nobody's advice to hear. I don't fancy trusting all I see on YouTube !

I'd like some pointers as to what to get. I'll be taking specific training when the courses are open, but I want to get the kit now.

Seems to me that a possible list could be :

*rope (srt specific)

*rope wrench

*hitchclimber (I may just use the one I    own already)

*foot ascender

*knee ascender

*foot loop for the knee ascender

*tape sling or chest harness

*some more carabiners

Am I over egging it, or missing parts ?

I've looked online and found those parts. There's Stein ascenders, isc wrench, xstatic rope, 8mm sirrus, ect...

Stein any good for these parts ? The rope looks good, it's not the cheapest ! I've got various other bits of kit in my bag already that I can put to purpose if needed.

thanks people,

Rob.

Edited March 6, 2021 by Rob Thompson
Add pictures and a typo

[Rob Thompson]

And how long should the rope be ?!? I've added 40m to the basket. My 45m rope gets me around anything at the moment in DdRT.

[Steve Bullman]

Welcome Rob,

 

you’ll want the same length as you would drt, you’ll still have 2 legs of the top reaching the ground even though it’s srt.

 

by the way, what is mrs? Merrist wood technique?

[Retired Climber]

10 minutes ago, Steve Bullman said:

Welcome Rob,

 

you’ll want the same length as you would drt, you’ll still have 2 legs of the top reaching the ground even though it’s srt.

 

by the way, what is mrs? Merrist wood technique?

It's just drt. Doesn't it stand for moving rope system or something? 

[Rich Rule]

Personally I would avoid some of the kit you mentioned.  Better options out there.

 

The courant Squir rope from honey brother is an excellent SRT rope, very little stretch and cheap.  60m for about a hundred quid.  I would go for 60m over 45.  You can always leave some in the bag but to max out a 45 metre and have to attach another is a right royal PITA.

 

If you have a foot ascender then great, use it.  Get a RW and stiff tether and it can work with your existing Hitch climber and hitch.  Or buy new, up to you.

 

You will need something to help ascend your hitch.  I use the 4srt Chester.  But for years I just used a Lyon tape sling like a ruck sack and a krab at the front.

 

You might want to get some form of knee ascender?  I have the Haas Velox. It works a treat.  For a couple of years though I used a home made one.  There are other available.

 

Decent throw line and throwing skills is a great help for setting lines and pre-directs.  Ie throwing from a particular position to go through a specific fork to start the work in a tricky area.  Ie work in the way up rather than go all the way up to get an anchor first.

 

A couple of slings and krabs for redirects.  KISS.  Just means they are usually non retrievable.  So you have to go back up, or use natural crotches for redirects.

 

The beauty of SRT is you can be a kit junky and make it as complicated as your ego need (Just for Insta likes) or as simple as you need.  I keep it simple.

 

As for the plethora of info in the web, your right and there is so much to watch/choose to learn.  Maybe check out the Schultz effect.  It costs about 40usd and is an extremely comprehensive SRT information resource.  Plus it has hundreds of hours of footage to put it together.  Sometime it is nice to support the smaller guys in the Industry.

 

Hence the reason I would avoid some of the manufacturers you mentioned in your post.  I prefer to give the money and credit to the original manufacturers and not the ones who see a good idea and then copy it, often not to the same standards of quality.

 

 

[MattyF]

I really like the x static rope but would order 60m so you can set a retrievable anchor if you do a lot of large trees.

[krummholz]

+1 for getting a longer 60m rope, makes traversing or redirects much more doable. I've got 50m of Sterling HTP and it's surprising how often it's only just long enough after a base tie on a large tree.

 

Maybe add a maillon or anchor ring for a base tie and/or canopy anchor.

 

I wouldn't say you're over egging it, it's good to focus on the ascent aspect of SRT systems as that's where you'll see the most benefit initially. Other benefits will come as you gain more experience and knowledge of the system. Gear for redirects can easily be found in stuff you'll already have (HMS karabiner, sling, e2e hitch chord etc.)

 

(At first read of your post title I legit thought your wife was leaving you and you were buying some SRT kit to cheer yourself up...)

[treevolution]

If you can hold off buying in one go the is a new metal tether coming out by ISC which looks to be a game changing if you want to climb with a hitch. 

 

[treevolution]

Can i ask what rope you already have as you can happily use drt rope to climb srt. 

 

I would really recommend the notch duel cam foot ascender. 

 

Also notch quickie is better to use for a base or top anchor then a carabiner even through it has yet to receive a ce mark over here. 

 

[Rich Rule]

I use one of those and it is great.  Very light, strong and multiple uses.  Just wish I had bought a couple more when I got my RRPro.