Prussic does not grab...

[john87]

On 29/08/2022 at 09:18, Dendrologen said:

I agree with the distel hitch suggestions. I have found this to be the best knot for a lanyard with a pulley. Always bites, always gives out. The length and diameter combos are key. I have a 70cm 8mm e2e with a 13mm lanyard, works beautifully, but you'll probably find your own sweet spot. Also, I find the lark's foot type prussik knot doesn't work very well with pulleys as they pull the legs of the cord down the lanyard,  rather than outward, away from it, if that makes sense. This means the knot doesn't sit right when it bites and can get a bit stuck.

Thank you!!

 

john..

[john87]

Well, I re-tied it with a Distel as you all suggested.... and..... It works perfectly!! VAST improvement!!

 

Not been up a tree with it yes, but running it up and down the rope and shaking the hell out of it when unloaded adn it still bites every time. I had to use 5 turns in the end, so it is a bit harder to break, but once it all beds in a bit i might be able to use a turn less, and besides, bit hard to break is a lot better than falling out of a tree!! [as i am not hard to break!]

 

Thanks all for you great advice!!!

 

Wondering whether to use a distel on my flip line too, although that seems fine as it is..

 

john..

[sime42]

Great. I thought you wouldn't be disappointed.

The more modern friction hitches, (of which the Distel is but one, a fairly basic one at that), are vastly superior to the old timers like the Prussick or the Blake's. I'm not sure why they're still being taught on the courses. They were when I did mine 15 years or so ago anyway, maybe things have changed now. I guess it was because the Prussick for instance is very simple, so not easy to get wrong. 

 

I only use a Distel, on all my ropes including wire core flipline. Never had any issues.

 

 

[5thelement]

10 hours ago, sime42 said:

Great. I thought you wouldn't be disappointed.

The more modern friction hitches, (of which the Distel is but one, a fairly basic one at that), are vastly superior to the old timers like the Prussick or the Blake's. I'm not sure why they're still being taught on the courses. They were when I did mine 15 years or so ago anyway, maybe things have changed now. I guess it was because the Prussick for instance is very simple, so not easy to get wrong. 

 

I only use a Distel, on all my ropes including wire core flipline. Never had any issues.

 

 

Most if not all climbing courses cover basic friction hitches like Blake’s, Prussic, Distel and VT before moving onto Hitch Climbers, ZigZags and the like.

[sime42]

1 hour ago, 5thelement said:

Most if not all climbing courses cover basic friction hitches like Blake’s, Prussic, Distel and VT before moving onto Hitch Climbers, ZigZags and the like.

Ok, that's good to know. Thanks. Things have obviously moved on a lot. Do candidates get assessed on all those things too? We were shown SRT and use of throw lines and big shots for example but not tested on it at the end..

[5thelement]

14 hours ago, sime42 said:

Ok, that's good to know. Thanks. Things have obviously moved on a lot. Do candidates get assessed on all those things too? We were shown SRT and use of throw lines and big shots for example but not tested on it at the end..

You still have to demonstrate how to tie a three knot system using your preferred method before accessing the tree, you don’t have to use the closed system to ascend. 
You will use a throw line to achieve an high anchor point for one out of your two rope system, most trainers I work with set up a throw line with two bags to set both anchor points from the ground.
Most candidates use systems with Zig Zags or similar with foot ascenders rather than twin friction hitches, which are a total faff when coming in from a branch walk.

Edited September 3, 2022 by 5thelement