The adjustable ring hitch

[Tom D]

After much messing around using a ring to reduce sitback...

..http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/climbers-talk/28772-ring.html

 

I realised that the ring could be more than just an aid to the hitch.. it could be a part of the hitch.

All hitches have some wraps at the top which do all the gripping its only the "finish" which distinguishes one hitch from another. I have been playing around with loads of diferent finishes over the last few years and never really found what I wanted...a self tending hitch with little or no sitback.

 

This comes really close, I realised that with the ring mounted on the climbing line that there is no need for any finish at all. The ring is the finish.

I tried this out three wraps and then both legs streight through the ring and onto the HC, it worked well but after a few minutes the ring crept up the legs towards the wraps. The closer the ring gets to the wraps the tighter tha hitch gets, pull the ring closer to the HC and it will get real loose and self tend. So.....I added a little starter cord and fixed the ring to the top hole of the HC. By adjusting the length of this cord you can change the characteristics of the hitch.

 

The setup below selftended nicely and had about 3-4" of sitback, pretty good but I'm going to try some OP cord tomorrow and see if I can get it to self tend with even less sitback.

 

Give it a try..

[Ian Flatters]

I like!!!! Thanks for sharing this and keep us updated as you go.

[jarnii]

may be a bit early to tell but on the botom pic the climbing line looks squeezed by the legs, hows the rope after a battering on that or does it change when loaded with weight. like it thougha good idea.

[Lancstree]

I think that picture might show the ring in 'bite or gripping' position. When the hitch is advanced I reckon the ring moves to a horizontal plane to allow free passage of the climbing line. Am I close?

[Rupe]

may be a bit early to tell but on the botom pic the climbing line looks squeezed by the legs, hows the rope after a battering on that or does it change when loaded with weight. like it thougha good idea.

 

Surely a climbing line is squezed by a hitch anyway thats what makes it work? I fit wears it needs replacing.

[Rupe]

After much messing around using a ring to reduce sitback...

..http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/climbers-talk/28772-ring.html

 

I realised that the ring could be more than just an aid to the hitch.. it could be a part of the hitch.

All hitches have some wraps at the top which do all the gripping its only the "finish" which distinguishes one hitch from another. I have been playing around with loads of diferent finishes over the last few years and never really found what I wanted...a self tending hitch with little or no sitback.

 

This comes really close, I realised that with the ring mounted on the climbing line that there is no need for any finish at all. The ring is the finish.

I tried this out three wraps and then both legs streight through the ring and onto the HC, it worked well but after a few minutes the ring crept up the legs towards the wraps. The closer the ring gets to the wraps the tighter tha hitch gets, pull the ring closer to the HC and it will get real loose and self tend. So.....I added a little starter cord and fixed the ring to the top hole of the HC. By adjusting the length of this cord you can change the characteristics of the hitch.

 

The setup below selftended nicely and had about 3-4" of sitback, pretty good but I'm going to try some OP cord tomorrow and see if I can get it to self tend with even less sitback.

 

Give it a try..

 

Very clever, I like it!! I think you might be on to something there! How about if the little cord (holding the ring) was throwline (zingit) and spliced so it was adjustable, like a little loopie? Then infinate adjustments could be made?

[Rupe]

Also you could drill through the ring to insert the small line.

[Steve Bullman]

how much rope did you have to have beneath you before it started self tending? it just doesnt look like it would in the pic

[Tom D]

I reckon it needed about 4m, tbh I was up an epicormicky oak and the tail was caught up a lot of the time so I didn't get that much chance to see how much line it took, it definately self tended well the only other thingh that I have tried that tended that well was a very long vt, but that had loads of sitback.

 

lancstree and rupe are both right, I have been using a ring like this for a while and there is little evidense of extra wear on either rope or cord.

 

Throwline would be better, startercord was what I had to hand at the time.

[Rupe]

Wear on the rope and cord is what you get from friction hitches, I dont see how this can be any worse/different.