Bulldog OAR ascender/descender

[surveyor]

Bing! This idea works well for your tachyon rope. The anchor point as shown for a doubled rope forces the bottom arm up more aggresively when weighted by the climbers weight, so that the clamping force on the rope is increased, and it advances a bit better also I believe. The release is a bit different also as you need to pull down with about 5 lbs. of force to inititate release. You can anchor also at either the inline anchor only (with the spine as normal) or the outboard anchor only, which causes it to work well for my weight on the tachyon for SRT

 

 

[Bing!]

I have some extra time off over Christmas so I should have time to get in the workshop, a pair of longer arms is now on the list. Although my current Bulldog setup is running without a hitch (thats a pun, see what I did there?).

 

Keep the ideas coming, the Bulldog gets more and more versatile.

 

Bing!

[BenR]

That looks smart Gordon. Im back at work now so I will be trying the dog out on some 13mm xtc srt next. I dont have that imori anymore. Could you pm me a price to buy it off you so i can have a think about it? Try to get you a review on xtc by weds. Works nice with 3 arms on imori

[surveyor]

I have refined the attach point so that it is now adjustable with the brass thumb nut. With the three arms pictured I can now adjust the grip of the OAR so that it will grip with my weight on the narrowest rope I have (KMIII) SRT. I am in the process of testing on the various ropes I have. This should be useful with only two arms on the larger dia. ropes.

[BenR]

Ok Ive had this thing a while now so its time to give a decent review.

 

I really like the concept of the OAR. For me its a perfect blend of a unicender and rope wrench. The release is quite intuitive like a hitch, but also similar to the hitch is the way that the bulldog varies how it reacts on different rope stiffness and diameters.

 

I found it grabbed and release well with 4 arms on cougar blue.

Slipped on 10mm static with 4 arms.

Bound with 4 arms on Imori but ran well on 3.

Likewise with xtc, ran well on 3.

 

The only reason I am not interested in purchasing a Bulldog OAR at the moment are the weight, the finish on the carabiner eyelets (too rough; i had to use a steel biner so i didnt ruin an ali one) and the overall size.

 

I would happily buy the next generation OAR if it used smooth ali with perhaps even a rubber grommet for the carabiner eyelets and if it were a bit smaller. I cant see any issue with making it all ali personally because the rollers are so easily replaced compared to a whole rebuild on the unicender.

 

Overall I like this prototype and when the idea is fully developed I will seriously consider purchasing one. I like that it can be used SRT or DbRT like the uni.

[surveyor]

Ben, Thanks for the review of the 4 arm Bulldog OAR.

 

I am excited about the 3 arm OAR with the adjustable anchor as it adds versatility to the device. Not only is it not as physical large as the one you reviewed, but since the anchor point can be adjusted you can fine tune the grip to be used on different ropes and climber weights. The anchor point is also a clevis. Since the release is with the bottom arm of the OAR, the upper arms do act just like an integral RW and descent is very smooth and controlled.

[Paul Smith]

Ben, Thanks for the review of the 4 arm Bulldog OAR.

 

I am excited about the 3 arm OAR with the adjustable anchor as it adds versatility to the device. Not only is it not as physical large as the one you reviewed, but since the anchor point can be adjusted you can fine tune the grip to be used on different ropes and climber weights. The anchor point is also a clevis. Since the release is with the bottom arm of the OAR, the upper arms do act just like an integral RW and descent is very smooth and controlled.

 

Might try your new version next year! Sounds like its improving all the time! Be interesting to compare it with my Unicender?

[BenR]

Paul when its sorted out and have ne tuned I think it will everything the uni has but a more intuitive smooth release. To be fair though Ive only had a uni just over a month and im only now starting to get used to feathering it without taking a wrap. Need more practice. I was smooth pretty quick on the bulldog when using the right rope.

[surveyor]

Here is a short video demonstrating the use of the adjustable anchor point Bulldog OAR.

I first set it up to creep online SRT with my weight, then adjust the anchor for more grip on the KMIII rope, and ascend a bit to demonstrate how it releases. Then I change over to DdRT to demonstrate two ways of using it in this manner. I did not note in the video, but you can also take the top arm completely off, if you are using the OAR with DdRT only.

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXT0gKdmthk]adjustable grip Bulldog OAR - YouTube[/ame]

[Paul Smith]

This is developing well. Very interesting!