Is lock jack rated for srt?

[Dak]

Fear of the unknown.....

 

I won't rant about CE. But it seems the world is intent on eradicating common sense and personal skill/knowledge.

 

I have had people tell my splices are no where near as safe as a double fishermans....... My AP video proves them wrong.

 

But who am I to say what is safe for ME to climb on....

[skip]

anyone who thinks knots are stronger than splices has a very limited understanding of rope constrution! pmsl

 

that said strngth isn't the bee all & end all of WAH PPE

[munkymadman]

Impressive knowledge skip. I've never been very compliant, or partially ignorant towards safety measurements. Climbing gear IMO is somewhat stronger than it needs to be. The fact that the yanks have different safety regs, does allowing something we don't, make them more conplacent or more realistic. I understand mechanical equipment will have to insure heavier testing, as even an angular load change will change it's original deign parameters. This is the reason I've always avoided comps until. Their anally retentive

[munkymadman]

What's the legal life expectancy of a LJ

[Ian Flatters]

ARTs answer: No

 

My answer: works pretty dam well.

 

It works just as well as a knot but will be interesting on how a KN impact is loaded onto it, to see whether the cam severs the rope or does nothing to the rope. Its all about identifying the weak link in the system.

[joe into trees]

ARTs answer: No

 

My answer: works pretty dam well.

 

I might jump in at the deep end in this discussion. As Ian says, it works, but there are a whole load more issues than this when regulating 'what is allowed' in a comp.

 

(1) The RW is tagged 'not for life support', which is based on the assumption that, at any point, you could cut the tether and things would be OK. If you cut through the tether whilst doing a fast descent with your LJ in the open position, you'd start travelling very fast - even faster than the same situation with a hitch. How long it took you to work out that you needed to let go of the handle would determine whether you took a nasty jolt, cut through your line, or went all the way to the ground. Track record from hitch-on-a-static-line accidents in arb, caving and rescue indicates that people usually don't talk themselves into letting go before they hit the deck.

 

So, based on (1), you might allow it if the RW tether was bomb-proof, and the whole system was treated as a complete, integral work-positioning system, with the RW part of your life support system.

 

(2) Regardless of CE numbers or any other regulatory code, the LJ has not been tested for SRT, and is not approved for that configuration by the manufacturer. If there was an accident at a competition, I would not want to be the guy who gave it the thumbs up, but I really would not want to be the guy hoping for some sort of compensation or support (or, in the worst case, insurance payout) when I couldn't climb for a few months. Or more.

 

Sure, this is also true of hitches: I mean, we have a load of text saying we're not allowed to work position using hitches on a static (ie, not-running) line, so the default position following RW failure would be the same there, but at least it's less black-and-white, and the RW or tether would have to fail before you were completely exposed.

 

If you can talk the tech into letting you do it, good for you, but I'd say be careful. Take a look at the Kong ring accident in the US: the ring was used exactly as intended, and there was already an enormous battle to get any recognition or recompense. Would be even more complicated if you were doing something completely outside the manufacturer's recommendations.

 

Anyway, sorry to be a killjoy, and good luck at the competition Jake.

 

Joe

[kevin bingham]

Good post joe, and i have to add that the rw was not designed with anything but a solid hitch in mind. I still have no experience with a rw with Art products. Althougj there is literature that says you shoukd not work position with a hitch on a static line. Thete is nowhere that says you should not be on a hitch on a static line. Footlocking case in point.

[munkymadman]

Cheers Joe. To save further debate I've gone to a hitch. Trying my best to tweak the cursing out of it. Strange changing systems. They should probably wire core the tether. In the same argument I reckon you'd be in alot more trouble if you cut one side out of a drt system at full swing:)

[munkymadman]

Not liking the hitch, seem to have to keep your hand on it when you put your weight into the system others it bites too hard. Or it sits up super tight to th rw. I can't make it any shorter. Considering lengthening the tether. Am I doing something wrong? It did run freely at one point on faster decent test, even when I let go. Added more wraps, just more friction when ascending then. I miss LJ

[ClimberGuy]

ARTs answer: No

 

My answer: works pretty dam well.

 

It works just as well as a knot but will be interesting on how a KN impact is loaded onto it, to see whether the cam severs the rope or does nothing to the rope. Its all about identifying the weak link in the system.

 

I just thought I'd like to bump this thread I found, which is almost three years old, in order to try to get further insights, hopefully from Mr. Ian Flatters himself.

 

I'm wondering how long you may have stuck it out with this combination of the Rope Wrench and the Lockjack, and whether or not you remained a fan of it over the long haul.

 

I guess nowadays the Rope Runner and the Bulldog Bone would both do the same thing as this combination of devices, I'm just curious to know if this combination might be a third alternative that works really well. The reason for my curiosity is a desire to eventually own a system that allows fairly quick on and off of the rope, to aid in establishing a new redirect point in SRT.

 

I don't usually participate much on this forum, as I'm USA based, so I'm not sure if Ian will receive a notification that I've responded to a post of his or not. Hopefully he will see this and respond. The LockJack looks like a really slick device, and people seem to love it for how easily it attaches and detaches on a rope mid-line.

 

I would greatly appreciate comments from any and all who have experience using the Rope Wrench and the LockJack together to climb using SRT techniques.

 

Thank you in advance, to anyone and everyone who chooses to comment on this.

 

Tim