Spiderjack setup

[Kane Havik]

OK so I have been using my spiderjack for a while on a HMS petzl William, like the instructions say, but I am finding the fact that I have to pass the gate through the ring on my bridge kinda annoying, I have been used to climbing on a hitch climber with the gate at the bottom.

 

So what I am saying is, has anyone found a way to run the spiderjack on a ultra O, and yes I have seen the thread on the problem with doing that, but I am looking for ideas...........

[Kane Havik]

OK so I have been using my spiderjack for a while on a HMS petzl William, like the instructions say, but I am finding the fact that I have to pass the gate through the ring on my bridge kinda annoying, I have been used to climbing on a hitch climber with the gate at the bottom.

 

So what I am saying is, has anyone found a way to run the spiderjack on a ultra O, and yes I have seen the thread on the problem with doing that, but I am looking for ideas...........

[Kane Havik]

OK so I have been using my spiderjack for a while on a HMS petzl William, like the instructions say, but I am finding the fact that I have to pass the gate through the ring on my bridge kinda annoying, I have been used to climbing on a hitch climber with the gate at the bottom.

 

So what I am saying is, has anyone found a way to run the spiderjack on a ultra O, and yes I have seen the thread on the problem with doing that, but I am looking for ideas...........

[Sirnick2]

If you are running the SJ with the dyneema kit you should be able to run it on an ultra O. Failing that chuck it away and buy a unicender and run SRT, its the only option

[Sirnick2]

If you are running the SJ with the dyneema kit you should be able to run it on an ultra O. Failing that chuck it away and buy a unicender and run SRT, its the only option

[joe into trees]

Hey Kane,

 

If you've got the Dyneema kit, then as Sirnick2 says, an Ultra-o works great for the lower carabiner - just use a good corner trap or similar to stop the SJ and metal ring migrating around the corner of the 'biner.

 

I'm using an oval Petzl ball-lock turned upside down as my lower carabiner.

 

And in my opinion, as far as SRWP goes... don't believe the hype. It has it's place, and in the right tree (when compared with unassisted body-thrusting, which is hardly a fair comparison) is certainly a huge energy-saver, but I've yet to say anyone climbing SRWP achieve the fluency and continuity that is possible with DdRT. Just my opinion - the next ten years will be the judge - but I see SRWP much more as one piece of kit in a climber's toolbag, rather than the answer to every tree. We shall see.

 

Joe

[Sirnick2]

Hey Kane,

 

If you've got the Dyneema kit, then as Sirnick2 says, an Ultra-o works great for the lower carabiner - just use a good corner trap or similar to stop the SJ and metal ring migrating around the corner of the 'biner.

 

I'm using an oval Petzl ball-lock turned upside down as my lower carabiner.

 

And in my opinion, as far as SRWP goes... don't believe the hype. It has it's place, and in the right tree (when compared with unassisted body-thrusting, which is hardly a fair comparison) is certainly a huge energy-saver, but I've yet to say anyone climbing SRWP achieve the fluency and continuity that is possible with DdRT. Just my opinion - the next ten years will be the judge - but I see SRWP much more as one piece of kit in a climber's toolbag, rather than the answer to every tree. We shall see.

 

Joe

 

Hi Joe, first i must say i've seen all the spiderjackery videos and wow just unreal climbing. Even made me buy one lol, the spiderjack was the last Ddrt device i used since converting to 100% SRT or SRWP and i've done every tree for 5-6 days a week that way. My climbing is 90% spike less and it was a tough transition but now i'll NEVER go back i even had doubts and worked a small tree Ddrt back on my old HC setup and hated every minute of it. Basically you have it forget most of your double rope climbing years. You have to plan your climb more its just a bit more brain work which i'm still getting used to lol. the advantages of SRT hugely out weigh the disadvantages and with more and more development with gear its only a matter of time till there are enough options and setup combinations to suit more climbers. Obviously its not for everyone but i am climbing better, faster and with more energy at the end of the day.

[D Mc]

...And in my opinion, as far as SRWP goes... don't believe the hype. It has it's place, and in the right tree (when compared with unassisted body-thrusting, which is hardly a fair comparison) is certainly a huge energy-saver, but I've yet to say anyone climbing SRWP achieve the fluency and continuity that is possible with DdRT. Joe

 

My apologies to the OP for continuing these off topic comments but this is wrong.

 

Fluency and continuity come from the climber not the tools.

 

Joe, you are a great climber but it is not because you are on a doubled rope system. If you had the desire to put in the time and training into SRWP that you have put into Ddrt, you would be just as smooth. The only difference would be, is that you could climb for more years without the inevitable over use degeneration in your upper body that is so common in tree work. Even short moments of using your legs instead of your arms for in-tree movements, will make a big difference as the years go by.

 

Dave

[joe into trees]

Thanks guys for the compliments, even when we're disagreeing!

 

It's funny how SRWP climbers think that people who aren't keen, must not have tried it. I've climbed on the Unicender and the Rope Wrench - I've even had a crack at a competition work climb on the wrench. I understand how they work: I'm not speaking from complete ignorance here. I get the advantages of ascending SRT as well - you guys may have seen this.

 

So, why am I still on DdRT? Is it just because I'm a stuck-in the mud, traditional, old-school climber?

 

SirNick2, you mention having seen the Spiderjackery videos. That kind of tree - and that kind of climbing - is a big part of the reason why I love this job. You could get round that tree - and visit those stations - just fine on SRWP. I'd even believe that it might just about be possible to get as fast... though I'm tempted to think not. But the various ascents would have to be done on-rope (unless you're prepared to do even more work with your arms, and you're built like PopEye) instead of on-tree, which means attaching hardware.

 

Continuity, for me, means working through that tree, and many like it, without having to dick about with my system. Yes, I almost always do major ascents on SRT, back up the access line, which stays in all of the time in most trees. Yes, this means adding hardware, and is discontinuous. Yes, it takes longer than SRT-ing up a SRWP line. In general, I find that the advantages of continuity and 'flow' with DdRT outweigh the disadvantages... but that's only a personal opinion, and evey climber has their own style.

 

One of these days, someone's going to post a video of a super-smooth SRWP work-climb (or play climb), and make it look so flowing and easy that I'll have to eat my hat... If I do, I'll be sure to post a video of that as well!

[Steve Bullman]

 

Continuity, for me, means working through that tree, and many like it, without having to dick about with my system.

 

I can clearly see the advantages of climbing SRT, but for me the above statement sums up why I don't think its a replacement for Ddrt just yet. Its getting there though, and the rope wrench is a huge step forward, and its evolving before our eyes on arbtalk and other media.