Hitch Hiker thread.

[rumination]

The only way I can figure that rope diameter plays a part is that the fatter rope has moved the carabiner contact point a bit further up the slot. There is a very very slight bump on the edge of the slot below this point on my HH so it's possible that the carabiner was getting hung up on that bump when I was using the thinner rope. Paul suggested I polish the carabiner contact area but I haven't gotten around to it yet, as switching ropes has done the trick for me for now.

 

I've also switched to using 8mm HRC cord for the hitch. Really nice stuff, very smooth. I tried 8mm OP, but don't recommend it, had a bit of a rough feeling. The 10mm OP might be really nice, though.

[Ian Flatters]

Okay so today i had a limited but enough to give a review on the HH. Firstly it was terrible slack tending in from limb walks and really would benefit from a small pulley wheel like the zigzag has. It has a better feel than the RW BUT only in its positioning if your used to a HC, i found my pantin spent most the time taking 2 steps, 1 to tend the slack then a 2nd to step (never had this problem with a RW). On the plus side i did like its response and finite movements going out, but flawed by it slack tending return.

 

So to sum it up in a few words: A poor mans uni.

 

Dan Curtis, Adam Bourne, Tom Bowen and Joe Riley also had a play but i will let them give their own reviews.

[High Scale]

I don't climb with anything else now.

[Adam Bourne]

I can't really put it up against the unicender as that is in a league of its own!!!

 

But and I will say in my personnel opinion I like the hitchhiker a lot, the tending issue I fount to be a slight issue to start but after a fiddle with the hitch I fount it to be fluent and also responsive to my ever demand, I do feel and I mean I as in my opinion that the weight of a climber really plays a part into the performance side of it. I really enjoyed it for what little time I spent with it and me personally prefer it over the unicender the fact only being I really love working rope on rope. One of my biggest problems I feel it could have is that every time the HH is removed from the rope and put back on the constant fiddling of the hitch to get it set right but I guess with a little more time you may well be able to nail it straight away.

 

Very impressed

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Arbtalk Mobile App

[rumination]

i found my pantin spent most the time taking 2 steps, 1 to tend the slack then a 2nd to step (never had this problem with a RW).

 

 

That's not right, you shouldn't be having that problem. Were you trying to use a rope walking setup? A ropewalker needs to be setup a bit differently with a HH.

 

Also, as others have said, once you get the hitch tuned slack tending should be super smooth. Mine even self tends to a small degree.

[Ian Flatters]

That's not right, you shouldn't be having that problem. Were you trying to use a rope walking setup? A ropewalker needs to be setup a bit differently with a HH.

 

Also, as others have said, once you get the hitch tuned slack tending should be super smooth. Mine even self tends to a small degree.

 

As per recommendations, I think because I climb on a uni it was always going to be at a disadvantage because it tends much better. I just found it very cumbersome to use. Like I said a small pulley would make it soooooooo much better. I still think its also not as good as the RW or Uni because its a real time guzler to setup right and a pig if you need to put it in midline or remove it mid way up (not that this would happen a lot).

 

I think I built it up to be better in my head and felt deflaited when I had a climb on it.

[Pete Mctree]

I agree that the set-up sounds incorrect. I found it very smooth to use & tend slack. It is hard to assess in such a short window of use, as it takes time to learn any new system

[Ian Flatters]

I agree that the set-up sounds incorrect. I found it very smooth to use & tend slack. It is hard to assess in such a short window of use, as it takes time to learn any new system

 

It was a limited play, but if I was having a go with the idea of buying it would of put me completely off it. I understand that it requires a lot of fine tuning. Also I found sometimes it failed to bite if I didn't sit hard on it. Just think it could of been designed so much better if a little more thought was put into it, like a pulley for easier slack tending and some way of using eye to eye cord to make it a little less of a faff.

[Pete Mctree]

If it was failing to bite, then you did have it set up incorrectly. It functions smoothly & grabs reliably when dialed in

[Ian Flatters]

If it was failing to bite, then you did have it set up incorrectly. It functions smoothly & grabs reliably when dialed in

 

Cheers Pete, does anyone know why it has a 40kn rating by the way????