Rope Runner

[Benmwhite87]

I have not had any problems with it moving around I have it on a dmm ultra O I do have one elastic on the gate side so it wont interfere with the action of the gate but I have always used that rubber band even on my hitch climber pully. Just a safety I like.

[RyanH]

I've been climbing on the Rope Runner daily for almost a month now and have been testing out a couple unconventional strategies for using it in addition to its intended uses.

 

It works just as well as a hitch in a DdRT setup, no better no worse. Caveat: I'm used to mechanical device--lifetime hitchclimber will find it twitchy. Its utility for DdRT is a huge asset for me, as I switch between systems a lot. Kevin mentioned that there is a risk of the carabiner attachment on the bridge getting caught on the beak (essentially the lever) of the device, failing it. The risk is pretty small--comparable to the risk of a scaffold knot terminating your climbing system on a hitchclimber pulley failing your prusik--but is easy to mitigate. Either tying off my climb line to the ring on my bridge or extending it with an eye-to-eye sling does the job nicely. I'm sure there's an even more elegant fix, though.

 

I've gotten pretty comfortable climbing on a RADS with a Grigri 1, but it's no longer on the market, so I decided to test out the RR low-and-slow. It works like a dream, but using it for this application is unadvisable for a funny reason. The hip thrusting motion of RADS ascents brings the top of the Rope Runner directly in contact with the hand ascender, failing the RR. No big deal, as the RR would normally catch again as soon as the climber fell below the ascender. However, a climber suddenly in free fall is likely to do one thing: continue grabbing the rope. I've tested this out a few times, and it's easy to add enough friction to the already efficient system to prevent the camming components of the RR from engaging. This results in free fall with one hand on the rope providing the only friction in the system. So, sadly no RADS for the Rope Runner unless you figure out a way to make one that works upside down.

 

For its intended purposes, it's great. All in all, it tends slack like a dream, hell you can tend it with your knee as you climb if you need to at all. I really like it.

[Old Mill Tree Care]

I just found this great video.

 

[ryan-h]

So, it's still my favorite thing I've ever climbed on. Just switched over from poison ivy to vortex, and I didn't even need to readjust it. I'm surprised that the rope runner is showing very little grooving after so much heavy use, but I think I can probably wait a couple more months before having to rotate any of the components to even out the wear. Nothing has gummed up with dirt, sawdust, or leaf litter yet. Not sure how it would be dealing with sap, because I'm not in conifers.

 

I lost the little lanyard attachment. FYI, don't just clip your lanyard to your attachment carabiner instead. The two can and will interact, causing the rope runner to fail (hence the funny little attachment doohicky that comes with it.) Usually, this is just momentary, but it's possible for the gate of one to get wedged between the gate of the other and the pulley on the rope runner, thoroughly preventing the device from engaging. Bad scenario. I just replaced the attachment plate doohicky with some throwline, and that solves that issue pretty well.

 

Quick question: recommendations for attachment carabiners? I have tried 4+ different triaction carabiners, and only one of them has the right dimensions to work with the rope runner. Even it is annoying to get in and out of the device. I'm pretty sure there are some better options out there.

 

Tips: I find that when attaching it midline, starting by attaching the bird (rope wrenchy component) first, it just sits on my line, freeing up my hands to attach the rest of it. Most of the time, though, I don't bother and just thread the non-spliced end of my rope through. When pulling my rope out through a tree with multiple redirects, the rope runner works just like an ascender to allow me to really haul on the line, too. :-)

[kevin bingham]

 

here is how to do the transfer. I have been doing a lot of rope to rope transfers in the tree. It is very helpull to get good at. The midline attachability is useful

[UskaMaaninka]

^ ended up to looking through your enormous collection of inspiring ingenuity , thanks for it. history of treeclimbing written

[TKO]

 

here is how to do the transfer. I have been doing a lot of rope to rope transfers in the tree. It is very helpull to get good at. The midline attachability is useful

 

Hi there Kevin! I Was wondering if you knew when I might be able to get my hands on a rope runner? I noticed that they are out of stock on the singing tree website and I'm super keen to get climbing on one!

Cheers in advance

[kevin bingham]

Hi there Kevin! I Was wondering if you knew when I might be able to get my hands on a rope runner? I noticed that they are out of stock on the singing tree website and I'm super keen to get climbing on one!

Cheers in advance

 

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