hitch help

[lakeyboy]

Hi guys not been climbing long but finally got some gear of my own rather than using the bosses

my question is in regards to my hitch climber system i bought 50m of Yale blaze from ebay, H/C pulley and a couple of marlow viper e2e cords but no matter what knots i use the hitch still seems to slip after ascending or decent unless i help it? Which for a newbie is a bit nerve racking!

any ideas i could try ?

[Pete Bannister]

Something is definitely wrong then! So check your hitch knot/s. Check and be 100% sure the rope and cord are what you think they are.

What length is your e2e? What configuration are you climbing on?

Photos would be helpful

[lakeyboy]

Thanks for quick reply just gotta fire up the laptop to upload a picture

[lakeyboy]

here is the system setup with a distel i know the krabs are not oval they are being delivered next week and the cord is 80cm

[daltontrees]

I would suggest (don't use Distel but principle might be the same) that the diameters of your climbing line and friction hitch cord are too similar. Usually we use 13mm line, 8mm cord, immediately realise the importance of a good few mm difference in diameter between them if I have to set up temporary prussiks for any reason with 13 on 13.

JUst an idea... someone who uses Distels will come along with a better suggestion.

[Pete Bannister]

Looks sort of OK to me. Could the eye on your climbing line be fouling the hitch when loaded?

To test that possibility, try separating the legs of the climbing line for the purposes of experiment at ground-level. Maybe try clipping the return leg to the upper eye on the pulley

If that doesn’t make the difference, try a different hitch knot. However, what you have there should be working for you. How much is it slipping?

 

think Jules has probabbly put his finger on it though.

Edited May 5, 2013 by Pete Bannister

[lakeyboy]

thanks for the suggestions i know the cord and line are fairly similar (11-8mm) but didnt think it would have too much impact.

i don't think that its the climbing line affecting the hitch and it was slipping a lot if i didn't push the hitch up to get it to grip.

could it be the that the cord is new and has not gone fuzzy yet ?

[WeeDee]

If it's still slipping, try another wrap on the hitch and have very short tails to the eyes and/or try turning the hitch away from the spliced eye.

[paul knight]

Is the splice on your e2e rated!

[lewiswood]

Looks like the friction cord thats on ebay, thought about buying some but really didn't like the look of those spliced eyes. Have you tries tying a Knut, I love it.