rumination

I'm using a 10mm dyneema sling as a chest harness. I don't like the idea of something around my neck.

From what I have been told, the climber got off with just scrapes and bruises.

Same here. Never had a problem.

Definitely big respect to the creator of the HAAS for refining the system and putting it on the marketplace. That said, I still like my homemade one better. In the end it all works out well. There are those like myself that have the desire to tinker with their own gear, and then there are others that don't have the desire or time to mess around with it. It's good to have readymade products like this available, so that everyone can benefit from the advancements in climbing tech.

Once you get the adjustments on your homemade one dialed in it'll be just as good as the readymade HAAS. Either way it's an awesome tool for SRT ascent!

Any fixed side plate pulley should work (I use the Petzl one), and really does wonders for slack tending smoothness. It's a bit fiddly to clip in and out with the pulley, though, which is why Dave modified the pulley so you could just hook it into place.

I used 11mm for several years climbing DdRT and really liked how much lighter it is (Velocity was my favorite). I have smallish hands so I didn't have any issues with the grip. I didn't care for Blaze very much, always felt too mushy to me. Nowadays I'm using one of the PoisonIvy variations (11.7mm) and it's definitely easier to hang on to while still being fairly light. So far I've found it to be the best all around rope for any type of climbing, SRT/DRT/DdRT/ad nauseum.

I see what you mean. I stuff the whole thing in my lanyard hip pouch so I've never had that problem.

When I volunteered as a tech at the ITCC several years ago we used Grigris anchored to the tree to belay the footlock contestants.

As to the original question: this type of knee ascender/foot ascender rope walking setup is really nice for long ascents. Even if you don't have a RW this is a great system. Put your friction hitch on the rope as usual and use a lanyard-over-the-shoulder or light chest harness to tether it upright. The advantage is that when you get to the top your friction hitch is already tied up and all you have to do is clip the other side of your line on and you're ready to work. The only disadvantage to not having a single rope working device (e.g. RW or HH) is that if you need to descend in a hurry on your way up you'll have to take a moment to slap on a figure 8 or munter below your hitch to add a bit of extra friction, but it's loads easier than trying to change over from hand/chest ascenders to a dedicated descender.

You don't need to do all the splicing to make a perfectly functional knee ascender. I actually prefer my homemade one to the HAAS as it's smaller and lighter, and works just as well. Any kind of footloop on the bottom, any type of small ascender in the middle, bungee on top. Adjust lengths until it's just right for you. Sorry for the giant picture...

Another vote for the faltheimer here. Mine is about 9 years old and still going strong. Well worth the money. Sent from my Nexus S using Arbtalk mobile app

How about spliced eyes? Sent from my Nexus S using Arbtalk mobile app

I honk so too.

Another fan of the Cinch here.