kevin bingham

[quote name= I appreciate how much wear the RW saves on my hitch cord' date=' but it's a bit of a moot point because it slightly increases the wear on my rope instead. That's a fact, not a dig at my new favourite piece of kit![/quote] I do find that redirects can wear the rope pretty good especially in springy trees. Are you finding the Rope Wrench is wearing the rope? I was concerned about all the rope hairs it works up on the wrench until I sat up and watched someone's ring to ring as another climber worked the tree. It also brings off a suprising amount of fuzz. This has been one of the subjects that I am most interested in as to what are the effects of the rope wrench on rope wear over a long period.

on a thick conifer like that it is definitely nice not to worry about cutting your basal anchor.

Yeah the internet is crazy, even crazier that was filmed with my phone in the morning and then I posted it on my lunch break. Tenex would work I imagine but I recomend a more springy material. This cobra is nice because it releases every time I lift my foot up and I can just slide it up the rope where as when I was using my footlock prussic I had to really slide the hitch up the rope.

The mini Krab will work in place of the big Krab actually for an even cheaper ascender. THe big Krab is also nice because you can twirl it around the line for fast installation. I like the biger Krab also as it is something to hold on too with my hand. I find that the Cobra cable un wraps from the rope very quickly so there is virtually no resistance as I push it up the rope. The hitch is set by your foot and not by your hand. You can leave the rig on the line while you ascend and it will be easily pushed up with the wrench and the hitch when you are just climbing the tree. THe little Krab helps tend. I just jam it all in my side pouch when I'm done.

That us one piece of cobra cable for ornamentals with an eye for the crab amd am eye for foot loop. Butterfly tied to shorten it.

So far there has not been a whole lot of comps that have taken place for the 2012 season. but the wisconsin comp was won by a wrench climber, so was the Ohio comp in 2011, the Indiana comp was won by a wrench climber, the "geezers" comp 40 yrs+ was won by a wrench climber. Several work climbs have been won by wrench climbers. I was never able to hit the landing in ddrt but with the wrench I can nail it every time because I dont get hockles. It makes a load of sense for Masters climbs.

This is a tricky thing to put a number on precisely. The things that determine friction. Bushing diameter, angle, length of wrench. It is hard to find a good balance because when climbing around the tree, going out horizontally, you dont want the wrench to drag you down, especially us lighter guys. But then for going down the tree, mid air descents, you don't want too little friction at the wrench or it binds. I have heard that hitches bind more on heavier climbers. I am thinking of disigning a sub 170 lb wrench and a 200lb+ wrench that has a little more friction. I have found that the adjustment bushing does not have as much influence on friction as I originally thought. My method of friction measurement is as follows I have 175lbs of weights in 5 pound, 2.5 lb, 25, lbs and 45 lb plates. I install a wrench on the rope, so far, only Poison Ivy has been tested. Work positioning with static lines in trees is not allowed by ANSI I believe. I personally find them problematic anyway. so I have not tested Static lines such as globe or escalator. On the wrench I have a rope bag that I can place weights into. If I hang 10 lbs on the tail of the rope, i place plates in the bag until the point that the rope wrench begins to slide. I mark that point and then tie more weight onto the tail. the results are interesting and more variable than I expcted. I found the wrench will slide sooner when it is warm as opposed to cold . this is true for the rope too. It is not something that is exactly quantified. this is rounded off version of my results for a wrench in mid position on poison Ivy. with 5 lb I needed 45 lb to slid 10- 50 15 65 20 80 30 110 35 115 40 125 these results do not follow a clean curve but they folloow more or less a trend. I seem to be getting somewhat lower numbers with the QRP but not much less. I take the results to mean that as a 170 lb climber, I must hold more or less 40 lbs on my hand/hitch and transfer 130 lbs onto the wrench and I will slowly begin to descend, the more I transfer weight onto the wrench the faster I will descend. Its not so much what percentage of the weight does the wrench take, its more how much weight must be kept on the tail. I want to conduct these tests with figure eights, atc's and racks as well. Its quite fun and I will keep you all posted if I get the system down enough to really give hard numbers and coefficients of friction etc. Lots of variables including rope size, even humidity and temperature have effects on the rope wrench. I recommend going with a bigger rope if you are not getting enough friction. Tests have been done with the wrench in a couple of places and it really comes down to your hitch. IT is very easy to tie a not good hitch that will take you to the ground if your not careful. The danger is more so than in ddrt because there is less rope that goes through the hitch and thus less chance to catch. Well tied hitches perform superbly in the drop tests while poorly tied hitches, especially hitches tied with stiffer cords can definitely take you for a ride. So many variables in play there as well.

I have also found that I work the hitch different than in ddrt. With the wrench, I open the hitch and hold the rope. You can in a sence help the hitch and the wrench with your hand. You can do this more than in ddrt because the rope isnt flying at such a high speed. In ddrt if you were to slide it through your hand it would burn you. In SRT your hand can control the rope a little more. By using the hand a little I can prevent the hitch from binding up. For long, direct, mid air descents, I think adding some friction is not a bad idea. either with your other hand, your leg, or other descent device. THe wrench does not provide near the friction as an eight or rack, etc.

Yeah use it on some little trees. Learn to footlock with it in a sit stand motion first. Some sort of chest attachment is key for longer ascents.

This is what i would say for doubled line descents of any sort spider jack or not. A doubled line descent has to burn through twice as much rope as the SRT set up. I got my money on Drew B.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSQ8KahfcBU]Tying the past to the future Tree Versitle Rope Saddle - YouTube[/ame] My friend Matt found a old box full of Kumeurling rope saddles and started rigging em up. I have never tried the tree motion. Never fancied it much. I have always been a bosun seat climber. I love the Komet dragonfly. But this saddle really is my style. I have truly been enjoying it. I never thought I would like leg loops.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yv-jOEKs9nw]ROPE WRENCH made midline attachable - YouTube[/ame] here is a clip that shows the midline attachable piece being installed

Geezers 2012 winner. Rich Hattier. Make that four.

Can it work as a descent device?

I messed around with the Petzl ASAP as a secondary backup for my wrench. I was mainly thinking about some way to make judges at a comp happy. Didnt make me feel safer. If I decended fast it would suddenly grab. got in the way more than anything. Cant really be used as an ascender. I have no experience with the Rocker.

These were comps that allowed the wrench in spite of pressure to not allow SRT work positioning systems. All comps are independent and it is ultimattly up to the head tech of each chapter event to make a decision. The ITCC is another story and pressure must be made to allow SRT work positioning systems. Currently in the ITCC, you are allowed to ascwnd the tree using rope shredding ascenders on shredable rope.

The rope wrench has been used by three masters challenge winners so far. Ohio 2011, wisconsin 2011, indiana 2011.

Al, do you go to a RADS system at higher heights?

Youll be the first to know

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFq8HVjkJyI]Cat rescue with singing tree rope wrench - YouTube[/ame]

There is a little clip on the original video with the wooden wrench and I think the cat rescue video is footlocking.

Footlocking also works fine for smaller ascents. a sit stand foot lock is easy as no arms are involved. I strap on the pantin only on ascents of 10-15 meters or more. a lot depends on the structure of the tree.

No, as far as I know there has been no reported accidents but there is a rule that says everything must be triple acting to open. PETZL also has not officially endorsed their gear for tree work. There also is some general resistance to SRT work positioning by the powers that be. Politics? the more pressure put on the powers that be the better. The RIG used with a large DMM boa wich uses a thicker bar stock does not allow the RIG to open without removing the carabiner and therefore should be able to bypass the rule.

I do not own a lockjack and so I cannot comment with experience but I would be very sure that the lock jack engages all the time even if the Rope Wrench does not. I think the spider jack and Lock jack operate with defferent mechanisms correct?

Al, can you post a picture of both the weight you use and the spectra line? where do you get the spectra line. Do you shoot the spectra, and then pull over zing it and then pull over the rope or do you pull over the rope in one.