RyanH

Is anybody else having the same issue with the Samson Vortex? I love this rope, but the new batches we've been getting have been doing this [see attached: new (left) versus old (right).] The sheath bunches up badly in my hitch, too. While I know this is not the case, it subjectively feels like there's 30% less core inside the sheath as compared to normal batches. Samson has told us that they acknowledge there is a defect, but that they haven't been able to replicate the bend themselves; all seven of our climbers can anywhere along the lengths of the six ropes that we've had this issue with. I'm really bummed--the Vortex was great in the hands, worked SRT and DdRT, and had practically no stretch--but the stuff we've been getting lately is worrying.

So a many of you have probably already seen the YouTube videos of simplified SRT rescue with the Rope Runner [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzanEuUuiGk]Rescue One[/ame] [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZmT6ujFCAo]Rescue Two[/ame] Very cool. Of course, it's potentially a lot of force on the tie-in point (if it's only in a single crotch,) but it's no big deal if the victim is tied in to a solid point on a strong, structurally sound tree if you ask me. While playing around with this during a rescue training, my co-worker John Davis came up with a variation for rescuing a victim climbing on a doubled rope system. To accomplish this, the rescuer climbs the victim's line, acting as a counterweight. After reaching the victim, the rescuer can package the victim, then disconnect their split tail or eye-to-eye. The rescuer can then lower themselves to the ground. Once on the ground, rescuer can continue to allow rope to pass through the Rope Runner, belaying the packaged victim down to the ground much like a belayer would lower a rock climber. It's fast and efficient for some circumstances, provided the victim can be packaged, is in a lowerable location, and the tie-in point is strong enough to support the weight of two climbers. Thoughts?

I've gotten pretty comfortable climbing on a RADS with a Grigri 1, but it's getting worn out after years of hard work, so I've been trying the ISC-D4, too. While I'm sure it's a great device for descents, I have to fight a lot more friction to tend slack while ascending poorly while ascending (losing energy and system travel.) When it comes to working the tree, it fails totally. As soon as there is any weight on the system at all (think limbwalking,) the anti-panic feature prevents me from feeding out rope. Manually failing the cam is pretty much impossible, too. I'm glad you're getting use out of the device, but I've given up. I’m sure there are applications for this device in the tree care industry, but RADS is not one of them.

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.

I have that problem with the auto double-backing waist closures on the Sequoia SRT. It's a major hazard, and I'm not a fan. My harness will loosen off til it falls around my ankles when I'm just walking around, even without my saw on. I've had it drop around my knees while working in-tree. In my view, it's a recallable defect. I've dramactically reduced the incidence of this happening by threading some nylon webbing through the buckles, then folding the ends of the webbing over and sewing them to prvent them from slipping out. The extra bulk has added more pressure/friction to the closure, really helping them stay closed.

Performs pretty similarly to a distel in a climbing system, although a little less grippy. Sometimes I really need that extra wrap. That's at least been my experience with poison ivy and ice, bee line, tenex, and armor eye-to-eyes. I usually use it on my lanyard, as it seems to sit better for prusik tending.

I never thought this would become one of my go to DdRT climbing hitches, but it's just so simple. I get goodperformance on it when using either tenex tec, armor, or bee line on my poison ivy. Twists the rope, but no worse really than any other VT variation I've come across.