I'm not asking for this to be our next device, just stirring the creative juices.
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Originally Posted by George Any tool used by arbos should function like a hitch. In other words, if the climber lets go it will lock off. That is the muscle memory that exists in tree climbers. This is different than most of the rest of the rope world where the climber self belays. |
RIGHT! It's sort of like the hitch tells you what to do, where you have to tell a belay device what you want done.
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Originally Posted by George The idea of using a swedge type rope grab is clever for an ascender. That might be a place to start from. Having a mechanism to allow the wedges to open and allow a controlled descent is the key. The last criteria is to allow it to be installed/removed midline. |
George, there are a lot of other criteria, and swedge needs to show how it can handle dual parallel line. Ascenders have already been created and exist in many forms. They can be gotten in Titanium, if you wish, though I recommend
Dual-handled that way you can go Doubled or Single rope, whichever your mood.
Please take the 'ascent' part out of this device. This is a personal belay-rappell device, pinpoint accurate work positioning tool that controls precisely the friction on rope. Swift slack tending is far more important overall than ascent.
Leave the ascent to the ascenders, it accounts for only a fraction of the time in the canopy and you can slap them on, in an instant, without even removing your friction device if you need to bust a vertical maneuver while during the climb. Generally speaking, though, you climb the tree and tend slack as you go. The new device needs to do this very, very well.
The thought here is, if we can focus our collective energies on creating the top end in in accurate, versatile, bombproof friction control, rather than look for the Uni-tool (up-down), we don't compete with Unicender and our simplicity can more easily be distilled down to a least common denominator.
Our device is a down and around tool. It's what you do probably 95% of the time aloft. Focus on the 'down and around' abilities of the piece, the complete domination of the entire friction spectrum of going from
stop to
slow, and back to
stop.