Ropes, knots & rigging

[newguy18]

Originally Posted by Therrin

OMG!! I *finally* figured out what rymes with "dinner roll"...

it all makes sense now.

[Aerial]

Ha Ha Therrin and NewGuy, but would anyone buy this gear just to troll an obscure forum half a world away?



Apologies to Ekka for the photo post, but I had to defend myself from false allegations being repeated by certain forum members.

Aerial

[Aerial]

But back on topic - In the above photo please note the keyring 'biner with quick release swivel, also a keyring item.

I incorporated the tiny 'biner and swivel after reading here that someone used shoelaces to rig his pulley up. I figured right there that this knot advancer was not subject to any dynamic forces and failure would be an inconvenience at most.

Am I right in this assumption? Anybody here not like it as a pulley tender? Is it a legal piece of gear used as it is?

Aerial

[Therrin]

An obscure forum eh?

I was tempted to think that most people would do all the research FIRST, before spending a couple $K on gear; and would only buy gear that's already proven before they go and start modifying and going outside the box.

Who suggested the Petzl Stop descender?

Anyhow, it just looks like you're getting all gear fanatic about it before you know how the stuff works. $1500 for a single piece of gear which has limited potential compared to the current systems seems like a fair stretch.

Have fun, just try not to kill yourself.
(or anyone else)
Sounds kinda silly to have to say huh? What'd you have done had your wife not been home and you were hangin there bent in half?
I'd suggest you get a chest harness. Helps keep ya upright if you're not able keep yourself up.

My only suggestion as far as the keychain biner, is to make it a different color from your safety biners. The other's may have some other suggestions for that though.

[Aerial]

Originally Posted by Therrin

An obscure forum eh?... only buy gear that's already proven before they go and start modifying and going outside the box... Who suggested the Petzl Stop descender?... Have fun, just try not to kill yourself... What'd you have done had your wife not been home and you were hangin there bent in half?

I mean no disrespect, but as fine a forum as this is, it's no /. or Yahoo group. I think you'd have to have a pretty stromg interest in trees to even show up here.

I'll admit to being a "gear fanatic", you should see my camera gear! And if you have read the "Mac vs PC" thread you get an idea of my computer setup being a bit gear heavy for most home users.

As far as working "outside the box", well I came into this pretty far outside the box. My efforts here are to to learn the time honored techniques, while at the same time exploring what's out there in the world of climbing, ultimately finding what works for me.

The Petzel Stop Descender is where my quest for gear to climb trees as well as do a little rappelling on the side lead me. No one here suggested or even mentioned it as far as I know. Is it considered a good piece of gear for tree work?

Sawsong got his first attempt at tying a Blakes Hitch wrong, "suislide hitch" was what I believe it was called, I had better luck at tying my Blakes Hitch, and it worked beautifully, but I didn't like the decent control, I worried about melting the rope. The Petzel Stop cured that for me, and I can put it on faster and with less chance of error, than a split tail. What's not to like?

What would I have done if the wife had not been there to rescue me?



Cut my throat to avoid humiliation?

I've been waiting to post that in the "Do You Carry a Knife" thread but I'll do it here since you asked.

Aerial

[Aerial]

For those that care, the knife above is a SeaQuest dive knife I've had for years as part of my dive gear. It's a Blackie Collins "Signature Edition" which I carried on many dives.

It was never used, but always carried on my inflation vest. Now I'll carry it on my safety harness, and I hope I never have to use it there either.

Aerial

[sawsong]

Originally Posted by Aerial

I mean no disrespect...

Sawsong got his first attempt at tying a Blakes Hitch wrong, "suislide hitch" was what I believe it was called, I had better luck at tying my Blakes Hitch, and it worked beautifully, but I didn't like the decent control, I worried about melting the rope. The Petzel Stop cured that for me, and I can put it on faster and with less chance of error, than a split tail. What's not to like?

Aerial

look, theres no need to be petty. if there was then id like to commend you on your proper mick dundee knife
actually makes me feel quite inadequate and less of a man

yeah i tied my blakes wrong... i had no problems with it though, and it hasnt happened again, and probably wont. being receptive to advice from those who know more than me has done me big favours. If i keep on, maybe one day I can call them my peers.

At the end of the day, Everything I've said in this topic has been constructive advice, and i'll keep on doing that to a fault.
Theres no need to start with the point scoring, cos at the end of the day...



and yes i suppose you would have to have a large interest in trees to visit this site... kinda the point?

[Aerial]

Originally Posted by sawsong

look, theres no need to be petty. if there was then id like to commend you on your proper mick dundee knife... yeah i tied my blakes wrong... Everything I've said in this topic has been constructive advice, and i'll keep on doing that to a fault... kinda the point?

I wasn't trying to score points on you sawsong, just using your own example of the possibility to get a knot wrong. Does anyone here doubt my ability to screw up a knot?

Mick Dundee would have said "You call that a knife?", the blade is less than 4" long. The nice thing about it, besides it's compact size, is that the locking scabbard has attachment points for webbing. When sheathed it is very unobtrusive and stays in place for one handed usage.

The other good thing about the SeaQuest is that it was designed to cut rope efficiently. Note the extreme serrations on it.

Aerial

[Aerial]

I apologize if you were "bovvered" (I had to Google that one) by my using your prior post about tying a "suislide" onto your climbing line.

Actually reading about your error made me get out the Climbing Companion and practice the Blakes Hitch quite a bit before trying it on a suspended rope.

And yes you have given quite a bit of good advice as well, please keep it up as I am receptive to the advice of experts. And compared to me you are quite the expert.

Aerial

[Therrin]

Well I do like the knife...

Ya might post it over there anyway since it fits so well. I dive with a titanium something or another. Straight edge on one side, serrated along the back and a flat tip. It's come in handy a couple times.

Also use a little seaquest knife that mounts to the cumberbund on my Blackdiamond bc. Good stuff. I like yours better for a smaller knife though.

The fact that it clips in like that is a good idea, I hadn't considered it for tree work before.


I was wondering about the Stop, been thinking about picking one up. I use a Petzl minitraxion and tiblocs for SRT. You'll see that Quercus and I are rather fond of our Petzl gear.

Knowing the knots and hitches comes in handy if you dont have the gear, drop it, or foul it. Then again some people never use any "fancy" gear. If you were worried about melting through the sheathing using the Blake's then ya had to be doing *something* wrong. PM Newguy18 and ask him about it maybe.

[Aerial]

Originally Posted by Therrin

Well I do like the knife... I dive with a titanium something or another. Straight edge on one side, serrated along the back and a flat tip. It's come in handy a couple times... The fact that it clips in like that is a good idea,

I was wondering about the Stop... Knowing the knots and hitches comes in handy ... If you were worried about melting through the sheathing using the Blake's then ya had to be doing *something* wrong. ...

It's a nice little knife. Years of diving, and being thrown about in gear lockers and car trunks have never damaged it, or caused it to come out of it's sheath even one time.

So you have an Abalone knife? Be a bit big to strap on I'd think, but then again my Silky saw is pretty big, and the scabbard ties to my leg. I do have another leg though, hmnn...

The Petzel Stop works great, both ascending and especially descending. The Kong Indy, a similar product (knock-off?) didn't work out so well though. It has a double camming operation that hampers ascents. I'll probably keep the Indy in my kit for rescue operations or just straight rappelling.

With the split tail speed = friction heat, also modulating the speed was far more difficult than with the Stop.

Aerial

[Aerial]

One thing I should warn you about the Stop (and the Kong) is that it didn't seem to like my 1/2 inch climbing line. I had to use it on a smaller diameter rope I had to get it to run smoothly.

Aerial

[Ekka]

Originally Posted by Aerial

Ekka, it seems as though I have reached my upload limit from the photos you loaded for me. Can you free up some space for me to attach pictures?

Aerial

You are back to standard user privalidges now, plenty of room.

[Aerial]

Originally Posted by Ekka

You are back to standard user privalidges now, plenty of room.

Thanks Ekka, I hope that means I can edit my posts as well, as I said I rarely get it right the first time around ... (That could be my motto here)

Aerial

[Aerial]

You Call That a Knife? Is what Jim Bowie would have said to Mick when he showed him this:



Aerial












;

[Therrin]

Nah I wouldn't use the big dive knife for tree work. The small one maybe, but the big one is hugely overkill with like a 9" blade. Heck, it's overkill for diving!


The Stop is for use on single ropes from 9 to 12mm. That's the same as .35" to .47" which falls below the size of your 1/2" rope. So, the reason you'd be having trouble with the half inch is becuase the Stop WASNT DESIGNED for 1/2" rope. Ya might bother to check the specs of the pieces you purchase before ya get em
I imagine 7/16" would go fairly nicely through it.




Also, the double-cam on the other is possibly a panic over-caming brake. Some of these that you use a lever to control the rate of descent have those. People start falling, freak out and pull the handle harder as a reflex motion, when in reality that only makes them fall faster. So they installed an additional deal in there that starts jamming up if you over-cam it.