Notch Stainless Steel Portawrap - Updated

[MasonH]

Don't buy it. I have the large stainless steel portawrap by Notch and it will never run for me, locks up every time. 1/2" rope, half wrap, two different ground guys who both know how to let a piece run and I've only ever gone for rides while using it.

There's a reason it's cheaper. Don't trust it, don't buy it.

UPDATE: As you can tell I was pretty heated when I first wrote this because I had just finished going for rides on a big dead ash. After a closer inspection of the Notch portawrap in operation I'm still not totally impressed with how it performs compared to other PAWs I've used but am open to being picked apart in the comments for "user error" or some other factor.

Here is footage of the Notch porty taking a poplar top w one wrap:

Quite hard to see but at the 3-4 second mark it stopped the rope dead before letting go again. Attached picture is the size of the top with a leather glove for reference. Approximately 15 feet long and sprawling leads ~10 feet wide. I applied virtually no grip on the rope, just let the PAW do it's thing.

Footage of it taking a poplar log w one wrap:

Ran smoother with the log but still felt like it gripped it harder than I expected.

Another factor is the fact that I'm using a coated double braid which seems to be grippier than a non coated rope with more fluff. I'm not try to rag on Notch, more than anything I just want to identify what's going on for more safety and control. Let me know what ya'll think, I appreciate it.

 

[Boomslang]

Rig bigger or take the half wrap off.

I'm not a fan of Notch products, but I know guys who use that porty with no issues. Unless you got some freak dud that's wrapped in sandpaper it's simple physics. You just have to adjust to the device.

 

[MasonH]

Rig bigger or take the half wrap off.

I'm not a fan of Notch products, but I know guys who use that porty with no issues. Unless you got some freak dud that's wrapped in sandpaper it's simple physics. You just have to adjust to the device.

I hope that's the case. I've taken tops that were way too big without a portawrap that were stopped dead with both a 1/2 or a single wrap. My only thought is the stainless steel grabbing the coated rope but Im going to run this thing through testing when I'm out of the tree. So far its 2 for 2 on jobs where I've used it and it's been bunk.

 

[southsoundtree]

How was it lowered?



Was the rope hockled?


Were they extra far from the POW?

Pull it with MA and adjust your friction/ wraps, and you should be able to manipulate it all in front of you.

 

[MasonH]

How was it lowered?



Was the rope hockled?


Were they extra far from the POW?

Pull it with MA and adjust your friction/ wraps, and you should be able to manipulate it all in front of you.

Lowered somewhat normally, rope wasn't hockled, they weren't unreasonably far from the porty. And it was done up in the correct direction.
As in sweat the rope with MA?

 

[southsoundtree]

Is this a larger diameter than what you've used before?



Did it lock up, then be able to be lowered with friction removed, or as caught?




Pull the rope through the POW on the ground with MA, on a test setup and you might figure something out.
Just an idea.

 

[MasonH]

Is this a larger diameter than what you've used before?



Did it lock up, then be able to be lowered with friction removed, or as caught?




Pull the rope through the POW on the ground with MA, on a test setup and you might figure something out.
Just an idea.

Bollard is the same diameter as others I've used. Never had this problem with powder coated porties. It locked right up then was able to be lowered fine. Granted, I've never used a coated double braid on a powder coated portawrap.

I'll try that. I'm going to run some tests this week, maybe drop some logs out of a tree and see what happens.

 

[dspacio]

Intriguing report. I have the notch porty and have noticed that it consistently asks for less wraps than what I would guess. I havent run it a ton myself, usually I am up top.
But this rings for me, as I have been very surprised a few time, when one wrap is grabbing a whole thick oak limb to a stop...

 

[flushcut]

Is the lowering line wet or dry? What line, manufacturer?

 

[Dan Cobb]

Is the parking brake on? :^)

I've not seen one in person, but in pics it looks shiny, but definitely not a mirror finish. I'm guessing it will polish with continued use and provide less friction. If you confirm it just has too much friction and want less friction quickly, you may want to try polishing it yourself. I've had good experience with lapping compound. I might try using a 3 or 4' piece of 1" webbing "shoe shine" style with the lapping compound. Or take an old rope, coat it in thick mud and lower a bunch of pieces.

Nice that it's SS, but sucks if it requires modification to work well.

In my experience, the difference in slickness between a normal factory finish (non-mirror) and a polished finish is substantial for stainless steels, whether it's coal bunker liners or cookware.

 

[MasonH]

Intriguing report. I have the notch porty and have noticed that it consistently asks for less wraps than what I would guess. I havent run it a ton myself, usually I am up top.
But this rings for me, as I have been very surprised a few time, when one wrap is grabbing a whole thick oak limb to a stop...

I'm glad someone knows what I'm talking about. I did a super tall dead ash yesterday where I NEEDED pieces to run and it was totally unreliable. I'll try to post an update after further testing.

 

[MasonH]

Is the parking brake on? :^)

I've not seen one in person, but in pics it looks shiny, but definitely not a mirror finish. I'm guessing it will polish with continued use and provide less friction. If you confirm it just has too much friction and want less friction quickly, you may want to try polishing it yourself. I've had good experience with lapping compound. I might try using a 3 or 4' piece of 1" webbing "shoe shine" style with the lapping compound. Or take an old rope, coat it in thick mud and lower a bunch of pieces.

Nice that it's SS, but sucks if it requires modification to work well.

In my experience, the difference in slickness between a normal factory finish (non-mirror) and a polished finish is substantial for stainless steels, whether it's coal bunker liners or cookware.

This is good advice. I'm almost tempted to try to scuff it up with steel wool to give it more of a powder-like finish. Maybe that will do something to help the grippiness. Polish is also a good idea but it'll get rubbed off over time, be less consistent I figure.

I've got the medium and the large POW by Notch. Same story for both, at first I thought it had to do with bollard diameter but nope.

 

[MasonH]

Is the lowering line wet or dry? What line, manufacturer?

It's done this while wet and dry. Rope is the 1/2" coated double braid by Tuefelberger I believe.

 

[flushcut]

Only thing I can think of is that the line is getting pinched in between the hoop and the barrel somehow.

 

[Dan Cobb]

Only thing I can think of is that the line is getting pinched in between the hoop and the barrel somehow.

The Notch appears to have less of an angle bent into the hoop compared to a Buckingham. Perhaps that is causing the undesired friction?

 

[flushcut]

Possible. Could it be a manufacturing mistake of some kind?

 

[deevo]

This is good advice. I'm almost tempted to try to scuff it up with steel wool to give it more of a powder-like finish. Maybe that will do something to help the grippiness. Polish is also a good idea but it'll get rubbed off over time, be less consistent I figure.

I've got the medium and the large POW by Notch. Same story for both, at first I thought it had to do with bollard diameter but nope.

I think you should show a picture of how you guys have it setup and rope running through it, I have 5 porta wraps including 2 notch ones no problems with either.

 

[MasonH]

I think you should show a picture of how you guys have it setup and rope running through it, I have 5 porta wraps including 2 notch ones no problems with either.

I'm going to be doing further testing next weekend. Hopefully some positive updates

 

[Jonny]

Stock photo from Google.
If you had two and a half wraps on it, would it look like this?

Have you successfully used Buckingham or other brand portys? There’s a bunch of companies that make them in that design.

 

[Dan Cobb]

If you (carefully) feel the POW promptly after lowering a piece, you'll know where the friction is being generated - where it's hot. If the heat is not where expected, that may help with troubleshooting.