What the bananas

I have never liked the design of the HH. The way it interfaces with the rope and lack of pulley for tending. It is liked by many, which gives options. Reason for my dislike of the uni also. But that is because of the broad canopy trees I climb. Those devices IMHO are better suited to conifer climbing. Never seen either of those devices at a comp. Not saying that is a measuring stick. But comps tend to be about speed, in broad canopy trees. Damn never seen an akimbo used at one either. What I am articulating poorly here is that those devices don't tick my boxes. Glad they are out there as so many climbers love them. Please note comps do not in anyway take away from the awesome climbers that use these products daily to achieve getting work done safely. I was just sharing what I think. Not really worth much but I had too.
 
islandarb said:
Never seen either of those devices at a comp.
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The HH and it's variants aren't on the approved device list so you'll never see one at a comp. Not sure about the uni. And as far as comparing comp climbing to real world work....they aren't the same. Comp is about speed. It's dangerous and dumb. Is it fun? Yes. But if you production climb with speed as your benchmark, bad things will happen. Last comp we had, an individual fell about 20 feet cus his hitch cord was burnt up running fast on his previous events. When he fell, his hitch failed to grab and he just did a rapid slide down his rope. MRS with traditional eye n eye with hitch climber setup. There's a video floating around locally. Plus I was there to see it. Only thing injured was a bit of ego.

Edit: I checked and Uni is not approved for use in comps. Neither is the singing tree RR. The Notch RR Pro is approved though.
 
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L3VI said:
Detaching and reattaching in the tree is a huge part of my climbing style.
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Why? Seriously curious. I get unclipping to pass a device over/around a union but to totally detach from the rope....why is that a "huge" part of your style?
 
Boomslang said:
HH is like a Timex
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Counterpoint: HH is a tactical Rolex. Can get that finesse by dialing in your hitch cord of choice and how that cord is tied. Then...roll it in the mud and put it to use. It'll work. Want to swap from SRS to MRS? Do nothing and it will work. Call it dirty, depraved names, call it worthless and an embarrassment, it will work better. Do that with a RR?
 
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islandarb said:
I have never liked the design of the HH. The way it interfaces with the rope and lack of pulley for tending. It is liked by many, which gives options. Reason for my dislike of the uni also. But that is because of the broad canopy trees I climb. Those devices IMHO are better suited to conifer climbing. Never seen either of those devices at a comp. Not saying that is a measuring stick. But comps tend to be about speed, in broad canopy trees. Damn never seen an akimbo used at one either. What I am articulating poorly here is that those devices don't tick my boxes. Glad they are out there as so many climbers love them. Please note comps do not in anyway take away from the awesome climbers that use these products daily to achieve getting work done safely. I was just sharing what I think. Not really worth much but I had too.
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The HH definitely shines in conifers, and is why I love it so much. As the HH doesn’t put a bend in the rope like the wrench your hitch doesn’t have that bend to overcome as you continue upwards after sitting in your device to do work…This makes for a device that when dialed in flows up a vertical rope like no other hitch based system. I will say that my HHFX has sent more than a few mechanicals packing to TreeBay.
 
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L3VI said:
My problem with the hh is the difficulty of taking it on and off the rope. Detaching and reattaching in the tree is a huge part of my climbing style. If I were climbing straight up and down often I might try it again. It seems like the safest srt device that there is.
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We all have our own style and it sounds like the HH is not very well suited to yours.
 
Boomslang said:
RW/RR is like a Rolex, HH is like a Timex. One is a finesse piece, the other takes a licking and keeps on ticking. Both tell the time.
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A well dialed HHFX is one of the most responsive and sensitive devices I have ever climbed on. The amount of control you can have with that hitch is pretty special, but most never get there because they are using Over Complicated hitches with Way Too Many wraps.
 
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Phil said:
The HH and it's variants aren't on the approved device list so you'll never see one at a comp. Not sure about the uni. And as far as comparing comp climbing to real world work....they aren't the same. Comp is about speed. It's dangerous and dumb. Is it fun? Yes. But if you production climb with speed as your benchmark, bad things will happen. Last comp we had, an individual fell about 20 feet cus his hitch cord was burnt up running fast on his previous events. When he fell, his hitch failed to grab and he just did a rapid slide down his rope. MRS with traditional eye n eye with hitch climber setup. There's a video floating around locally. Plus I was there to see it. Only thing injured was a bit of ego.

Edit: I checked and Uni is not approved for use in comps. Neither is the singing tree RR. The Notch RR Pro is approved though.
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If you read my whole post, mentioning comps was used in reference to speed and tending that is how I put that comparison in there. Days doing treework are completely different, but no way is a HH trumping a wrench or runner in a broad tree prune, for me......comps are not dangerous and not dumb either. Comps have improved many a climber's efficiency and safety over and over. Your description of the climber's fall is user error and failed inspection of gear before going aloft which can also happen at work. I could praise comps a lot more but would take up a lot more space.
 
I know what I know with regards to gear, solely based on my climbing style and types of trees I climb. Others will disagree and I am ok with this. I certainly am not shitting on the 4 devices I am not a fan of. They are important for many.
 
islandarb said:
If you read my whole post, mentioning comps was used in reference to speed and tending that is how I put that comparison in there. Days doing treework are completely different, but no way is a HH trumping a wrench or runner in a broad tree prune, for me......comps are not dangerous and not dumb either. Comps have improved many a climber's efficiency and safety over and over. Your description of the climber's fall is user error and failed inspection of gear before going aloft which can also happen at work. I could praise comps a lot more but would take up a lot more space.
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Without comps and the community it builds a lot of this gear and techniques would not exist. Not for everyone and that's fine but no denying the immense benefit to the individual and industry as a whole!
 
L3VI said:
Without comps and the community it builds a lot of this gear and techniques would not exist. Not for everyone and that's fine but no denying the immense benefit to the individual and industry as a whole!
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I was clueless in many areas of climbing til I started being involved with comps as I had no mentors on the island. Treework is done very poorly here in general. Except for my buddy's company and I.
 
islandarb said:
If you read my whole post, mentioning comps was used in reference to speed and tending that is how I put that comparison in there. Days doing treework are completely different, but no way is a HH trumping a wrench or runner in a broad tree prune, for me......comps are not dangerous and not dumb either. Comps have improved many a climber's efficiency and safety over and over. Your description of the climber's fall is user error and failed inspection of gear before going aloft which can also happen at work. I could praise comps a lot more but would take up a lot more space.
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Comps are a blessing and a curse in my mind. I totally understand and agree with the ways it advances efficiencies and knowledge. But I just disagree with a speed factor being a major component to any skills competition that involves potential for catastrophic injury when something goes wrong. The current comp format encourages speed. It's one of the only judging criteria that isn't subjective. You're either faster than everyone or you're not. It will inherently lead to accidents in an already accident prone task. Think the ISA will put together a document that catalogs all the accidents and injuries at the various chapter comps over the years? I've heard plenty of stories but would like to see what the data actually says.

In any case, different strokes for different folks and variety is the spice of life. I like options and I'm glad I've found a combo of harness, climb line, and friction device that makes me comfortable so I can focus on the work.
 
Phil said:
Comps are a blessing and a curse in my mind. I totally understand and agree with the ways it advances efficiencies and knowledge. But I just disagree with a speed factor being a major component to any skills competition that involves potential for catastrophic injury when something goes wrong. The current comp format encourages speed. It's one of the only judging criteria that isn't subjective. You're either faster than everyone or you're not. It will inherently lead to accidents in an already accident prone task. Think the ISA will put together a document that catalogs all the accidents and injuries at the various chapter comps over the years? I've heard plenty of stories but would like to see what the data actually says.

In any case, different strokes for different folks and variety is the spice of life. I like options and I'm glad I've found a combo of harness, climb line, and friction device that makes me comfortable so I can focus on the work.
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I can live with those thoughts Phil. Hence why I did not go down the road of attack of your statement. It would have yielded nothing but discourse. I merely stated what I got from them. More positive than negative. Totally agree about clmbing device choice, as well as all things climbing. All good.
 
Boomslang said:
I have a zigzag, rr pro, and hhfx. Each has their place and gets used accordingly.

Only a Sith deals in absolutes.
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I have a pretty dark sense of humor and the first thought that entered my mind when I read this post, after all the talking up the comraderie at the comps, was "I know who's gear bag I'm yoinking when no one's looking lol. I would never though.
 
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