Chest Boxes/Chest Plates

rfwoodvt

rfwoodvt

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Hey all,

Been cruising around looking at the various rope walking systems and have heard discussed the use of a variety of devices for a chest box/plate.

Everything from a commercially made PMI to using a mini traxion to home made.

I'd love to see pic's of what you use and how you configure it. I'd especially be interested in any homemade boxes/plates.

Also what do you use for harnesses to hold the plates in position and how high up the chest do you go with it?

ThanX in advance!
 
I just got the PMI Rock Exotica double roller chest box along with PMI's basic harness. I'm happy with the chest box, but the harness doesn't fit me that well. It has plenty of strap length for the chest strap but doesn't have enough adjustment length in the shoulder straps for when it is cold out and I'm wearing extra layers.

I bought some webbing and snaps and buckles from Strapworks.com (Donna Foster in Eugene, OR) and will be attempting to make my own chest harness. Enough webbing and snaps and tabler buckles to make three harnesses was about $50.

My ropewalker system is coddled together from spare bits, a Petzl basic on a tether attached to a foot strap of my own making and a Pantin on the other foot, with some bungee cord 'tween everything. Works well enough, but I am still playing with it. Shorter steps work fine, but I am trying to get more distance per step worked out. When I get my camera back I'll upload some pics.
 
I haven't found the need for a rope walker setup yet. Under 100' climbs a frog works fine...for me. All the extra gear to buy and put one pushes rope walking into another realm.

Look at the comparison chart in ON ROPE, it shows all of the +/- off each with a score sheet.
 
Reason I'm looking for some chest box ideas is I have a very high center of gravity and have to keep pulling myself into the rope to get my feet far enough under me to make any rope walking (even the frog) to work well enough and to allow me to keep any energy for the job
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I've dickered around with some ideas and I like Gerry B's DdRT set up for rope walking.

But for now the idea of having a decent means of keeping my chest close to the rope is enticing indeed.
 
Ahhh...different issue.

have you tried the simple, cheap route?

Take some webbing, twist it so that the loop becomes a figure eight. Slip your arms through with the crossover in back. From the front the loops will be on your shoulder like pack straps. Clip a small biner into the loops then clip it onto your rope. Add a pulley for more efficiency. Since this isn't life support you can use a short biner and pulley to keep it low. Fiddle around the webbing length to keep it tight to your chest.
 
Check out "On Rope" its an equipment company for rope access by the guy who wrote the book. They make high qulity chest harnesses and feet straps. I've been using his stuff for two years and it works great. Ropewalker systems are pretty cool definitly a step toward the future of ascending for production climbers.
 
[ QUOTE ]
the guy who owns the company comes on here his screen name is ron

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Whoa, not hardly, but On Rope is 10 miles from my house (that's not a good thing BTW), and Bruce Smith, the owner, is a good friend of mine.

He has broadened his inventory to include aborist supplies and has all kinds of hardware in the store - that's why it's not a good thing to live so close to the store.

I'm not all that sold on rope walker systems. Tom pretty well summed it up with - another realm. Here's a video of a buddy of mine using a rope walker. I describe some of the gear and arrangement and Glenn does a demo climb.

This is a bungie walker, and realize as you watch that his toes are against the tree. Free air climbing is usually more difficult. However, Glen is evaluating this for long ascents in caves and hence the focus of a rope walker - long ascents.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRkFE40ZrHo
 
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