Compact Bulldog Bone

gmcttr · Mar 26, 2015

Having slotted a couple of the links for my own use, I can tell you a few thousandths of an inch can make a big difference in the closing difficulty.

While I would probably flex it back into place with a vise, I can only recommend to others to get a new link from Gordon.

Flex Abednego · Mar 26, 2015

TreeLogic said:
Yes. Weigh 190. Tachyon.

i weigh 190 and have been on 1/2"kmiii, it seems alright to me except maybe it doesn't exactly gobble rope and its a little hard to get in . got mine in march. smallest bollard

Flex Abednego · Mar 26, 2015

yeah. i think i will asap

macswan · Mar 26, 2015

Definitely contact Gordon about the pin, I climbed on this before it had the locks for the pins. And I never bent one, but strange things happen in trees.

Flex Abednego said:
i weigh 190 and have been on 1/2"kmiii, it seems alright to me except maybe it doesn't exactly gobble rope and its a little hard to get in . got mine in march. smallest bollard

i am on the 13 mm kmIII as well, and I filed out the very bottom of the spine to allow more room for rope gobbling. Not on the flat of the spine where it grabs when engaged, but at the point where it curves under the flat. Where it contacts when disengaged.

I also found yesterday that this rope swells when wet, it was a little too fat yesterday morning, it worked itself out pretty quick though.

macswan · Mar 26, 2015

I also plan on scalloping the lower arm the same way as the upper arm, maybe not quite as much. The newer versions might already have that.

John_KAYS · Mar 26, 2015

macswan said:
I also plan on scalloping the lower arm the same way as the upper arm, maybe not quite as much. The newer versions might already have that.

3rd generation BDBs have it all.

And Mac, do you like the kmIII more than Tachyon. I'm curious cause it sounds like a good contender.

keithk · Mar 26, 2015

Weighing in at 145lbs and Rocking a 2nd gen bone with cougar puke using 1/2 inch bollard. Runs like butter and no slippage.

macswan · Mar 26, 2015

I

John_KAYS said:
3rd generation BDBs have it all. View attachment 31112

And Mac, do you like the kmIII more than Tachyon. I'm curious cause it sounds like a good contender.

i do, very much so.

John_KAYS · Mar 26, 2015

macswan said:
I

i do, very much so.

So when I need to retire my tachyon would it make sense to get kmIII rather than more tachyon? I'm sure I should order both...but I can't and I'm curious about trying the kmIII. I also have 150' of Orange Imori which is still in really good shape. I prefer tachyon over imori when running the BDB...and like I said, I am very curious to try the kmIII.

macswan · Mar 26, 2015

I like imori, but I have found it not to interface well with these mechanical omniscenders. I have not had a moments regret about getting the kmiii, but I haven't been on it very long. I Love it, but it still hasn't been very long. So grain of salt. .02, whatever.

oceans · Mar 27, 2015

mikbro81 said:
I run tachyon. Never tried vortex. Once I tried tachyon I switched from safety blue and never looked back. I weigh 130. I'm thinking about switching to the smallest bollard on the bone. Any thoughts?

I would avoid that. If the bollard isn't sized properly for the rope in use, the upper arms will not auto-grab. I find that Tachyon (11.5mm) works like a dream with the 5/8" bollard. I will also work with the 3/4", but the 5/8" allows for better release while still auto-grabbing.

oceans · Mar 27, 2015

John_KAYS said:
So when I need to retire my tachyon would it make sense to get kmIII rather than more tachyon? I'm sure I should order both...but I can't and I'm curious about trying the kmIII. I also have 150' of Orange Imori which is still in really good shape. I prefer tachyon over imori when running the BDB...and like I said, I am very curious to try the kmIII.

I would base that decision on the hand desired in your rope. Tachyon has a much better hand than KMIII, but the trade off is more elongation. If you find that you often tie knots (midline, stoppers, etc...), the Tachyon is a solid choice. If you have super long ascents and not much need for knots, the KMIII may be a better choice.

EDIT: Also, for what it's worth, I'm continuing to mitigate elongation in my system by choosing Escalator for my Anchor side. The two ropes would ideally be joined with an Oval Link...the smallest one rated for the job.

MikePowers321 · Mar 27, 2015

macswan said:
I like imori, but I have found it not to interface well with these mechanical omniscenders. I have not had a moments regret about getting the kmiii, but I haven't been on it very long. I Love it, but it still hasn't been very long. So grain of salt. .02, whatever.

Mac, is the 1/2" KmIII nice on the hands?

MikePowers321 · Mar 27, 2015

haha, funny Eric

surveyor · Mar 27, 2015

Please also make sure the swivel snap links are closed, I have a re-design in the works for the upcoming batch which will add support to the lower arm friction pin, even with the gate inadvertently open.

macswan · Mar 27, 2015

MikePowers321 said:
Mac, is the 1/2" KmIII nice on the hands?

Indeed. A very noticeable difference, even going from tachyon and imori.

John_KAYS · Mar 27, 2015

oceans said:
I would base that decision on the hand desired in your rope. Tachyon has a much better hand than KMIII, but the trade off is more elongation. If you find that you often tie knots (midline, stoppers, etc...), the Tachyon is a solid choice. If you have super long ascents and not much need for knots, the KMIII may be a better choice.

EDIT: Also, for what it's worth, I'm continuing to mitigate elongation in my system by choosing Escelator for my Anchor side. The two ropes would ideally be joined with an Oval Link...the smallest one rated for the job.

...sounds like I need both.

oceans · Mar 27, 2015

John_KAYS said:
...sounds like I need both.

You can always join the two, as I've described with the Escalator. You'd have great flexibility with the Tachyon/KMIII combo.

Treetopflyer · Mar 27, 2015

oceans said:
You can always join the two, as I've described with the Escalator. You'd have great flexibility with the Tachyon/KMIII combo.

I do the same thing with the escalator tachyon combo sometimes and love it.

mikbro81 · Mar 27, 2015

oceans said:
I would avoid that. If the bollard isn't sized properly for the rope in use, the upper arms will not auto-grab. I find that Tachyon (11.5mm) works like a dream with the 5/8" bollard. I will also work with the 3/4", but the 5/8" allows for better release while still auto-grabbing.

Thanks for the feedback. I wasn't sure if it was worth trying, and it sounds like it has been tried and doesn't work. Good to know.