DMM throw hook.

Bob Bob said:
Thank you to all that have shared their throwing hook experiences on this thread. I have found the collective knowledge very helpful.

Waiting on my DMM Captain Hook order to come in from Wesspur. I ordered just the hook and plan on using it with a hank of Yale Blaze that's laying around being lazy. I'll need to use a knot to terminate the rope on the hook's shackle until I can get a tight eye sewn on. I might steal singlejack's idea to offset the knot to prevent interference in setting the hook until the sewing project is finished. I'm hoping this purchase saves countless hours fiddling with throwline for setting traverses.
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Your post is very similar to mine.. lol
 
I picked up the hook my last trip up to Bellingham along with one of those long CE lanyards (Xmas presents to myself). Haven't had a chance to try it out yet in a tree but have played with it at ground level with some low lying limbs in between the rains. Amazing how you can flick it back off a limb so easily. They have obviously put a lot of thought into the exact shape and balance of the thing. I thought I would mostly use it on the other end of the long lanyard with an SMC compact oval biner so I can swap it over to the tail of my main line if I wanted to. Can't wait for better weather so I can try it out properly. Happy New Year to everyone!
 
If it hasn't already been mentioned: There is a safety issue when using the Hook attached to the tail of a life-line.
If the Hook gets 'hung-up' (which they do) when on the tail a life-line, then there may not be enough life-line to get safely to the ground.
A separate line for the Hook can be a better overall option, since it can be retrieved by going down and climbing another route to get it.
… just a heads-up …
 
SingleJack said:
If it hasn't already been mentioned: There is a safety issue when using the Hook attached to the tail of a life-line.
If the Hook gets 'hung-up' (which they do) when on the tail a life-line, then there may not be enough life-line to get safely to the ground.
A separate line for the Hook can be a better overall option, since it can be retrieved by going down and climbing another route to get it.
… just a heads-up …
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Thanks, SingleJack. Good point. Need to have lots of tail line if it is used that way. I like the idea of the hook living on the end of the lanyard most all of the time anyway, since the lanyard has its hitch and tending pulley so that it can immediately function as a second climbing like once it is hooked.
 
Bob Bob said:
Has anyone tried using 10mm Ocean Poly as the Captain rope?

It seems to be a popular choice for a light weight / durable lanyard. I really would like to purchase some 9mm ez-bend but want a sewn eye to reduce interference with setting the hook. My supplier for 9mm ez-bend (on rope) does not offer splices. I know 10mm Sirius Reap is a popular choice but it doesn't appear to be available by the foot from Sherrillstuff or Wesspur. Anyone know of a supplier that offers 9mm ezbend with splices or that sells Sirius Reap by the foot?

I switched my progress capture on my current Captain rope (11mm Blaze) to a Distel hitch tied with a 24" 8mm ocean poly eye & eye and a pinto pulley. It will be interesting to see how it compares to the GriGri 1, Basic and Rollclip Z.
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Try throwing a rope wrench on if you can. I get a little bound up with a hitch and pulley, but never quite stuck, yet, lol...
 
Most people who tried it like the Reep, but the hunk I got tangles up all the time.
Only available at TS are 600' reels, this seems to be a precursor that it is being discontinued, if the recent history of other ropes is repeated.

I liked your traverse video, I never thought about traversing to a lower point than the height I'm at, it's always been even, or higher. It might be easier in that situation to descend from your first, or main anchor, to where the Hook is, and then cross over.
 
The Ocean Polyester should be excellent, just a bit expensive per foot for the use. How about the 10mm EZ-Bend? That should be excellent. I'll sew you an eye ;-) Seriously, I'd be happy to. Check in with Richard Mumford as well, not sure where he is with machine sewing eyes yet but worth asking. Once again I'm expecting blistering attacks for the do-it-yourself spirit ;-)

So the 10mm Reep Schnur by-the-foot supply is now being choked off? Figures.

The good feature of OP or EZ-Bend for a Hook line is the tighter cover which means when you twist the line to manipulate the Hook orientation before pulling it on to a limb, it will go much easier than the very supple Reep Schnur. I've never failed to get the Hook to move the way I want with the Reep Schnur but it would be easier with OP or something like it.

I think the main advantage with 10mm Reep Schnur is how light the line is, less drag for longer throws. Especially when your target is higher than your position in the tree, which I find happens a lot. It's the little things that can make a big difference.
-AJ
 
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Burrapeg said:
Thanks, SingleJack. Good point. Need to have lots of tail line if it is used that way. I like the idea of the hook living on the end of the lanyard most all of the time anyway, since the lanyard has its hitch and tending pulley so that it can immediately function as a second climbing like once it is hooked.
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Great comments, I've never liked using the tail of my main rope for much except maybe for lowering back from a redirect I just took out. Probably because I climb too many tangly woods trees and conifers, I hate having a long loop of rope below me for very long, will cause trouble.

And knots anywhere near the Hook are super problematic. Fah gawd's sake the sewn eye on the stock Hook kit line has a squared off end, it has hung on me. Meaning it wouldn't allow the Hook to set, have had to pull too hard to get past the little squared end, and of course when you do that the Hook doesn't have time to rotate and comes back over the branch without hooking.
-AJ
 
Honey Bros. has the Reep Shur by the meter, in both 8mm and 10mm.
Also found they had 6mm Ocean Vectran in stock, which is no longer available here.
 
And knots anywhere near the Hook are super problematic. Fah gawd's sake the sewn eye on the stock Hook kit line has a squared off end, it has hung on me. Meaning it wouldn't allow the Hook to set, have had to pull too hard to get past the little squared end, and of course when you do that the Hook doesn't have time to rotate and comes back over the branch without hooking.
-AJ
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Square end sticking up wasn't the best. I've added some tape and 1 1/4" heat shrink to my Captain for just this reason - snags and stuff coming back with a bunch of sap - it seems to help. The other end of the Reep was folded, sewn, glued and heat shrunk tubed back on itself so bad things are less likely if I forget a figure eight knot (esp. if you're going back and forth on the "not a climbing line"). I also added an "Oops Loop" of fluorescent cord that is always clipped into me when I'm throwing those descending long shots (look'it that baby gooooooo . . . )
 

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Bob Bob said:
Thanks Moss, I may take you up on that sewing offer. I've been eyeballing the supplies need to do my own sewn eye splices and this seems like a good time to give it a try. I had no idea the concept of sewing eyes was so controversial until reading about it on treebuzz. http://www.treebuzz.com/forum/threads/documenting-my-hand-sewn-eye-process.24769/

Your comments about the qualities of 10mm Ocean and PMI Ez-bend and why they would make a good hook rope seem spot on. The PMI Ez-bend (caving rope) is super tough, durable and fairly stiff which should help to whip and remotely turn the hook into position. I'm almost convinced that 9mm Ez-bend is what I'm going to go with but I want to test it with my Grigri 1 first using my 9mm PMI lanyard. 9mm static is well outside of the specs for the Grigri 1 so I won't be surprised that the compatibility is iffy.

How many feet of hook rope are you currently using? I have it on 60' of Blaze and that's way too long.
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Mine is approx 40' of Reep Schnur. I'd sewed my own eye on the other end thinking it could be some kind of minimal climbing system combo Hook/long lanyard. Toasted my regular lanyard working and removed line off the Hook line to make a new one since I already had the eye built. Anyway... 40' is a good length for me, wouldn't want less, at least with a light 10mm line. 60' of an 11m like Blaze is downright brutal for a Hook line ;-)

Yeah I seriously doubt the 9mm EZ-Bend will "self set"on a Grigri I, ie: if you slack it and then lean back without hand setting it you'll fall back a bit. 10mm does that with the Grigri II so...

I would have a sewn eye on 9mm EZ-Bend break tested before trusting it as a Hook line. Not worried about the 10mm. There's so little "meat" in a 9mm, I don't trust it sewn, might just be psychological, therefore I'd break it to find out ;-)

Spliced eye is excellent on a Hook line.
-AJ
 
Brocky said:
Most people who tried it like the Reep, but the hunk I got tangles up all the time.
Only available at TS are 600' reels, this seems to be a precursor that it is being discontinued, if the recent history of other ropes is repeated.

I liked your traverse video, I never thought about traversing to a lower point than the height I'm at, it's always been even, or higher. It might be easier in that situation to descend from your first, or main anchor, to where the Hook is, and then cross over.
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Do you feel like the tangling is more a function of small diameter or construction?

@Worthaug any input on thin lines that tangle less?
 
moss said:
Great comments, I've never liked using the tail of my main rope for much except maybe for lowering back from a redirect I just took out. Probably because I climb too many tangly woods trees and conifers, I hate having a long loop of rope below me for very long, will cause trouble.
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I have the same feeling about using the hook on the end of my primary line. I use the hook often, as I have it on the other end of my lanyard. Seems to work well for me.

I don't know if I have shared this already on this thread, but I tailored my harness video to show more of the hook and added some clips etc. This just shows how I've been using the captain.
 
@colb I think it is construction. I mainly use 9mm and 10mm ropes, but they are static HTP. I also use an about 7mm, 3/16" dyneema cored rope that doesn't tangles so much.
 
colb said:
Do you feel like the tangling is more a function of small diameter or construction?

@Worthaug any input on thin lines that tangle less?
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Until Reed gets here... I believe it is the construction, Reep Schnur has a fairly loose weave, is very supple, equals more tangles than a more tight weave or dense structure/material line. Thinking of 10mm HTP as the opposite end of the spectrum from Reep Schnur for a 10mm line.
-AJ
 
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