F8 Revolver

[trevmcrev]

Hi Treebing, have you tried using a pantin for ascent on this set up?

I haven't tried your idea yet, but ascending seems like the hard part.

How do you get on with mid air ascents, eg hanging out in the open with no trunk to go up like in your video?

Is it always just footlock?

Otherwise for all other aspects it sounds like there are some real benefits.

While you've had a lot of doubters on the way, you may have just found the biggest influence yet in converting traditional climbers to working the whole tree SRT rather than just access. Good on you for that!

 

[rich_h]

Well we think we sussed out a way of using this technique that will be fully acceptable by ITCC and Ansi !!!!!

Kevin is cool with us posting pics of the set up and use so hopefully we will have some good shots to explain it later tonight.

 

[Waldo]

I have slept on the F8 and think i have come up with a cool ascent idea. to the middle of the top hole of the hitch climber, attach it to a pair of suspenders so as you run around the tree, higher than your hitch, it will self tend.

 

[treebing]

I do acend with the frog system regularly. I have done so with out acenders just prussics. I have a foot loop attached to the top prussic.

I sling a loopie around my sholders with a non locking biner to hold my saddle prussic up.

I have a pantin on my foot.

My revolver tether can double as an attachment to the top hitchclimber. (both are hitchclimber pulleys.)

when I need to decend, I put my weight on the top prussic and pull up enough rope to install fate revolver. then put weight on bottom prussic and release from top and then go.

I won an acender in charlotte so I will be incorporating it as the top acender.

As for footlocking, My revolver tether also has a regular carabiner in it that I clip to hitch climber.

The hitchclimber also has a biner on it so I never have to unclip when I bring back my hitch to the saddle.
Then the tether goes back up to install the f8 revolver.

As for posting pictures, I am fine with it Jimmy. I cant imagine not wanting people to share this system and to use it if applicable to their climbing style.

I know when I started using it and stumbled across it. Its all here on the buzz as well. I think it would be a real cool feeling to pass an unknown climber and watch him/her working single line with my system.

 

[treebing]

Oh, as for footlocking single line, The hitch climber makes a great handle in my opinion. I grasp the biner and hitchclimber and put my weight onto hitch, just like you would with an acender. I find it easier than footlocking double line.

 

[HÖLLENREICH]

did ya ever try the robot?

 

[treebing]

not yet.

 

[countryboypa31]

Could you post pictures of your ascension method using prussics. I can't picture it. Well not with out a picture.

I think i understand but don't want to try anything with out doing it right.

Great ideas.

Last do you use the pantin for short ascents with the f8? clip step and push your climbing knot up just like hipthrusting. Might work for short ascents.

 

[Gord]

I have a robot and it's fairly useless. As in, I haven't found a use for it in about 8 years. I think it would give much much more friction than the f-8 revolver setup does. Also because of its design the size of the rope makes a huge difference in the friction it gives. On 1/2" 16 strand it hardly moves, I guess it's designed for regular 10mm rock climbing rope..

 

[rich_h]

After a few days of playing around with the F8 I am even more amazed about how well your hitch reacts on the single rope when descending. The F8 seems to take more than half the load off of your hitch allowing the hitch to flow even smoother than the doubled rope system. It is a dream to descend down the trunk and then around a branch without any change whatsoever in the friction on the hitch. However, as with most things, there will be some bad mixed in with the good.

Returning from a long limb walk can be somewhat difficult though it is possible to tend both your hitch and the F8 at the same time. Kevin made this look unbelievably smooth in the Masters at Charlotte, and I'm convinced with a bit more time running the system it will eventually look and feel smoother than it does now....but it is somewhat difficult.

Short ascents can be somewhat problematic as well since there is no way to hip thrust on the F8 with it fully set up. Longer ascents aren't all that bad since it is pretty easy to use a longer tether/leash for the F8 which you can then hook your hitch into for footlocking. We found that if you also have a shorter leash on hand you could use that for mantling up the tree using the limbs and manually moving your hitch up for shorter ascents. I think a combination of footlocking, pantin use, and adjustable tethers would eventually make ascents somewhat easier.

I definitely feel that the F8 makes up for its ascent problems with the ridiculously smooth, precise feel of the hitch on the single line. Redirects are unbelievably easy to pull off just by rerouting the rope through natural branch unions. Retrieval of those redirects isn't even necessary as you can pull everything out once on the ground. With good route planning you shouldn't have any problem at all working the entire tree with this system. I strongly doubt that the F8 will be perfect for every situation, but it is one heck of a useful tool in the toolbox. I'm sure that the longer you use the F8 the better you will get at planning the route to take advantage of the benefits of the F8, minimizing the potential downsides.

One other slight downside to the F8 is that I have discovered that my current SRT ascent method is woefully ineffecient. Gonna have to work on that one !!!

I have had a ton of fun playing with the F8 with fellow arborists (plenty more to come)and can't thank Kevin enough for the opportunity to look at our work methods from a completely different viewpoint.

 

[rich_h]

F8 set up with a short tether.

 

[rich_h]

Working the limb. The bottom loop on the Figure 8 is a nice handle to help you slide the F8 up after returning from your limb walk.

 

[rich_h]

Here is an optional set up that incorporates a fixed side plate micropulley and a 46 mm ring. My guess is that ITCC and Ansi wouldn't have much of a problem with this set up and may prefer it to the potential misuse of the revolver and figure 8.....maybe not though...just another option. The functionality of this set up is virtually identical to the F8, with all the same benefits and drawbacks.

 

[zaphod1798]

Does it have to be a figure 8 or can it be a aluminum ring?

 

[rich_h]

I'm pretty certain the Petzl Fixe would work for this set up, but the CT pulley has a slimmer becket which may allow it to sit better in the ring.

 

[countryboypa31]

Thanks for the pictures Rich. How did the ring and pulley run compared to the revolver when tailing your rope? Is that even correct to say anymore since your not even tailing. Maybe advancing your hitch. Since the hitch is the only thing moving.

 

[rich_h]

Josephine found that after a limb walk you could reset the F8 at the end length of the tether just by "bounding" up with your hands under the F8. Kinda hard to explain, but it works..

 

[rich_h]

Here is a pic of the longer tether which you could hook your hitch set up into if you needed to footlock. I was using a spliced up leash that girth hitched to my anchor point.

 

[rich_h]

It is possible to tend in your slack when returning from the limb and then tending both your hitch and the F8 but it is a bit awkward to deal with at first.

 

[rich_h]

[ QUOTE ]
Does it have to be a figure 8 or can it be a aluminum ring?

[/ QUOTE ]

When using the Revolver it seems to run much better in the figure 8, depending on your figure 8....but with the fixed side plate micropulley it worked much better with the ring. We tried aluminum and steel rings and there wasn't much of a noticeable difference.