- Location
- Basel, Switzerland
At the TCI Expo one of the new pieces of equipment on show was the Postioner. It's a mechanical lanyard-adjuster that'll work on lines from 11- 12,5mm, with or without steel-core, it's designed & developed by Hubert Kowalewski of the Lock-Jack fame.
The basic design is similar to that of a Rope-Guide (except with a different cam), it's basically half a Lock-Jack with a short wire-toggle insted of the release on the L.J. It's connected to your D-ring by means of a carabiner & a short metal connector. This gives you a very short & compact set-up, also the lanyard leaves the Positioner running fair, i.e. in the right direction.
I've been using a Positioner for a couple of weeks now & I can tell you, it's something else... The lanyard runs in & out very smoothly (no need for a minder pully), there's maybe a little bit more friction than on a hip-prussic (depending on your set-up), this is to ensure that the cam'll cinch down on the line every time. It also has to do with the certification process, that demands the device to hold something ridiculous like 500kg- which knot'd withstand that kind of loading ?!
One very interasting feature is the way the Positioner will releas under load... smooth as butter. This is a important safety-feature, try releasing a gibbs or a rope-man under tension- you'll have a hard time. So if something were to happen & you were left hanging unconscious in your lanyard, whoever was rescueing you would be able to do so, without having to cut the lanyard or the synthetic link if you were using a steel-core lanyard (& provided you had a synthetic link!).
Sooo.. if you move the positioner from the D-ring to your sliding D, you can easily use it as a second tie-in point or on a take-down you can cinch your lanyard up against the trunk.
I've found it to be a very light-weight & versatile piece of kit. It's easy to use & idiot-proof (well, more or less...duhh). Also, apart from the GriGri, and one or two other adjusters this one is actually designed & certified to be used for this application.
My feeling is, that this'll become a standard piece of climbing- equipment. The price tag should be similar to that of a micro-cender (give or take some). They should be available beginning of next year... if you can get hold of one, do so, enjoy it & become the target of everyone elses undisguised envy.
The basic design is similar to that of a Rope-Guide (except with a different cam), it's basically half a Lock-Jack with a short wire-toggle insted of the release on the L.J. It's connected to your D-ring by means of a carabiner & a short metal connector. This gives you a very short & compact set-up, also the lanyard leaves the Positioner running fair, i.e. in the right direction.
I've been using a Positioner for a couple of weeks now & I can tell you, it's something else... The lanyard runs in & out very smoothly (no need for a minder pully), there's maybe a little bit more friction than on a hip-prussic (depending on your set-up), this is to ensure that the cam'll cinch down on the line every time. It also has to do with the certification process, that demands the device to hold something ridiculous like 500kg- which knot'd withstand that kind of loading ?!
One very interasting feature is the way the Positioner will releas under load... smooth as butter. This is a important safety-feature, try releasing a gibbs or a rope-man under tension- you'll have a hard time. So if something were to happen & you were left hanging unconscious in your lanyard, whoever was rescueing you would be able to do so, without having to cut the lanyard or the synthetic link if you were using a steel-core lanyard (& provided you had a synthetic link!).
Sooo.. if you move the positioner from the D-ring to your sliding D, you can easily use it as a second tie-in point or on a take-down you can cinch your lanyard up against the trunk.
I've found it to be a very light-weight & versatile piece of kit. It's easy to use & idiot-proof (well, more or less...duhh). Also, apart from the GriGri, and one or two other adjusters this one is actually designed & certified to be used for this application.
My feeling is, that this'll become a standard piece of climbing- equipment. The price tag should be similar to that of a micro-cender (give or take some). They should be available beginning of next year... if you can get hold of one, do so, enjoy it & become the target of everyone elses undisguised envy.
