First day on the rope runner

[mikbro81]

Hopefully you've gotten a bunch of time on your Rope Runner by now. I'd love to hear your impressions of it thus far. Thanks in advance for your time.

Tim

Thanks for asking. I do love it. Unfortunately, I don't get to spend much time on it because it's not company approved. Hopefully it will be some day. For now I can only work srt on side jobs and rec climbs when I have the time.

 

[MikePowers321]

I was wondering also about the heat generated when using the Rope Runner. I don't yet own the Rope Runner, I use the Rope Wrench ZK-1. I'm still relatively new to climbing, 2 to 3 years of sporadic opportunities. I once glazed some Beeline hitch cord, which caused it to not grab effectively the next time out. I don't think I glazed my rope.

So my question is, does the Rope Runner ever get so hot that you think there's a possibility of glazing the Rope? Thanks in advance to anyone who chooses to try to answer this question.

Tim

I could easily be corrected on this one, but I don't see that happening unless you are really bombing out of trees and climbing quite aggressively. I just got to do a pine removal this morning with the runner and realized that the pulley takes some friction as well, so it seems like there are like 3 points of major contact, spreading out the heat and friction quite nicely.

 

[TimBr]

Thanks for that answer, Mike.

A follow up question, if you don't mind. Does the fact that the Rope Runner comes apart in multiple pieces cause you any concern when it comes time to take it off of the rope while you are in a tree, as in the circumstance of doing a redirect? I can see how it might be a big problem if one was to drop one of the components during a transition. I'd be looking for ways to try to make it nearly impossible to drop the separate bits.

Have you come up with a method for dealing with this issue, beyond being really, really careful?

Thanks in advance for any answer you choose to provide.

Tim

 

[MikePowers321]

I used Mac's runner for awhile and just bought a new one so I may not be the right person to ask due to lack of true experience. But it is a little more time consuming taking it on and off. I'm not sure if there is a "no drop" way to it. Someone else can chime in on that. That is one of the shining attributes of the Bulldog Bone though.

 

[mikbro81]

Thanks for that answer, Mike.

A follow up question, if you don't mind. Does the fact that the Rope Runner comes apart in multiple pieces cause you any concern when it comes time to take it off of the rope while you are in a tree, as in the circumstance of doing a redirect? I can see how it might be a big problem if one was to drop one of the components during a transition. I'd be looking for ways to try to make it nearly impossible to drop the separate bits.

Have you come up with a method for dealing with this issue, beyond being really, really careful?

Thanks in advance for any answer you choose to provide.

Tim

I try to plan my climb to minimize taking the RR off of my climbing line. I definitely think that the bulldog bone is easier on and off the rope, so I'll use that if I feel it would save me time or aggravation.
Setting a sling and carabiner as a redirect above a crotch can also be really helpful because it's so easy to go back up and get it with the RR. I think of it as flying a race car in the tree.

 

[TimBr]

Thanks for both of those answers, MikePowers and mikbro. I appreciate your time. Looks like I'll need to own both the Rope Runner and the Bulldog Bone, it just might be quite a while before it happens. Thanks again.

Tim

 

[dmmjunkie]

Runner rope transfer:

It can get pretty hot but I haven't noticed any glazing on mine. When I bomb out sometimes from 40+ feet the runner can heat up so it's nice and hot to the touch but no time other than that while climbing and taking some nice swings.

 

[mikbro81]

Thanks for both of those answers, MikePowers and mikbro. I appreciate your time. Looks like I'll need to own both the Rope Runner and the Bulldog Bone, it just might be quite a while before it happens. Thanks again.

Tim

Tim, I don't think that you "need" to have both. It's kind of like the difference between the hitch hiker and the rope wrench. It might come down to style or preference or even your mood at the time of your climb. I like them all differently and equally.

 

[TimBr]

Tim, I don't think that you "need" to have both.

I guess I meant "need" in a gear junkie kind of way.

Tim

 

[monkeylove]

I don't think there are really any bad choices out there right now, only some that I might like better than you and conversely some you might like more than me. This is a great time to be climbing.

 

[MikePowers321]

I don't think there are really any bad choices out there right now, only some that I might like better than you and conversely some you might like more than me. This is a great time to be climbing.

so true

 

[TimBr]

Runner rope transfer:

It can get pretty hot but I haven't noticed any glazing on mine. When I bomb out sometimes from 40+ feet the runner can heat up so it's nice and hot to the touch but no time other than that while climbing and taking some nice swings.

Hey, dmmjunkie, you beat me to it posting this video! I got thinking about the fact that I'd seen Kevin's video with regard to the issue of making a changeover. Thanks for posting it here.

I just got done watching it about four times in a row, and I'll be darned if I can figure out whether or not he has much in the way of loose parts while he does it. It looks like he at least has to pull the slic pin all the way out of one location, but I'm not even sure of that much. Kevin managed to keep the lower part of the assembly together and attached to his harness bridge ring.

It would be cool if he did a slower version with slightly better camera angles, and narration. If indeed he is managing to do the entire change over without having a single component be loose and capable of being dropped, it would go a long way towards selling people on the Runner as opposed to the Bone.

Thanks again for your post, dmmjunkie, and the answer with regard to the glazing of the rope. Much appreciated.

Tim

 

[Nasshotgun]

I don't think there are really any bad choices out there right now, only some that I might like better than you and conversely some you might like more than me. This is a great time to be climbing.

I agree with you monkey love there are so many cool and Inovative tools being thought up every day you just have to try them all and see what works best for your own climbing style

 

[gmcttr]

...I just got done watching it about four times in a row, and I'll be darned if I can figure out whether or not he has much in the way of loose parts while he does it. It looks like he at least has to pull the slic pin all the way out of one location, but I'm not even sure of that much....

I don't think he ever had a part that could be dropped. I believe he did not completely remove the top slick pin...only opened it enough to 'twist' the rope past it.

 

[TimBr]

I don't think he ever had a part that could be dropped. I believe he did not completely remove the top slick pin...only opened it enough to 'twist' the rope past it.

Thanks for that answer, gmcttr! The Rope Runner looks to be a bit more "fiddly" to effect a transition than the Bulldog Bone, but to me, not having used either one, this is just huge. It overcomes what I thought might be a fairly big issue with the Rope Runner.

The impression that I get is that the Rope Runner just eats up slack in the rope like nothing else.

Thanks for your post.

Tim

 

[NE Tree]

"The impression that I get is that the Rope Runner just eats up slack in the rope like nothing else.

Thanks for your post.

Tim[/QUOTE"
when I get to a point in my ascent where I can climb up branch to branch, I remove my ascenders and leave my chest tether attached and with a little tail weight the line just falls through the runner, no tending required.

 

[Nasshotgun]

"The impression that I get is that the Rope Runner just eats up slack in the rope like nothing else.

Thanks for your post.

Tim[/QUOTE"
when I get to a point in my ascent where I can climb up branch to branch, I remove my ascenders and leave my chest tether attached and with a little tail weight the line just falls through the runner, no tending required.

That's what it does best. It is buttery smooth the line just falls through it.

 

[TimBr]

I'd like to point out that two guys in a row just naturally used the phrase "the line just falls through" the Rope Runner/it.

This seems to be the characteristic that separates the Rope Runner from the rest of the field.

Thanks for your responses, N.e.Tree and Nasshotgun! They are greatly appreciated.

A follow up question would be, is this your absolute favorite device for climbing a rope using SRT, or does some other device win that contest?

Thanks in advance.

Tim

 

[Nasshotgun]

I have only had experienced srt on the wrench and the runner there is still something to be said about the feel you get with the wrench and your favorite cordage that can't be replaced with a mechanical but the runner is like a race car and it is my favorite so far.

 

[TimBr]

I have only had experienced srt on the wrench and the runner there is still something to be said about the feel you get with the wrench and your favorite cordage that can't be replaced with a mechanical but the runner is like a race car and it is my favorite so far.

Thanks for this quick response, Nasshotgun. Which version of the Rope Wrench do you own? I own the original Rope Wrench ZK-1, and an issue I often have with it is that my hitch tends to start binding up too hard on long descents, as though it needs extra help to take weight off of my hitch.

I'm pretty sure my stiff tether is stiff enough, and that it engages as it should when I sit back into it. It is probably just operator factor.

Thanks for your post, because now you've gotten me to think about why my hitch binds up fairly often. I may take to the practice of manually "cocking" my Rope Wrench to its "fully loaded" profile prior to putting any of my weight at all onto my hitch. It occurs to me that the short period of time where the Rope Wrench is normally engaging through its connection with the stiff tether, is also allowing the friction hitch to bite down onto the rope at the same time. If the biting of the hitch onto the rope only slightly outruns the "setting" of the Rope Wrench, the hitch will start out at the top of a descent tighter than it should be. While it feels ok at the start, it naturally gets tighter the further one descends.

I have had days on the Rope Wrench where the hitch operated beautifully and easily, but those days are probably far outnumbered by the days when I felt my hitch was too tight for comfort.

I'm going to try this experiment of manually setting the Rope Wrench to its most aggressive profile prior to loading up the hitch the next time that I climb. If this practice fixes the biggest issue I've had with the use of my Rope Wrench all of this time, I'm going to have a hard laugh at myself.

Just to foot-stomp an earlier post made by Kevin Bingham in an entirely different thread, he recommends using the Rope Runner's "bird" only to get the Rope Runner to start biting down on the rope. Once it is engaged, I think he wants you to use the back side of the Rope Runner to control your descent. I think that Kevin thinks that this provides better, more subtle control of the Rope Runner. Using just the "bird" to try to control descent makes for a jerkier ride than it needs to be, if I'm understanding him correctly.

I'll try to find Kevin's original post and link to it in this thread in a subsequent post of my own.

Thanks again for your post, and for making me think about things.

Tim