Homemade knee ascender (new)

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DonnyCoffey

Participating member
I just got tired of everyone selling these big clunky knee ascenders that had a stiff bottom. Really no need to have a stiff lower portion. I know, I know, people are going to say otherwise, but that’s the way I feel. Never had a problem with this set up. This is just an extra that I don’t use. It is well put together. See photos. Here is what it is comprised of:

Petzl Left Pantin w/catch
Petzl Adjustable Foot Loop
Heavy Duty Bungee
DMM XSRE Carabiner

I also have a slightly used, right Pantin w/ Catch and a new left Pantin w/ Catch if interested.

$75.00 for the knee ascender setup. $35 for each foot ascenders. Shipping included. CONUS. I accept credit/debit cards and checks. PM me.
 

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Noice. I recently took off my mini saka and threw it to the ground, forgot to tell the ground guys I took it off and dropped a big piece of wood on it and broke the cam so I made my own. Only purchased a turbo chest ascender and used some leftover parts I had laying around and presto new knee ascender. I hate to say it, but it works even a little better. .
 
Purchased the SAKA when it first came out. Used it once and it has remained in some bag, long forgotten about since. I went back to my home made soft tethered knee ascender and am still using it. It does have a foot loop as I hate the clip on boot things. But I can unhook it so the loop remains on my boot. I see no reason for a stiff knee ascender. It doesn't do anything except make it miserable to store on your harness when not in use. The newer folding SAKA is an answer to a problem that really does not exist, and seems to be a mishmash of both. Simple is good. Light weight is good. Compactness is good. Hauling around a two foot long contraption for no reason is not good.
 
You guys are really selling me on this non rigid knee ascender. I was also thinking about building a setup like Dan Holliday's. It is more attached to the leg like some guys like their handsaw attached, so it just stays in place the whole time like the footie. What's ya'lls thoughts on that idea? Any downsides that I am not seeing?
 
If you can come up with a way to keep it attached to your knee area without it slipping down, or interfering with bending your knee... Should be a winner. Let us know if you build one, and how it went.
I do like to shed everything I am not using when in a tree, just so it doesn't catch on things. But I like the simplicity of your idea.
 
I wish they would come up with a way to rope walk while on spurs where you are not punching holes in your boots with the gaffs. I have tried them all so far and still wait until I am up in the tree to put my spurs on. I have wrecked too many pairs of boots.
 
Matias said:
You guys are really selling me on this non rigid knee ascender. I was also thinking about building a setup like Dan Holliday's. It is more attached to the leg like some guys like their handsaw attached, so it just stays in place the whole time like the footie. What's ya'lls thoughts on that idea? Any downsides that I am not seeing?
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Used it for awhile. Jo Hedger hooked me up in 2015 with her setup. I ran it for awhile, but just did not see the need for it like that. Gifted it away. Try one, you might like it.Screenshot_20230925_200244_Photos.jpg
 
Shadowscape said:
I wish they would come up with a way to rope walk while on spurs where you are not punching holes in your boots with the gaffs. I have tried them all so far and still wait until I am up in the tree to put my spurs on. I have wrecked too many pairs of boots.
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You need the technique, I do it and the setup has to be perfect for it to work. Try using gaff guards if you are spiking your boots. Give it a go.
 
Friedrich said:
i use 4mm dyneema hollow braid for the lower loop…
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I have my bud at Honeybros in UK with some 6mm dyneema for my rebuild. This time I am going with a footloop, to ditch the footloops on my 3 pair of boots I interchange. Thankfully I can make great ones. But love change. I started ropewalking with a footloop in 2011 using a left hand petzl ascender.
 
Shadowscape said:
If you can come up with a way to keep it attached to your knee area without it slipping down, or interfering with bending your knee... Should be a winner. Let us know if you build one, and how it went.
I do like to shed everything I am not using when in a tree, just so it doesn't catch on things. But I like the simplicity of your idea.
Click to expand...
I made one from the SAKA. It has two options. 1. Use it like how the SAKA was designed (floating and clipped in some fashion to your boot). 2. Strap it to your leg at the start and leave it there. I always just leave it on my leg and it works great. I will need to make a short video of mods I made, and why. I chose the SAKA specifically because of the ascender body profile (flat) and the need for a rigid splint like piece on the lower leg. When I make the video and get it posted.to YouTube, I'll come back with a link to a new post I make about it.
 
islandarb said:
Used it for awhile. Jo Hedger hooked me up in 2015 with her setup. I ran it for awhile, but just did not see the need for it like that. Gifted it away. Try one, you might like it.View attachment 90288
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That looks like it would be uncomfortable every time you flexed your ankle. Sort of tugging on your upper leg when you pointed your foot down. I will stick with my bungie. But the idea is there. Just needs some work.
 
Maybe I have weird legs. My feet clash together when rope walking with spurs on. It takes too much mental effort for me to have to think about each step so I don't bash together, even with the gaff guards on. It is not pleasant. What I need are gaffs that flip out of the way that I can flip into place once I'm up there. But that is a project for some design engineer. Probably won't happen in my lifetime. I can finish out my time putting my spurs on when I get where I'm going.
 
Matias said:
You guys are really selling me on this non rigid knee ascender. I was also thinking about building a setup like Dan Holliday's. It is more attached to the leg like some guys like their handsaw attached, so it just stays in place the whole time like the footie. What's ya'lls thoughts on that idea? Any downsides that I am not seeing?
Click to expand...

There is a downside to this type of knee ascender, but, in spite of that, I still prefer it and have been using one for several years. The downside is that your leg is essentially attached to the rope. When you're climbing straight up, that's no problem at all. It works beautifully until you need to point your knee ascender leg off to the side. When the rope is weighted on the foot ascender, the movement of the leg with the knee ascender is restricted in any side direction. So stepping on a limb off to the side becomes more difficult. This sounds worse than it actually is in practice, but it does become annoying sometimes, especially in those awkward climbing positions. In spite of that, I continue to use it because I love the advantage of a very clean, simple, bungee-less, minimalist design whose deployment and storage positions are the same. That is, it's always ready to deploy, and there is nothing to store. The only other downside applies only to those people who are super high steppers, that is, those who like to take big climbing steps. It's possible for the foot ascender to bump into the knee ascender if you take a step high enough. I have never done that, but it may be a problem for some of you.

This topic has been discussed before (links below). In the last link, I have a post with a picture of mine.

The best knee ascender design ever....

Hello from Australia! I'm really eager to get a knee ascender going and have recently found this video of Dan from Climbing Arborist. Wondering if anyone has had any luck making something like this and might have some photos of what they did? Going to be using the Notch or Harken dual cam...
www.treebuzz.com

Homemade knee ascenders

Hi everybody! Long time lurker here who finally made an account. One of my favorite aspects of this forum is ingenuity of its members. I recently started climbing SRT so I made my own knee ascender. Anybody else have one they'd like to share?
www.treebuzz.com

New (possibly) knee ascender

OK, this all got started as I was reading about the SAKA being taken off the market, and to my understanding it is because of a "bungee in a straw" (just so anyone who reads that opening line and groans thinking this is going to be ranting about that situation, please continue reading, that is...
www.treebuzz.com
 
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