Lockjack rope creep

M

MattB

Location
UK
I've been using a lockjack on and off for the last 5 months now and have encountered on several occasions, the rope creeping through the cam.

I've been alternating between both the 11-12mm cam and the 12-13mm cam dependant upon rope diameter, but i've found that the smaller cam on ropes like Velocity and Blaze allows the rope to slip through when hanging stationary.

I've put this down to the 11mm ropes being at the bottom of the cam range and as such not gripping so well, I've also thought that it could be down to the waxy coating on the new(ish) Blaze line I was using but that wouldn't explain the Velocity.

Has anyone else found this? Does the cam need time to bed in? Please help!?
 
MattB, are you talking about the Lockjack Sport?
I've been using this for about 6 months with Samson Blue Streak 16 strand and it has been ok.

I know someone else who uses it with new England Hi Vee 16 strand and he has no problems with it at all, never mentioned rope creep.

One time I was distmantling a Monterey Pine, sap everywhere and the Lockjack just refused to budge, it was hellish.

Cleaned up, I havent had any problem with rope creep.
Sounds like it is a rope diam issue.

Maybe ask the guys at Treeworker.co.uk
 
I'm not always the most observant of people, but I like to think i'd notice if i'd put the cam in upside down!
grin.gif
 
It wouldn't work full stop.
I once tried it upside down.

It is a good thing, but I somehow prefer my blakes hitch,
can't explain why exactly, just feels safer.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I'm not always the most observant of people, but I like to think i'd notice if i'd put the cam in upside down!
grin.gif


[/ QUOTE ]

You'd think so but wait till you get old. Mistakes come fast and often. Really, the upside down cam isn't as hard as you think. You'll know right away when you footlock up three meters and slide back down two.
Phil
 
i have had the same problem, and i noticed that the cam was not perpendicular(that should be horizonal)to the rope, this was remidied by just pulling the ball up..


i think that small crap gets jammed and it will not turn as far as it needs to

no big deal, i've had climbing hitch slippage too, same rules apply for both: be observant of your gear, and it will not drop you on your butt
 
I tried the lock jack sport. Thought it would be great for burning down after setting chokers on crane jobs. I hated the thing! much happier with some bee-line and a hitch.
 
I've climbed on one for a couple years and I love it. Like all equipment it isn't perfect and has it's limitations. I find keeping your rope clean helps. Dirty ropes and fast descents wears the cam and body out quicker. After that slippage becomes more and more frequent. In general I found that except for when it's brand new and jerky there is always a little creep. Like Removal wizard said just pull up on the toggle and your good. No different than setting your hitch.
 
Stick to the hitch Grover.

A friend of mine plummeted 18 feet to the concrete and broke his back (he's o.k. now). With the wrong biner (jeah, now we know) in it the lockjack it didn't bite the rope because the biner turned 90 degrees. He was one of the first users and there was nothing on bad biner/lockjack configs known at that time.

There are so many nice knots and friction hitches I wonder why there are so many people depending on the mecanical ascending/friction stuff.
 
Speaking to another climber today - said that when the cam gets worn it is terrible for rope creep. The cam should have a definate edge on it, when it is worn it sits at the wrong angle to the rope.
 
Here's a couple of bridge extenders using the Lockjack instead of a hitch. The longer with the thimble is the long leg of Rich H 's anchor bridge setup. Ascending, it gets the LJ completely up and out of the way with enough space below the LJ to clip in an ascender. With a pulley and false crotch or a friction saver I can almost walk up the side a tree. Once in work position I just pull the LJ in and clip it close to the saddle. It was a bit too long for my Master saddle and put the LJ almost out of reach so I picked up a shorter leg from Rich. I still use the longer one one my Glide but with the LJ clipped up short and the sliding bridge it seems like I end up with a bunch of hardware by the side Ds so I think another trip to Rich's splicing loft is due.
Phil

http://users.adelphia.net/~plsmallwood/ab7.jpg
 
I owned a LJ for several months a few years back. My first major issue with it was that if you took your weight off the LJ (stepping on a limb, etc) and your hand wasn't on the LJ then it would release until it was weighted again. Scary as chit when you weren't expecting it, and it slowed me down as a climber because I had to be conscious of whether or not my weight was on the rope at all times, and having to hold on to the LJ whenever my foot took my weight off my rope.

I was using the LJ for a few months and getting used to the unexpected release thing when the creep started. A couple people at the Baltimore Expo (including Tom D) told me to buy a new cam even though it was only a few months old. I did, and within a month the creep started again. Talk about a disappointment! $400 invested in this POS crap that wouldn't hold tight and would release without warning.

I went back to a VT using Sta-Set rope for about $3 per cord and never looked back. My VT hitch holds tight, never slips and I can release it with less effort than grabbing that stupid wooden ball on the LJ. And when I step on a limb and then lean back on my rope again, it won't release unexpectedly and let me fall 3' before catching me again. One day there will be a feasable mechanical hitch but the LJ isn't it.
 
[ QUOTE ]
if you took your weight off the VT (stepping on a limb, etc) and your hand wasn't on the VT then it would release until it was weighted again. Scary as chit when you weren't expecting it, and it slowed me down as a climber because I had to be conscious of whether or not my weight was on the rope at all times, and having to hold on to the VT whenever my foot took my weight off my rope.


[/ QUOTE ]

Thats strange Rocky, I had the same problems with the VT as you did with the LJ although I know what you mean about the step up onto the branch thing with the LJ(scary as hell)

I altered your quote to show you what I mean.

Must've been using too stiff a cord for my VT.

Went back to Tenex Swabish.
wink.gif
 
MATTB, is it possible that the body of the LJ itself is worn? even with a new clutch, if the body of the unit has been opened up by the climb line, the unit will not grab the rope.
Try using a real fat rope (1/2"-13mm) to check it out like 'true blue' or some other heavy fat rope with a heavy soft lay to it.
We know the LJs work. You tried a new clutch, so the problem must be somewhere else.
Trying different 'biners is a good suggestion as well.

Or, spend another 500 bucks and get that new metal machard, the 'line boss' :)
Frans
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New threads New posts

Back
Top Bottom