Tr33Climb3r
Participating member
- Location
- Wisconsin
Rope Wrench Feedback?
- Thread starter TreeStuff
- Start date
- Location
- Springfield MO
got it, thanks
- Location
- Austin, TX
After a few weeks of switching things around, I now use the wrench with rocket and ocean poly tied in a vtx with the wrench sitting two to three inches above he hitch. I use the tech cord to connect the hitchclimber to the wrench, with a a fisherman tied to each piece of gear. This makes the pulley stay shut which I dont mind since I need to thread the wrench trough anyways. I heard that attaching textile directly to the hitchclimber is frowned upon but I am not sure why as the wrench isnt life support and I am always happy when losing a metal link. For short ascending I also use the lanyard over the shoulder and the pantin. Longer ascents and a hand ascender with foot loop is thrown into the mix, or I'll force myself to footlock on my static line.
- Location
- Rochester, NY
You guys the leave the rw on all the time, do you take all rope out on every tree. One of the thing I like about SRT is I only take out as much rope as I need. If it a big tree with lots of redirecting I pull out more rope, but if it's a strait up down tree I'll have the rope hanging by a few inches. That way there is no chance for brush to get tangled.
treebing
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- Detroit, Mi.
Yes I do the same.
It is definitely one of the advantages of srt to be able to control your tail effectively. You get to use only as much rope as you need. My ground people will add or subtract rope as necessary from my system as I go.
I also use my 75 footer a lot for up and down removals. There is that much less rope to deal with getting tied up in rigging and falling brush.
Its little efficiencies like this that add up. You don't have the option of how much tail you work with when climbing ddrt. What you got is what you got.
I sometimes use my tail and tie a blake's ddrt for a second tie in point. for Stability. I think a little little extra tail is handy. Its nice knowing that where you are in the rope is where you are.
No multiplication or division calculation necessary to figure out if you can get to the ground.
It is definitely one of the advantages of srt to be able to control your tail effectively. You get to use only as much rope as you need. My ground people will add or subtract rope as necessary from my system as I go.
I also use my 75 footer a lot for up and down removals. There is that much less rope to deal with getting tied up in rigging and falling brush.
Its little efficiencies like this that add up. You don't have the option of how much tail you work with when climbing ddrt. What you got is what you got.
I sometimes use my tail and tie a blake's ddrt for a second tie in point. for Stability. I think a little little extra tail is handy. Its nice knowing that where you are in the rope is where you are.
No multiplication or division calculation necessary to figure out if you can get to the ground.
" I think a little extra tail is handy"....
Me too Kevin, me too.
Hey Kevin,
I ran across this when looking for the West Marine pin. Could work with some sort of protective collar to prevent accidental opening? This company also seems to do custom fabrication.
http://www.pivotpins.com/catalog/SLIC.shtml
I've ridden a homemade wrench. I really wanted it to be removable, so I'm holding out for the ZK2.
I ran across this when looking for the West Marine pin. Could work with some sort of protective collar to prevent accidental opening? This company also seems to do custom fabrication.
http://www.pivotpins.com/catalog/SLIC.shtml
I've ridden a homemade wrench. I really wanted it to be removable, so I'm holding out for the ZK2.
- Location
- Cleveland,OH
[ QUOTE ]
After a few weeks of switching things around, I now use the wrench with rocket and ocean poly tied in a vtx with the wrench sitting two to three inches above he hitch. I use the tech cord to connect the hitchclimber to the wrench, with a a fisherman tied to each piece of gear. This makes the pulley stay shut which I dont mind since I need to thread the wrench trough anyways. I heard that attaching textile directly to the hitchclimber is frowned upon but I am not sure why as the wrench isnt life support and I am always happy when losing a metal link. For short ascending I also use the lanyard over the shoulder and the pantin. Longer ascents and a hand ascender with foot loop is thrown into the mix, or I'll force myself to footlock on my static line.
[/ QUOTE ]
Dorian do you prefer the RW over the Unicender?And why?
After a few weeks of switching things around, I now use the wrench with rocket and ocean poly tied in a vtx with the wrench sitting two to three inches above he hitch. I use the tech cord to connect the hitchclimber to the wrench, with a a fisherman tied to each piece of gear. This makes the pulley stay shut which I dont mind since I need to thread the wrench trough anyways. I heard that attaching textile directly to the hitchclimber is frowned upon but I am not sure why as the wrench isnt life support and I am always happy when losing a metal link. For short ascending I also use the lanyard over the shoulder and the pantin. Longer ascents and a hand ascender with foot loop is thrown into the mix, or I'll force myself to footlock on my static line.
[/ QUOTE ]
Dorian do you prefer the RW over the Unicender?And why?
- Location
- Austin, TX
I use both for different kind of trees. If I'm doing many up and down trees I use the uni, it's way faster to set up. I also prefer the uni for removals, it's more compact and when I'm working the trunk off the running bowline it is more versatile as I can switch to double rope quickly.
For more spread out trees with long limbwalks I prefer the wrench, you get a finer control of the climb.
To me the unicender is slightly better when it comes to ascending and picking up slack as there is next to no friction, it's also very quik to setup.
The rope wrench is way better at descending and releasing slack, as you can do it one handed very easily. It is also fun as you get some great control on big swings.
For more spread out trees with long limbwalks I prefer the wrench, you get a finer control of the climb.
To me the unicender is slightly better when it comes to ascending and picking up slack as there is next to no friction, it's also very quik to setup.
The rope wrench is way better at descending and releasing slack, as you can do it one handed very easily. It is also fun as you get some great control on big swings.
- Location
- Retired in Minneapolis
Has anyone put the Rope Wrench into the hands of a beginner climber? Instead of starting a climber on DdRT it seems like the true test of SRT is to teach it from Day 1 and then teach DdRT.
I don't want to derail the thread by debating SRT/DdRT all over again.
Getting the opinions of beginner climbers would be valuable.
I don't want to derail the thread by debating SRT/DdRT all over again.
Getting the opinions of beginner climbers would be valuable.
treebing
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- Detroit, Mi.
I have put my rfriend who has been making the videos on it a few times. I have put my girlfriend on it as well. He played football in high school, athlete, not afraid of heights...she runs triathalons. I gave them a pantin and they were off and running with very minimal instruction. Basically for sit stand method: to go up clip in pantin step and sit on hitch, to go down engage wrench and descend. At this point, the only thing between them and production climbing is throw line skills and wood knowledge.
With a new climber I would teach them the basics of the blakes hitch/ taughtline briefly, make sure they can tie it but I would put them on a wrench immediately if I wanted them to make me any money any time soon. It is pretty foolproof if you have your hitch tied right.
With a new climber I would teach them the basics of the blakes hitch/ taughtline briefly, make sure they can tie it but I would put them on a wrench immediately if I wanted them to make me any money any time soon. It is pretty foolproof if you have your hitch tied right.
Crazy_Jimmy
Participating member
- Location
- Texas
I actually started Johnny b on the fate revolver and a frog walker.He may of done some DDbl rope prior for a couple months.He was using his rope wrench every day after he got it.But for some reason he hasnt used it in a few weeks.
- Location
- Pukalani, Hawaii
tom, im brand new to SRT and dude after climbing with a frog walker for a day, im ready to buy a rope wrench. the annoying part of SRT is that you have to change over to your work system or repelling system. i can totally see a rope wrench being one of the greatest inventions since the handled ascender! its soo cool that all you have to do is stand up in your pantin, disconnect the handled ascender and then sit down on your hitch, pop off your pantin and your on your work system!!. its soo freakin genius!!! next pay check im buying one ASAP
SoftBankHawks
Branched out member
- Location
- Japan
It took me a couple of weeks to find the best hitch cord, I went back to the Uni out of frustration but now I've got it.
I use a 28" sirius (red and black for the aesthetes) tied into a michocan. Six wraps up and then through the bottom, using a tied connection too, somehow all the spliced cord didn't work too well, it sucked into the hitch climber when frog walking.
I dont care for midline attachable too much, the trees this way dont get much bigger than 90ft, it's no big deal to slide that much rope and it 's only once per tree...if that.
The wrench is lovely for crown work, intuitive. Granted the uni is smoother for going up but I think...I think ...the wrench wins for all other aspects.
A colleague of mine likes that the uni will slide and dissipate energy on a fall, i think that with a trunk belay there is plenty of absorbtion from the crown and amount of active rope in the system.
I wish that the sides were smoother.
Does it need those big bolts sticking out the sides?
Paul
I use a 28" sirius (red and black for the aesthetes) tied into a michocan. Six wraps up and then through the bottom, using a tied connection too, somehow all the spliced cord didn't work too well, it sucked into the hitch climber when frog walking.
I dont care for midline attachable too much, the trees this way dont get much bigger than 90ft, it's no big deal to slide that much rope and it 's only once per tree...if that.
The wrench is lovely for crown work, intuitive. Granted the uni is smoother for going up but I think...I think ...the wrench wins for all other aspects.
A colleague of mine likes that the uni will slide and dissipate energy on a fall, i think that with a trunk belay there is plenty of absorbtion from the crown and amount of active rope in the system.
I wish that the sides were smoother.
Does it need those big bolts sticking out the sides?
Paul
Got my RW about two weeks ago, never tried srt before other than choking my line while working down a spar. It has yet to leave my rope since I put it on there. The biggest thing I have noticed is the much greater range of movement when climbing around the canopy. It's stuff like this that keeps me climbing. Thanks for putting this out there kevin, and thanks treestuff for the perfectly sized webbing that I didn't even order! Top notch all the way around
- Location
- Rochester, NY
Worst thing about the RW is the thousand dollars of other gear that I don't use any more.
- Location
- Chapel Hill, NC
Installed a dynamic cable in a widely spreading pecan. Installed the rope highline style over crotches in both co-doms and trunk tied one side.
Went up the first co-dom, spliced on the cable. Climbed up and pushed the RW rig over the crotch; set a DdRT TIP and traversed to the other co-dom. Finished the installation and lowered out.
It was just too easy. Would've taken two isolated DdRT ropes.
Went up the first co-dom, spliced on the cable. Climbed up and pushed the RW rig over the crotch; set a DdRT TIP and traversed to the other co-dom. Finished the installation and lowered out.
It was just too easy. Would've taken two isolated DdRT ropes.
- Location
- Oakland, CA
Had mine for a few smaller climbs now. LOVE IT
arbormaster, 34" grizzly spliced beeline, hitch climber, short tether girthed on to the biner in and around the pulley and prusik.
yes, on swings and descent it is really smooth.
coming from the kong robot/hitch SRT setup, the rope wrench is sooo much smoother - i don't even have to think about what happens when I want to ascend again.
midline attachable would be nice, but easily worked around. I probably wouldn't do that much anyhow (but I bet i would do it on a Uni.
As to the smoother sides and smaller bolts, for me it would be less about the risk of sharp edges hitting rope (it would be hard to side load the thing) and more about not snagging or cutting into bark when pulling the RW/hitch thru a crotch on a redirect. I did that yesterday, it got hung up trying to go thru a quercus agrifolia crotch and did a little bark damage before I realized. Of course, the oak is tender right now, but now I will know to look out for this in the future. Maybe I'll make a little bag to slip over the whole rig for smoother redirects.
oh, and the rope wrench? I LOVE IT.
arbormaster, 34" grizzly spliced beeline, hitch climber, short tether girthed on to the biner in and around the pulley and prusik.
yes, on swings and descent it is really smooth.
coming from the kong robot/hitch SRT setup, the rope wrench is sooo much smoother - i don't even have to think about what happens when I want to ascend again.
midline attachable would be nice, but easily worked around. I probably wouldn't do that much anyhow (but I bet i would do it on a Uni.
As to the smoother sides and smaller bolts, for me it would be less about the risk of sharp edges hitting rope (it would be hard to side load the thing) and more about not snagging or cutting into bark when pulling the RW/hitch thru a crotch on a redirect. I did that yesterday, it got hung up trying to go thru a quercus agrifolia crotch and did a little bark damage before I realized. Of course, the oak is tender right now, but now I will know to look out for this in the future. Maybe I'll make a little bag to slip over the whole rig for smoother redirects.
oh, and the rope wrench? I LOVE IT.
countryboypa31
New member
- Location
- PA
[ QUOTE ]
Installed a dynamic cable in a widely spreading pecan. Installed the rope highline style over crotches in both co-doms and trunk tied one side.
Went up the first co-dom, spliced on the cable. Climbed up and pushed the RW rig over the crotch; set a DdRT TIP and traversed to the other co-dom. Finished the installation and lowered out.
It was just too easy. Would've taken two isolated DdRT ropes.
[/ QUOTE ]
Another thing you could have done, instead of setting up a Ddrt to traverse. Just flip the RW through the union and reattach. Then use a biner and tie a munter with the tail of your rope, use that to traverse over to the other lead. I do that a lot for coming back in from a really steep lead.
Installed a dynamic cable in a widely spreading pecan. Installed the rope highline style over crotches in both co-doms and trunk tied one side.
Went up the first co-dom, spliced on the cable. Climbed up and pushed the RW rig over the crotch; set a DdRT TIP and traversed to the other co-dom. Finished the installation and lowered out.
It was just too easy. Would've taken two isolated DdRT ropes.
[/ QUOTE ]
Another thing you could have done, instead of setting up a Ddrt to traverse. Just flip the RW through the union and reattach. Then use a biner and tie a munter with the tail of your rope, use that to traverse over to the other lead. I do that a lot for coming back in from a really steep lead.
- Location
- Madison WI
this thread just cost me $125
