Rope Wrench - Hitch/Rope compendium.

[LordFarkwad]

Cornell Hitch, 4-wrap, 28" 9.3mm epi eye to eye, Marlow Vega and Yale/Samson Ivy varieties.

I'm 195lbs, in the buck.

Two finger descent initiation. Immediate arrest of descent when released. Had never locked up hard, so far.

I was formerly almost exclusively a Mich. man. This is better. Only used it on dry days so far. It is more difficult to tie.

 

[Mowerr]

I saw in here somewhere that people were curious to how the knut and michoacan compare performance wise and thought I'd chime in on that. I learned on the knut and used it pretty exclusively. Then I learned more about the michoacan and got to try it out today on a job and I have to say, I am a changed man. It pulls up so easily and I have so much more control on my decent than I did with the knut. The knut would sometimes bind up on me and then sometimes drop me when it releases. There seems to be more friction in that hitch than the michoacan.

I'm using a 26" 8mm HRC with 5 wrap michoacan on Yale Focus/bluemoon with a 7.5" tether on my rope wrench.

Cornell Hitch, 4-wrap, 28" 9.3mm epi eye to eye, Marlow Vega and Yale/Samson Ivy varieties.

I'm 195lbs, in the buck.

Two finger descent initiation. Immediate arrest of descent when released. Had never locked up hard, so far.

I was formerly almost exclusively a Mich. man. This is better. Only used it on dry days so far. It is more difficult to tie.

Thats the beauty of using hitch cord...and why it's important to learn as many friction hitches u can because different ropes and cords with varying amounts of wear, the weather and your anchor placement can cause your hitch to perform differently.
So knowing variations and knowing different hitches can give your the exact kind of performance you want.

 

[squolf]

160lbs, 4/1 Michoacan, epiCORD 9.3mm 28", Poison Ivy 11.7 (was running Ocean 8mm 28", but it bound up too much for my taste. epiCord is perfect. Made me want to use the Wrench more than the Runner.)

 

[rico]

160lbs, 4/1 Michoacan, epiCORD 9.3mm 28", Poison Ivy 11.7 (was running Ocean 8mm 28", but it bound up too much for my taste. epiCord is perfect. Made me want to use the Wrench more than the Runner.)

Try a 3/1 Michoacan with a 24" 8mm e2e. Amazing for a climber in your weight class.

 

[Marshy]

4/1 Michoacán with a 28" RIT 9mm cord on my Vortex Cool. I tried it with a VT and was having trouble getting it to tend. The Michoacán was clutch. 220#

I've been noticing the Michoacan hasn't been tending nicely. I think I'm going wash my hitch cord and see if that make a difference. It was being so problematic I tied a Distel and it resolved the problem. Anyone have a similar experience with the 9mm RIT cord or the Michoacan?

 

[AdkEric]

I've been noticing the Michoacan hasn't been tending nicely. I think I'm going wash my hitch cord and see if that make a difference. It was being so problematic I tied a Distel and it resolved the problem. Anyone have a similar experience with the 9mm RIT cord or the Michoacan?

I've had some inconsistencies with 9mm RIT. I prefer a firmer hitch cord, I use HRC almost exclusively now.

 

[islandarb]

RIT is junk. Epicord .... HRC.....AP.....win

 

[dp75]

RIT is junk. Epicord .... HRC.....AP.....win

I'd add Yale beeline

 

[Christrees]

I've been noticing the Michoacan hasn't been tending nicely. I think I'm going wash my hitch cord and see if that make a difference. It was being so problematic I tied a Distel and it resolved the problem. Anyone have a similar experience with the 9mm RIT cord or the Michoacan?

I haven't yet cords still pretty new but I was using a 4 over 1 michoacan 9mm rit on 11mm velocity omg.. I've never tended easier. It definitely tended like a mechanical. Was amazing. Could have been a 3 over 1 but I'm pretty sure it was 4.

 

[Njdelaney]

Too pretty not to share a picture. This is a special run of KMIII Max, Arbsession Endurance Aya tether(longer than Fix Shorty, shorter than the standard Fix) HRC 4-wrap Michoacan or Petroacan, can't remember which is which. This is a really smooth combo and I'm very excited to put some more miles on it.

 

[rico]

petro

 

[islandarb]

Too pretty not to share a picture. This is a special run of KMIII Max, Arbsession Endurance Aya tether(longer than Fix Shorty, shorter than the standard Fix) HRC 4-wrap Michoacan or Petroacan, can't remember which is which. This is a really smooth combo and I'm very excited to put some more miles on it.

I have that rope in my garage. Special NAOM run. My bud sent it to me. Must try it. But need a sewn eye 26" HRC. Not a fan of hand spliced hitch cords. Your setup looks clean and fun.

 

[Quintanana]

What kind of splice on that hrc hitch? Class 2 with cover?

Finally got my wrench system dialed in. 26" sewn hrc in a mich (4 wrap) or petro (depending on how accurate the hitch length is...bought 26" and gotten as small as 24" before). At height shorty tether, eccentric, and a ct oval. Been running it on squir, phantom and velocity. All butter

 

[Njdelaney]

That E2E was given to me by @Brocky and he is the one who spliced it so he will have to answer that question. I think it is somewhere in the 25-26" range.

 

[rico]

24" E2E's for me. Perfect for my 3/1 Petro, and the At-Heights shorty tether....Pure silk, and the most compact Wrench setup I have seen....

 

[moss]

I'm convinced that climber weight has nothing to do with hitch cord choice, diameter or type of hitch. I weigh nothing and climb on similar configurations to the heavyweights. Prefer 9.5 and 10mm diameter hitch cordage, Epicord, Oceans Polyester or Samson Warpspeed II, there are others that perform as well. I climb primarily on Yale 11.7mm double-braids.

The limitation as far as I can see it is that if you want to use the AtHeight Shorty tether you need to go to an 8mm cordage to get enough wraps for the best hitch performance in a Rope Wrench system.

Three basic required features for a dialed-in hitch/Rope Wrench system:
1. Grabs well every time it's loaded up
2. Releases like butter with fingertip control under full climber body weight load
3. Opens up and rides up freely with low friction on ascent

My theory is these are the three main variables that have to be dialed in to get the best of the three basic performance features, climber weight not a factor:
1. Match hitch cord diameter to tether length, 8mm best with shorty tethers, 9.5-10mm best with mid-length and longer tethers.
2. Match hitch cord construction/core and cover fiber types and diameter to climbing line
3. Find the hitch cord length and hitch that plays well with variables 1 and 2 and makes it all sing.

-AJ

 

[moss]

24" E2E's for me. Perfect for my 3/1 Petro, and the At-Heights shorty tether....Pure silk, and the most compact Wrench setup I have seen....

Rico what's the diameter of the hitch cord for your 3/1 Petro? Thx!
-AJ

 

[rico]

I generally run 8mm cordage (HRC my fav) on 11.7 ropes.

 

[Brocky]

What kind of splice on that hrc hitch? Class 2 with cover?

Finally got my wrench system dialed in. 26" sewn hrc in a mich (4 wrap) or petro (depending on how accurate the hitch length is...bought 26" and gotten as small as 24" before). At height shorty tether, eccentric, and a ct oval. Been running it on squir, phantom and velocity. All butter

Yes, locked brummels both eyes.

18” spliced eyes

 

[dp75]

Yes, locked brummels both eyes.

18” spliced eyes
View attachment 77941

On the purple line is it the stitch hitch you're currently running?