SRT device poll

[DSW]

HitchHiker.

It lives on my rope, just have to pay attention to when setting your line.

Doesn't tend like a full mechanical and would be a pain to switch on and off if you had to but it's so good at what it does that the pros outweigh the cons.

I'm surprised to see so many Akimbo users, I know it had a ton of hype but it sounded like half the buyers ended up disappointed. I've never tried one though.

 

[Tree-Taylor]

Great discussions. Has me thinking about the Unicender.

I find my Akimbo and Rope Runner to be very similar in performance once they were broke in and adjusted. Ease of midline "attachabilty" is high up on my priority list and for this reason I prefer my Akimbo. Sap isn't an issue of mine as I generally run a hitch Ddrt to work a conifer.

My HH2 now sits on my hip as a lanyard adjuster. The steel biner has been swapped out for aluminum but it is still a little heavy. I do like the simplicity of this device and there's nothing quite like the responsiveness of a hitch.

My wrench is now coupled up with a pinto pulley for light rigging. I love the way it operates but slick pins just aren't for me.

 

[Timberdonkey_059]

For the people using a ZZ/Chicane or ZZ/Wrench combo, what are you using to attach it to your chest harness or suspenders to tend the device? I've found that most "accessory carabiners" don't work well with it since you clip directly through the ZZ vs it having a small attachment point dedicated for tending.

I suppose i could tie a loop with some accessory cord and attach the small biner to that instead.

 

[Crimsonking]

For the people using a ZZ/Chicane or ZZ/Wrench combo, what are you using to attach it to your chest harness or suspenders to tend the device? I've found that most "accessory carabiners" don't work well with it since you clip directly through the ZZ vs it having a small attachment point dedicated for tending.

I suppose i could tie a loop with some accessory cord and attach the small biner to that instead.

I clip my xsre to the chicane biner. Nothing fancy. I’m using the old style zz, so there’s no tending hole.

 

[Burrapeg]

I suppose i could tie a loop with some accessory cord and attach the small biner to that instead.

That is what I have been doing. If going up SRT, I usually bring my lanyard around behind and over the shoulder, to advance the ZZ/RW, with a small loop of paracord on the RW biner. Then I usually remove the RW from the ZZ and move around MRS once up in the canopy, with one of Mumford's removable leather cambium savers. Different trees need different configs of course. I have one of my longer ropes that I use with a second ZZ/RW combo on the tail, for leapfrogging and traverses. I like my BDB also, for smaller trees and for hiking any distance where I have to keep backpack weight to a minimum.

 

[DSW]

A wrench with the solid tether is looking really nice.

Not that I remotely need anything.

 

[DSW]

Back home and it's never felt so good.

 

[Brocky]

A Slic Pin and a flat washer can eliminate the knot tying.

 

[oldoakman]

A Slic Pin and a flat washer can eliminate the knot tying.
View attachment 88078

What length slick pin? Available where? Bless you brocky. One of the main reasons my HH sits in the gear bag is fiddling with those damn knots!

 

[misfit]

What length slick pin? Available where? Bless you brocky. One of the main reasons my HH sits in the gear bag is fiddling with those damn knots!

Yes, I feel the same way. I feel a bit embarrassed to say that I don't mind tying the hitch but hate tying the stopper knots. But those knots also bothered me aesthetically. They aren't pretty. So I like Brocky's idea here, and I'm a bit surprised that I never thought of doing that myself, especially since I have been using a Slic pin to attach my Rope Wrench tether to the Hitch Climber pulley for years. For the Hitch Hiker, the Slic pin needs to be longer than the ones that come with the Rope Runner, but the ones used on the Quickie are just right at 2.5" long. I intend to give this a try soon. But I also wonder if a 3/8" hitch safety pin such as this ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08CXRNJ7F/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1?smid=A3V2PS3TM6WKAV&psc=1 ) would perform well. If it's suitable, it would be even easier than a Slic pin, and the round retainer clip can serve as a tending point.

 

[Boomslang]

The thing I like about knots is the fine tuning you get. With an eye to eye you're limited by the length of the cord. Yes, they can be a bitch to untie sometimes, but I rarely take my HH2 off my rope so it's not a huge deal.

 

[DSW]

But I also wonder if a 3/8" hitch safety pin such as this ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08CXRNJ7F/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1?smid=A3V2PS3TM6WKAV&psc=1 ) would perform well. If it's suitable, it would be even easier than a Slic pin, and the round retainer clip can serve as a tending point.

I would stay far away from that. Those take nothing to unclip. I'm sure a rope termination at various working angles would be more than enough to slide off and send you to the earth.


The beauty of the Hitchhiker is that you never worry about it once it's dialed in, even if it happens to be bent around a limb and loaded at a weird angle.

 

[misfit]

I would stay far away from that. Those take nothing to unclip. I'm sure a rope termination at various working angles would be more than enough to slide off and send you to the earth.


The beauty of the Hitchhiker is that you never worry about it once it's dialed in, even if it happens to be bent around a limb and loaded at a weird angle.

Agreed. I thought about it later and realized that is far from suitable as a life support.

 

[Brocky]

Might need two washers if using the pin from the Quickie, the HHX pin is what I used, don’t know if they are still available from Mumford.

 

[Muggs]

Might need two washers if using the pin from the Quickie, the HHX pin is what I used, don’t know if they are still available from Mumford.
View attachment 88083

Perfect, I was looking at my big quickie from Richard the other day and wondering what I should use it for...

 

[southsoundtree]

How well does the Stitch Hitch work for production work?

 

[Tree-Taylor]

A Slic Pin and a flat washer can eliminate the

Might need two washers if using the pin from the Quickie, the HHX pin is what I used, don’t know if they are still available from Mumford.
View attachment 88083

I've been

Might need two washers if using the pin from the Quickie, the HHX pin is what I used, don’t know if they are still available from Mumford.
View attachment 88083

A Quickie wide enough to sandwich the e&e between the shackle and the body of the HH would make for a slick setup. Tether the Quickie to the HH to make it all drop resistant.

 

[Bart_]

I think the vagueries of balancing the hitch legs to keep the loading perpendicular to the pin, and not trying to pull the washer against the tab is the issue I would worry about. I did a Moss slic pin washers Ocean's tether back in the day, but that's not life support. Dogbone to hitch is pretty critical.

 

[DSMc]

Yes, I feel the same way. I feel a bit embarrassed to say that I don't mind tying the hitch but hate tying the stopper knots. But those knots also bothered me aesthetically. They aren't pretty...

@misfit , I have quoted you here not to pick on you individually, because you are certainly not alone in your thinking. It is a thought I have heard repeatedly throughout the years since the HH has been in the arborist inventory of tools. It is a bizarre and illogical thought.

Many different methods and hitch configurations were tried during the HH's field testing and development stage. This included various pin/bolt type combinations. All were scrapped in favor of the simplicity and functionality of the dogbone.

This simple and elegant design maximizes the safety and versatility of the HH design in the same way and for the same reasons that has kept knots a cornerstone of the arborist trade for so many years.

 

[Phil]

Yes, I feel the same way. I feel a bit embarrassed to say that I don't mind tying the hitch but hate tying the stopper knots.

When I started with the HH2, I stuck with a double overhand stopper. I have the HHXf now and went with Richard's recommended Stevedore stopper knot. I wish I would have started using the stevedore much sooner. I thought the stoppers also looked kinda goofy, but then I took a look at the treemotion harness I have and realized stoppers are not that big of deal (bridge anchors).