successful glide modifications

Kathy_Holzer

Kathy_Holzer

Location
Seattle WA
ok, so who out there is climbing or has climbed on a glide? anyone make any interesting modifications? what are problems you've had or things you appreciate about this saddle? i've been climbing on one since feb and competed twice in it but i still don't love it. i like it better than my other 5 or so saddles but it has a few drawbacks, such as

1) doesn't actually glide that much - my old sierra moreno sliding d had better glide, actually, and missing it is the sole reason i bought this saddle. i've tried: warp speed bridge w/2 biners on it. not bad but high wear and tear (replaced bridge after 4 months because it wouldn't pass comp. inspection). tried two pulleys on the bridge but only one loads at a time and it was awkward. tried one pulley w/ fixed end of line clipped into distel biner, which put lots of hardware right in a rather bad zone (maybe not a prob. for most of you..). buckingham sent me a new bridge, the other stock one which is spectra and two steel rings to put on it. not liking the steel rings so far, jury's still out on the spectra. i assume the pulley won't work on it.

now if someone would just market a micropulley rated for 2 attachment points...

2) buckles self-adjust under load, although the newer ones buckingham just sent me seem to hold a lot better.

i also heard (frank chipps i think) that removing the 3" section between the bridge and the leg straps gets the hardware out of your face but i'm wondering what that does to your center of gravity/suspension point. that'll be my next modification.

i dig the spaces left for biners on either hip, and have been keeping non-lockers there - nice place to stash pulleys and extra cords, scabbard, etc.

anyone? i can't be the only one fooling around with this thing..

thanks,
k. /forum/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Kathy,

Have you tried the aluminum ring as a floater? How about a petzl swivel? I personally don't like to free of movement. I like to have it only move when I twist a little. This way I don't end up hanging sideways too much. Just my preferance.

Most people I've talked to just seize the leg straps and such w/ tape when you like their position. I use hockey tape (of course). /forum/images/graemlins/rock.gif

On the butterfly 2 I run the tail of the straps back through the buckles. They never move at all now.
 
Have not done much mod of the saddle except to have it do more for me. I got one of the early ones after the leg and waist clips were corrected. The clips on the leg are opposite of the way they are now sold. I can step into the saddle without haveing to go through anything. I use a electrical cable ties to hold the ring and the clip on the leg straps in place. This also keeps the adjustment without strain.

For the 'slide' and bridge problem I've been useing a set up shown to me by Big John and Jim Roach; it is a captive eye biner with the main tie in on the heavy large part. My split tail with a VT terminated with a kunt and slack tender is on another biner connected to the captive eye.

There are those who frown on this set up and it has worked great for me and the others.

The VT hitch is totaly self tending with the Kunt termination. What is nice about using one of the new pulleys is that it sets the hitch line to the side of the main with this set up.

All in all I find the sadlle to heavy and am looking at the Butterfly and the Eldring(sp). For now it is my main saddle.

Great climbing,
Jack
 
hey mark, i mustve missed that one. all i remember was "friends in low places" etc, the down home boys. what a voice our frankie has!

am currently working with 2 floater rings (steel? aluminum? kinda heavy..) and so far not so keen on it. the clearance between snaps/biners and the bridge is minimal so decreases "glide". i personally like the floating d action because all my saddles w/fixed attachment points tend to rotate a lot around my waist - not so comfortable.

i did buy the swivel thinking it might work nicely but have not yet installed it on the bridge. maybe i'll try that, since it can take 2 attachments.

as far as the self-adjusting buckles, i finally stitched mine in exasperation (which has to be re-done every time you remove the bridge or anything) but chris from b'ham sent me what are apparently newer buckles which are springloaded and hold pretty well. hockey tape huh? doesn't it get all gooey in the heat?

what do you think of the butterfly 2? is it a lot lighter than the glide? i think it's more dough, yes? within a few weeks of getting the glide i was wishing i'd bought a duo or butterfly. sigh. so many toys to try out..
thanks for the ideas!
k.
 
[ QUOTE ]


For the 'slide' and bridge problem I've been useing a set up shown to me by Big John and Jim Roach; it is a captive eye biner with the main tie in on the heavy large part. My split tail with a VT terminated with a kunt and slack tender is on another biner connected to the captive eye.

any pics? where did you find a captive eye biner big enough in the captive part to accomodate another biner as well as the bridge? i have one or two but i think they'd jam up loaded that way.


The VT hitch is totaly self tending with the Kunt termination.

ok, i'll bite. so "kunt" is apparently not a typo for knut, and apparently not slang for female sexual parts... so what is it? i've used a vt before and found it a little too sketchy for me to use w/o constantly checking it. does this termination lower the "sketch" factor?

thanks!
k.
 
Re: duo

I tried the Glide at the Baltimore Expo and found it too heavy (as most of the others who commented on it). I tried several saddles and liked the Tree Austria Duo the best. I finally bought one last month and absolutely love it. It's half the weight of my old Buckingham Pinnacle and is the first leg strap saddle I've worn that does not squeeze me in inappropriate ways. The bridge is nice and low so my hitch isn't up in my face and my center of balance is nice and low for easier maneuvering in the trees. The single large alloy D ring is much easier to clip in to than the gawdawful tiny D rings on my Buckingham.

This is by far the most expensive saddle I've ever bought and it's also by far the best I've ever used.
 
Check the attachment a few post up that I supplied for Kathy. I shows the way Big John uses it.Jim Roach has a version the same except the way he has his biners set up to avoid cross loading. That has not been a prblem for me using the Glide. Those guys use the Butter Fly.

The knut termination is a way to give a better surface for the slack tender. As it is done in the examples with the right cord stiffens the hitch so that it moves up naturaly with little self attendence.When you have everything right for your rope and cord it is a dream. I can foot lock without tending and it has never locked up on me.

Jack
 
yeah, but does it grab every time you sit down on it after limb walking or whatever? i played with the vt, wraps and braids and different cords for a little bit but couldn't find a combination that was there every time i needed it to be, and i for one am not keen on sitting down when the chair has been pulled out from under me if you know what i mean. maybe that's just me, but i figure i have enough to think about in a tree w/o wondering if my friction hitch will catch my weight every time i lean back. that's just me..
k.
 
The type of cord, the wraps the climbing line and condition. All play a part. In the begining of my using a VT I bought a UltraTech from Sherrill. Other than the expense it worked very well with my Samson climbing line. It always grabed when I wanted it to, and never jamed. It didn't take to long and I burned it.

So, I started to get other types cord and trying them out. None have given me exactly what the ultra tech did. Right now I'm using some 8mm firemans rescue rope. Weird stuff, you can't burn it with a tourch. It has a little to much stiffness and even after using it a while and 'breaking' it in I still have the habit of putting my hand on the hitch when leaning back as you described. The ultra tech didn't need any touching. Not saying that is the only cord to us, it is to expensive to use it up the way I do. And I'm hooked on this hitch.

When I think about mod of the glide, I end up considering the tree magic by Edelrid.

Jack
 
have you tried the tenex line for your vt? similar story to your ultra tech though by the sounds of it, works great but too expensive.
im using 8mm marlow double braid polyester now, works great, hasn't slipped once.
as for the edlerid, imgetting pretty tempted by that also
 
Jack,
The New England Sta-Set (double braid polyester) also has a feel much like the Ultra-Tech without the high price. Someone turned me on to it a couple years ago and I've been using it ever since for my hitch cord. I tie fisherman's knots since splicing it creates stiffness in the cord for several inches back from the eyes and that affects how my hitch handles. I used to get it for 23 cents a foot but it's doubled in price in the last two years. /forum/images/graemlins/ahhhhh.gif
http://www.neropes.com/techdata/sta-set.htm
http://www.sailnet.com/store/item.cfm?pid=27014
 
Both work well. I've been using 8 but will order some 9 soon. The 8 can get rather warm on long descents. The 8 also seems to be a bit more grabby since I've added a few pounds this year. I'm at 180 plus gear.
/forum/images/graemlins/ahhhhh.gif
 
Thanks again. Humm, I'm low at 210, so that and the fact the 8mm I'm using now gets hot. I'm going to go with the 9mm the first time around.

I think you're using Samson too. So, it's a go.

Jack
 
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