We really must stop meeting like this! The relationship between the termination knot and the hitch.

southsoundtree said:
I MRS'ed out today.

I could have flipped my HH biner over, for less conflict. It wasn't an issue when the 2 sides of the system were on my bridge at outward angles, however, as I descended, the ring and termination biner came together. As I descended more, they conflicted more. A big-hole bowline (tied off) on the ring would have worked a treat.


I was using @DSMc 'S Fixe pulley on DMM bridge ring add-on.

View attachment 91375
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The angle can be a difficulty.


I might need to polish up my dogbone with some use. It's grabby and rotating against the rope in a weird way.
 
An anchor hitch would not interfere as much as a fisherman's knot.

Mirror imaged anchor hitches could be used on a pear shaped biner that goes to the saddle and would also capture the Hitch Climber in place.

Spliced eyes can and do move around easily and can side load a biner.

I've always trusted the anchor hitch over spliced eyes. Plus you don't have to buy them and can easily switch ends of the main climbing rope.
 
TreeCo said:
An anchor hitch would not interfere as much as a fisherman's knot.

Mirror imaged anchor hitches could be used on a pear shaped biner that goes to the saddle and would also capture the Hitch Climber in place.

Spliced eyes can and do move around easily and can side load a biner.

I've always trusted the anchor hitch over spliced eyes. Plus you don't have to buy them and can easily switch ends of the main climbing rope.
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Same!
 
TreeCo said:
An anchor hitch would not interfere as much as a fisherman's knot.

Mirror imaged anchor hitches could be used on a pear shaped biner that goes to the saddle and would also capture the Hitch Climber in place.

Spliced eyes can and do move around easily and can side load a biner.

I've always trusted the anchor hitch over spliced eyes. Plus you don't have to buy them and can easily switch ends of the main climbing rope.
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As much as I love an anchor bend, I haven't paid for a splice in many moons
 
Cant
Tuebor said:
That's the second edition, but the first one - or at least an older one - also warns about interference of knot and hitch on page 7:

View attachment 91381
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Cant help but notice that all the photos in the hitch climber guide show the termination knots being attached to the upper hole of the HC pulley. I thought it was a no-brainer to use the center hole when running a termination knot on a HC setup?
 
rico said:
Cant

Cant help but notice that all the photos in the hitch climber guide show the termination knots being attached to the upper hole of the HC pulley. I thought it was a no-brainer to use the center hole when running a termination knot on a HC setup?
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Hadn't considered that point, but you're right, I do that automatically, as though there were no other obvious correct way in that setup. Nobody ever showed me that. I don't think I have ever seen anyone mention it in a video either.
 
rico said:
Cant

Cant help but notice that all the photos in the hitch climber guide show the termination knots being attached to the upper hole of the HC pulley. I thought it was a no-brainer to use the center hole when running a termination knot on a HC setup?
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I've always used that middle hole. Aside from the manual, that middle hole connection is all I see when I looked.
 
I know many guys don't like anchor hitches but if your scared you can tie a stopper.
I use an anchor hitch for termination in this situation. I tie it a certain way so that it sits very low and that last turn is on the opposite side of the hitch. Never moves never rolls out never effects the hitch.
I much rather prefer a spliced eye though. Do a lot of crane work...to me it's well worth the extra money to get a spliced eye on your rope.
 
I’ve had hitches hang up with splices, grapevine knots, anchor hitches etc. VERY rarely and even more so with splices. Never has it been an issue other than a brief slip or slight movement. If this happens or if I’m using a bulky knot I just drop the hitch carabiner and rope end straight to my bridge. That isn’t an approved configuration in the manual either. It’s clear that they don’t advise tying straight to it (yet one can splice onto a pinto) and I actually do not see how this could be dangerous other than the knot bump.

We all have experience unexpected sitback or creep from a device or hitch.

It’s always good to give a all systems check before taking a big swing, shifting weight from one device to the other before change overs, as well as before making saw cuts.
 
evo said:
It’s always good to give a all systems check before taking a big swing, shifting weight from one device to the other before change overs, as well as before making saw cuts.
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This right here solves 99.7% of all problems. I understand that it's not the fastest possible solution, but some smart people have told me that slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.
 
Matias said:
This right here solves 99.7% of all problems. I understand that it's not the fastest possible solution, but some smart people have told me that slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.
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About the same level of most modern contraceptives…. Excluding well placed ice cubes of course.
At this point one needs to consider the point climbing evolution and innovation the hitch climber came out in. Blake’s were still king, coming off the coat tails of the taughtline. IT WAS the evolutionary move to eye and eye hitch cords. Sure they existed before but mostly the way those weird Europeans climbed with 6 coil loops.
As I recall there were reports of knot bump early on, and this was an editing that occurred as a result. I could be remembering it wrong, but I thought the linked photos were an after the fact PSA safety notice. Not a recall as there isn’t anything inherently wrong with the pulley, but potential interface issue.
 
Point is we have so many “automated processes” in our gear and technique that it can be forgotten that we need to lightly monitor everything in our life-support chain while we climb. Can’t depend on auto-locking ‘biner gates to do their job without verifying in whatever way the gate is indeed locked. Likewise with hitches, they need to grab automatically. Nevertheless… sometimes you need to flick up the hitch coils to set even the most perfectly tuned hitch system with super-duper spliced or sewn eye terminations. With knotted terminations in proximity to hitches you have to pay attention a little more which is not a bad thing.

Gear manufacturers have lawyers so there will be lots of “Don’t do that!”. The Educated Climber (ha) pays attention, understands how things work, finds a way to monitor their systems, while keeping enough efficiency in their climbing.
-AJ
 
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Zebco Kid said:
Hello All,

My normal tool for climbing both SRS and MRS is the HitchHiker XF.

If I want to traverse to another limb, I will often use the other end of my line. I will make all the necessary throwbag/grappling hook moves to get situated and secured. My tool of choice for the other end of the line is a HitchClimber Pulley and hitch of choice. I will then ease out my XF TIP while easing in my HC setup. It's one of my favorite parts of climbing...traversing my way through the canopy.

So...that leads me to my question. As I'm working with the "other end" of my rope, there is no spliced or sewn eye. I keep reading that it is not recommended to work with a HitchClimber Pulley with a termination knot, as it (the knot) can disrupt the effectiveness of the hitch/prusik.

My thought was that maybe a Figure 8 up the line, and out of the way of the HitchClimber and hitch would be a reasonable solution. I would like to know your thoughts/solutions when a spliced or sewn eye is not available to you, but your available tool is a HitchClimber Pulley?

Thank you.

David
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You can use another hitch on the non-spliced end of your line with a foot or so of tail before a stopper. It might sound a bit clunky, but it’s actually very clean as far as the potential of interference with your main hitch. Even a thimble prusik works a treat.
 
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