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Improving Latitude vapor tether grip on tree

Crotalus

Crotalus

Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2020
Messages
99
Anyone else using the Latitude Vapor tether? I received mine yesterday and was concerned with how stiff and slick it was on the tree. Had a hard time getting it to stay in place prior to tensioning it. I ended up using my old tether when I got to the top.

are there any tips or tricks to soften it a bit and get it to grip better?
 
assuming the issue is the loop won't stay tight to the tree, You could try girth hitching the loop around the tether (tag end) instead of just passing the tag through the loop, that cinches it down well for me but is not as easily removable as some other options. There's a bunch of tether keepers out there as well, some cheap DIY like a Paracord prussik loop, some purchased like the 3d printed ohm tether locker. All of the above will keep the tether loop from opening when unweighted.
 
I’m using castration bands already, this rope is just slippery. I’ll have to practice with it and ground level to get used to it.
 
Ah sorry for the knee jerk newbie response, I looked that rope up, perhaps it's due to the materials/waterproof and abrasion resistance they are going for, those two qualities generally =slippery to an extent. Does the rope slip inside/through the castration band at all?
 
It will get softer with use but it's still fairly stiff. I can usually get my prusik right up there so I'm comfortable though
 
thedutchtouch said:
Ah sorry for the knee jerk newbie response, I looked that rope up, perhaps it's due to the materials/waterproof and abrasion resistance they are going for, those two qualities generally =slippery to an extent. Does the rope slip inside/through the castration band at all?
Click to expand...

not sure, I had a knee jerk reaction to the rope after having it on the tree for about a minute. it arrived right before I headed to the woods, grabbed it put the castration band on and stuffed it in the pouch with my old tether. Luckily I did that because I was not comfortable using the new tether after I got in the tree.

I’ll spend some time with it to get used to it.
 
Horn said:
@DB4x4, what are your thoughts here? This is my favorite
Click to expand...

If the OP is just using a short tether, I would suggest this:

Girth hitch your tether

No need for castration bands or going through twice, just girth hitch it to end the slide. Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk
saddlehunter.com

This is what I did prior to using my rappel rope as my tether. I don't know what the actual term is, but I called it "girth hitching the girth hitch".

Bend the loop back on itself, which creates two smaller loops. Feed the prusik and carabiner down through the two smaller loops, and pull everything tight.
 
If OP is using a long rappel rope as the tether, the two simplest solutions I've used in the past can be seen in this post I made not too long ago:

1sticking

TL;DR Not everyone one-sticks the same way, and maybe it's safer than we thought...if you minimize slack during climbing. I think it’s a bit of a misnomer to say one sticking is inherently safe or unsafe. There’s commonly a lack of nuance when discussing this topic. I’ll agree that almost...
saddlehunter.com

1. Dollar store chip clip: Easy, effective, quickly removable.

2. Extra prusik: Also easy and effective, but takes just a little longer to install/remove. The advantage here is that you can use it to pull yourself up for adjustments or when climbing.
 
Last edited:
Short tether, I’ll give the girth hitch a try, thanks all for the feedback.
 
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