JRB Ascender Hitch

[John RB]

We have a detailed knot tying playlist now.

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[John RB]

In terms of elegant self tending with a minimum amount of effort or travel, I haven't found anything in this class. It operates kind of like a ropeman when removing slack, and of course a ropeman can't be used to add length under load. Its a serious tie job, but for me, the results warrant the investment.

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[Horn]

Hey John, I know I'm late to the game here but you seem to really appreciate feedback and helping us out.

I tried your ascender in an SRT set-up. It worked great!! Thanks for all your work! I would love to see a version I could take on and off the rope, just personal preference, there's absolutely nothing wrong with it now.

I tied both 7 and 8mm versions to use on 11.4mm rope. In the house 7mm was the clear winner, 8 was a little mushy. After 5 or 6 climbs the 7mm got pretty tight, not so tight that I couldn't move it but much, much tighter.

I had planned to switch to the larger cord and try again, thinking the 8mm might be better with that extra tension but I see it may be from rappeling. I use a mechanical descender and just drag my hitch back down, unloaded. Could this be tightening my hitch up?

I had a left hand knot, no toggle/handle using phantom climbing rope and sterling accessory cord. I've also taken that knot off my line already so unfortunately I can't offer pictures but I'm confident it was tied properly.

Thanks and sorry for the long post

 

[John RB]

Hey John, I know I'm late to the game here but you seem to really appreciate feedback and helping us out.

I tried your ascender in an SRT set-up. It worked great!! Thanks for all your work! I would love to see a version I could take on and off the rope, just personal preference, there's absolutely nothing wrong with it now.

I tied both 7 and 8mm versions to use on 11.4mm rope. In the house 7mm was the clear winner, 8 was a little mushy. After 5 or 6 climbs the 7mm got pretty tight, not so tight that I couldn't move it but much, much tighter.

I had planned to switch to the larger cord and try again, thinking the 8mm might be better with that extra tension but I see it may be from rappeling. I use a mechanical descender and just drag my hitch back down, unloaded. Could this be tightening my hitch up?

I had a left hand knot, no toggle/handle using phantom climbing rope and sterling accessory cord. I've also taken that knot off my line already so unfortunately I can't offer pictures but I'm confident it was tied properly.

Thanks and sorry for the long post

My pleasure and thanks. In terms of your hitch, it's hard to make an accurate assessment without seeing it or what you're doing. Are ya using a 523? Standard or bridge mode? Photo?

Also, if you're giving the hitch a load during rappel or rappelling on it, then it's gonna tighten up like any other friction hitch will. I don't recommend using a friction hitch as a rappel device. It should just be along for the ride and the friction be provided by your figure 8 or Munter or whatever you're using.

No matter what its state is, before each climb, ya simply reset it by locating the descending strand off of the upper helix and if its tight, give it a touch of slack, drawing it up out of the bottom load loop, through the bottom stage up into the top. If its loose, then just go the other way. I actually show this on the red cord at minute 20:30 in this latest video.

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[Horn]

4-1-2 i think, It was the original variation I believe. I'll give that a try, I haven't had time to watch your new video, I should have checked it out before I asked. Thanks for your help!

 

[John RB]

4-1-2 i think, It was the original variation I believe. I'll give that a try, I haven't had time to watch your new video, I should have checked it out before I asked. Thanks for your help!

No problem. I do try to take my time before posting new content. And when i did the first video, i used a 413 or 513. It was only a week later that i was getting feedback that the 423 and 523 were preferred by more folks and this was one of the reasons: better independence from jamming.

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[TNSTAAFL]

Had an issue today while doing some testing/practice on JRBAH with the new less jamming variant tied in a compact soft bridge mode.

Tied on LB and a tether/rappel rope. Used 6mm TRC on 8mm Res Tec. Testing at ground level went great. Love the smooth self tending functionality on both types of ropes.

Got my confidence established and climbed one stick with aider up (about 5 feet). Set up munter and rappelled down easy peasy. Climbed back up and went to hang in saddle while advancing stick to go higher and my tether ascender hitch started sliding (with me) down. It was slow enough that I didn't fall or panic. I could stop it by just holding the tag end of the rappel rope in my hand, but if I let go it started sliding again.

I climbed down as safely as I could and packed up and out.

So... not sure where to go next. Did I tie it wrong? Seemed easy to do. Am I too heavy at 220 lbs? Perhaps a 6th wrap is necessary. Is that rope and hitch cord combo not good? Seemed commonly used.

Appreciate any insights John or any other friction hitch experts have.

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[Brocky]

It might have been tied a little too loose with too much distance between the wraps and the lower section.

 

[Coachschaller]

I am 220. I use a 11mm (I think) with 7mm accessory cord. It held fine for me so far in my one climb with it. I did spend some time tuning it before hand. When I was at height I had to coax it a bit to bite by pulling on the loops a bit. It only happened a bit and it still gripped, but there were a couple of times that I almost had to preload the knot if it was perfectly compact and loose.

I am playing with carabiner placement. The new configuration does like to twist my main line. I think it was better if I put the carabiner in the front instead of behind.

I was really pleased with the way we can switch from soft bridge to a longer, single loop. When rappelling I enjoy the extra length, while at height it can be tighter in soft bridge mode.

I am not done playing yet, but it might still be my favorite so far.

 

[John RB]

It's really difficult to say anything without a photo. But as stated in the video, if something is not holding it means there is too much slack in the upper portion of the hitch. And it's really easy to get it to bite, we just pinch the top of the Helix while applying a load and it will hold. But I would need a picture to say anything more definitive. By the way comma I'm going to hunting camp and so my internet access will be sporadic until Sunday

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