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Prusik Loop Cord....not working

BowhunterXC

BowhunterXC

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 14, 2021
Messages
620
Location
N.W. Ohio
I've been trying out some new gear, to find out what works and what doesn't before the season. :cool:
One thing is for certain.... No soft shoes/boots for climbing! They're great for stalking around in the woods, but climbing on steps, foot loops and platforms are made for a boot with a solid sole.

I purchased a Prusik Cord with end loops to use on a distel hitch with a mini pulley, on my upper tether, for 2TC. Turns out the Prusik Cord is too stiff and too large of a diameter, compared to the 9mm rope it's on and it won't bite the rope. :rolleyes: If the Prusik Cord was the same diameter at the Beal Jammy loop, it would've worked.
I had intended to use this to ascend and rappel, but looks like I'll be going back to my Ropeman1 and a carabiner to ascend and then switching over to my Figure 8 with a Prusik continuous loop cord above it for an auto-block. :)

Back to the trees tomorrow, for some more testing, education and fun. :cool:
 
Prussics are a funny creature indeed. Material, diameter and the hitch you use for a specific rope all come into play. Learning how to tie, dress and set your hitch is imperative once you have the best prussic cord. Play around low and slow and really get it dialed in .
 
You didn’t mention what size your cord is but 7mm should work fine on 9mm but I have found that if it is stiff it doesn’t want to bite very well initially, but after I worked it a little it started biting fine. Another wrap or two initially might also help. With stiff cord it seems better to go down to 6mm on 9 though as you don’t want to risk it not catching. Good luck!
 
BowhunterXC said:
I've been trying out some new gear, to find out what works and what doesn't before the season. :cool:
One thing is for certain.... No soft shoes/boots for climbing! They're great for stalking around in the woods, but climbing on steps, foot loops and platforms are made for a boot with a solid sole.

I purchased a Prusik Cord with end loops to use on a distel hitch with a mini pulley, on my upper tether, for 2TC. Turns out the Prusik Cord is too stiff and too large of a diameter, compared to the 9mm rope it's on and it won't bite the rope. :rolleyes: If the Prusik Cord was the same diameter at the Beal Jammy loop, it would've worked.
I had intended to use this to ascend and rappel, but looks like I'll be going back to my Ropeman1 and a carabiner to ascend and then switching over to my Figure 8 with a Prusik continuous loop cord above it for an auto-block. :)

Back to the trees tomorrow, for some more testing, education and fun. :cool:
Click to expand...
What size prusik loop did you buy and what length. I prefer eye to eye hitch cord for distel and schwabisch hitches because when you use a continuous loop, the cord gets all twisted up when tying it so the tension isn’t even
 
2Sloe said:
You didn’t mention what size your cord is but 7mm should work fine on 9mm but I have found that if it is stiff it doesn’t want to bite very well initially, but after I worked it a little it started biting fine. Another wrap or two initially might also help. With stiff cord it seems better to go down to 6mm on 9 though as you don’t want to risk it not catching. Good luck!
Click to expand...
Great mention!!! 6 or 7 absolutely work great on 9mm… if the rope is stiff just add one wrap above. I use 7mm on both my 9mm climbing line, as well as my 10mm tether/lineman’s.
 
I concur a larger diameter does break easier. There is a balance of grabbing reliably and releasing when desired- I have had some recommended prussic cord( small diameter) bites so hard on 9mm Canyon Elite that it was a true pain. I later switched to Icetail and it grabs reliably and tends like butter on the Canyon Elite with a 5 wrap Michocan using a Ropewrench.
 
I guess I just been lucky with rope/hitch combos....the only times I've ever had them cinch up tight to were they are hard to get to release is when the rope is wet or really dirty....I've had good luck with muddy rope (I don't know exactly size but I'd say it's 9mm) and supplied prusiks, 8mm rescutec with muddy prusik, and 9mm bluewater with 7mm hitch cord....sometimes 3wraps has been enough and sometimes 4 wraps are needed. I also noticed that if u attach ur tender to the prusik it's much more "responsive"....much less slack/dead space to take out before the tender engages the wraps....like this...Screenshot_20220820-110954~2.png
 
cedar paul said:
I concur a larger diameter does break easier. There is a balance of grabbing reliably and releasing when desired- I have had some recommended prussic cord( small diameter) bites so hard on 9mm Canyon Elite that it was a true pain. I later switched to Icetail and it grabs reliably and tends like butter on the Canyon Elite with a 5 wrap Michocan using a Ropewrench.
Click to expand...
Man you have a rope wrench? Lol that’s an expensive addition to help make climbing on a hitch easier.
 
cedar paul said:
I have both a Ropewrench and Roperunner from rec climbing so I am reperposing them to use for accessing trees for hunting. I have gotten these over many years and on sale!
Click to expand...
I am a big fan of the rope wrench. Just for the price of it, it’s easier to run a gri gri plus. I usually run a prusik with a petzl roll clip above my gri gri. It’s not often you hear guys talk about rope wrenches anymore.
 
Another option if you cord is eye to eye is as others have said is an alternate hitch...my personal favorite is a michoagan
 
With either the Roperunner or Ropewrench and a foot ascender I scurry up the rope with minimal effort in a short amount of time. RADS is nice for mechanical advantage but I like to use the bigger muscles of my legs and if I add my knee ascender I literally walk up.
 
Fl Canopy Stalker said:
What size prusik loop did you buy and what length. I prefer eye to eye hitch cord for distel and schwabisch hitches because when you use a continuous loop, the cord gets all twisted up when tying it so the tension isn’t even
Click to expand...
The Distel and Schwabish in loop form, I’m finding having a fixed eye helps when tying.
11966CD8-0198-47CC-A366-8D4BEF6D64C8.jpeg
 
Brocky said:
The Distel and Schwabish in loop form, I’m finding having a fixed eye helps when tying.
View attachment 69767
Click to expand...
I tried a schwabisch then crossed the legs behind the rope followed by a forward facing square knot. It grabbed pretty much the same as a typical Schwabisch but it tended fairly easily without a prusik tender.
 
If you tie your eyes, leave the two tails longer, and overhand them together under the hitch, capturing the rope, for a tender.

Or use a hitch that self tends, found these three while testing a few hitches. The green one works really well, but the one on the right is very easy to tie.
C6573DD6-5E05-4B4C-B092-09DCBADCDC53.jpeg
 
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