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Found a video of Ropeman Failure (unclear if it is a ropeman 1 or 2)

ThereWillBeSpuds

ThereWillBeSpuds

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Nov 12, 2019
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648

Was researching climbing lanyards and came across this video of a ropeman (kinda) failing on low fall factor falls with dynamic rope (laboratory conditions, not people getting hurt, safe click)

The stripping of the sheath in those low factor falls if it occurred on your tether, linesman, or bridge would make getting down out of the tree very sketchy indeed.
 
Glad I off loaded all my ropemans when i did. Good luck out there. Yikes!


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For what it’s worth, the Ropeman, Kong Duck, CT RollNLock, and similar devices are not meant to be used as fall arrest devices. They are progress capture or “ascenders”. Considering them as a “safety” device for fall arrest is an invitation for disaster. If you step back and think about the design of these devices, it should be blatantly apparent that in a fall arrest, the device would strip a sheath. I do believe the packaging clearly states they are not fall arrest devices.

Pick the right tool for the job. Your life may depend on it

Semper Fi,
Mike
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Last edited:
ShooterMike said:
For what it’s worth, the Ropeman, Kong Duck, CT RollNLock, and similar devices are not meant to be used as fall arrest devices. They are progress capture or “ascenders”. Considering them as a “safety” device for fall arrest is an invitation for disaster. If you step back and think about the design of these devices, it should be blatantly apparent that in a fall arrest, the device would strip a sheath. I do believe the packaging clearly states they are not fall arrest devices.

Pick the right too for the job. Your life may depend on it

Semper Fi,
Mike
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I dunno if anyone has ever run a grigri on a linesman, but if I ever decide to climb sticks, I might try it, as I already have one for SRT and it seems like it would be much safer than any of the other easily adjustable options. Would love to have an ART positioner 2 as that seems to be the gold standard for arborists adjusting their fliplines, but 150+ is hard to justify to my wife for a bit of convenience.
 
ThereWillBeSpuds said:
I dunno if anyone has ever run a grigri on a linesman, but if I ever decide to climb sticks, I might try it, as I already have one for SRT and it seems like it would be much safer than any of the other easily adjustable options. Would love to have an ART positioner 2 as that seems to be the gold standard for arborists adjusting their fliplines, but 150+ is hard to justify to my wife for a bit of convenience.
Click to expand...

On a linesman, I think an ascender works well- it captures progress. It’s not taking a shock load.

Im not an arborist, so I wasn’t familiar with the ART Positioner 2, so I looked it up. That, my friend, might be the ticket ! For our application though, if needed a device for a linesman, I’d go with one of the other devices which are smaller and more than half the cost.


Semper Fi,
Mike
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Last edited:
ThereWillBeSpuds said:
I dunno if anyone has ever run a grigri on a linesman, but if I ever decide to climb sticks, I might try it, as I already have one for SRT and it seems like it would be much safer than any of the other easily adjustable options.
Click to expand...
Look into the Grillon. The Grigri needs a certain amount of force loaded on it to engage, if you put a little weight on a Grigri, it’ll let all the rope feed through.
The big difference between the Grigri and the Grillon from Petzl is the same as the difference between the Lifeguard and Safeguard from MadRock. For a positioning lanyard/ LB you don’t want a spring keeping the cam open, even if it is kind of a weak spring.
Watch eBay and sometimes you’ll see a used Grillon device. Brand new from Petzl, they’re only sold as a full system with flip line and snap or biner.
 
Bango Skank said:
Look into the Grillon. The Grigri needs a certain amount of force loaded on it to engage, if you put a little weight on a Grigri, it’ll let all the rope feed through.
The big difference between the Grigri and the Grillon from Petzl is the same as the difference between the Lifeguard and Safeguard from MadRock. For a positioning lanyard/ LB you don’t want a spring keeping the cam open, even if it is kind of a weak spring.
Watch eBay and sometimes you’ll see a used Grillon device. Brand new from Petzl, they’re only sold as a full system with flip line and snap or biner.
Click to expand...

The Grigri+ solved that issue. There’s a see tor knob for top rope mode, which reduces the spring tension. I’m using one with Oplux. Works great.


Semper Fi,
Mike
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Cool. So you can gently settle your weight back on it and it grabs?
I got two 1st gen Grigris that get used for belaying/ yanking the kiddos up a tree during backyard cookouts, and that’s about all the use they see now.
 
I love the safeguard but i guess i need to dump mine as well for safety.


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At the suggestion of @bj139 I have been testing the lifeguard pretty hard and honestly, it’s fine.

You have to be smart. But it’s fine. I think it could make your butt pucker if you unconsciously stood up and then sat down again without pulling your tag end. But otherwise, it does the job well. I have repeatedly, intentionally tried to get it to induce a slide on 8mm, 9mm and 10mm ropes and it will slips about a half inch before it catches. And even then, knowing that, you’d just pull your tag end as you sit down.


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trailblazer75 said:
At the suggestion of @bj139 I have been testing the lifeguard pretty hard and honestly, it’s fine.

You have to be smart. But it’s fine. I think it could make your butt pucker if you unconsciously stood up and then sat down again without pulling your tag end. But otherwise, it does the job well. I have repeatedly, intentionally tried to get it to induce a slide on 8mm, 9mm and 10mm ropes and it will slips about a half inch before it catches. And even then, knowing that, you’d just pull your tag end as you sit down.


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Click to expand...
About the first 5 times I stood up and heard the Lifeguard click open, I got the butt pucker. After quickly (or slowly) sitting down and feeling it catch after maybe a half inch, I then learned to trust it completely. Except for the click, it works the same as the Safeguard.

I have had 6 to 8 inch slips using a fancy friction hitch several times and had to push them to get them to catch while climbing and I lost all confidence in them. I assume they will catch within a foot in a fall but I didn't want to find out if that assumption was true.
 
ThereWillBeSpuds said:

Was researching climbing lanyards and came across this video of a ropeman (kinda) failing on low fall factor falls with dynamic rope (laboratory conditions, not people getting hurt, safe click)

The stripping of the sheath in those low factor falls if it occurred on your tether, linesman, or bridge would make getting down out of the tree very sketchy indeed.
Click to expand...
I carry a Treestand Wingman for self rescue and I always back up my Ropeman.
 
Shakeandbake said:
The ropeman didn’t fail, it did what everyone who tests them said it would do and desheath the rope. Ascenders are not fall arrest devices
Click to expand...
And if you have a ropeman on your tether, bridge or linesman it is being used as fall arrest. I'm just saying, I wouldn't want a device on my setup that does that to rope on a .25 factor fall.

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