Appreciate your position and response. I cant convey my tone in text, so pls don't consider this a debate; it's a mature discussion. Thx.
1. I climbed on screw gates for many years. I can't tell you i never forgot to lock one. For example, on my DRT/MRS system, probably 5 years ago, after a long season, one dusky evening, i shot a huge buck, and watched him go down! Overwhelmed with excitement, i transitioned into rappel on the munter and came down faster than usual. Safely at the bottom of the tree, i found out i never locked my screwgate!
2.Thursday night i got a text, which turned into a phone call, from a climber who wanted to tell me my JRB Hitch saved his life. He was rappelling on a munter but doesn't know what he did wrong. He believes he forgot to lock his screwgate and then when maneuvering down between branches, allowed his rope to go against the gate and the munter popped out. I personally believe he formed it incorrectly with the control strand on the gate side instead of the strand but this will remain a mystery. He got some rope burn before letting go and allowing the friction hitch to do its job as a backup.
3. The majority of saddle hunters are not experienced climbers and simply cant be trusted to lock their gates. I see posts regularly with unlocked gates.
To be clear, I am fine with any locked carabiner with nothing touching the gate. I just think a triple action auto locker is the best way to ensure that.
Furthermore, I am now recommending captive eye carabiners for bridges. This will prevent unexpected side loads. I have seen em show up whenever slack is shown to a carabiner. See updates on item 6. The DMM Ceros is fantastic.
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There was an earlier comment about gate down. I maintain my position: on our bridge, triple action and gate up is not only fine, but is the only way i can orient my swivel. I took this photo in my tree while reading this post earlier today, but my hands were getting too cold to type, lol. When i clip into my hitches in my doubled rope system, the gate is always facing the side as i face the tree. But i am on no platform and can rotate more than 90degrees each way. The gate is gonna face the tree when i go right. But it won't touch it.
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