No. I use friction hitch and an ATC rather than a Madrock. I have used 8mm and 9.5 mm ropes and prefer the larger rope for use with 6mm friction hitch cords. The additional bulk is not an issue since I can still get 40 ft of the 9.5mm in the same pouch as I used for the 8mm. The 9.5 mm is a little stiffer but water repellent and more abrasion resistant IME.
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Rappel rope questions
- Thread starter CBB1
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- Apr 10, 2020
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bought one and returned it after reading the manual which states "one time use"
I have an F4, & it works great rappelling with the 8mm rope, but it's definitely way more "fiddly" for me going up & advancing it as I climb.
Also, if you happen to "firmly bump" the handle while it's loaded, she's gonna "let go" a little bit. But, it has to be a VERY firm bump! So far, I've had no issues with it climbing up, or rappelling down.
For me, the MadRock is way easier to use, & it won't let go if I bump it.
Also, if you happen to "firmly bump" the handle while it's loaded, she's gonna "let go" a little bit. But, it has to be a VERY firm bump! So far, I've had no issues with it climbing up, or rappelling down.
For me, the MadRock is way easier to use, & it won't let go if I bump it.
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bfriendly
Well-Known Member
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- Jul 15, 2021
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- 1,110
I’ve used canyon elite and currently 8mm resctech and rappel on an ATC with 6m trc for my hitch/brake. I’m gonna get the canyon elite again and SRT this season. I’ve had no problems with the trc, but I like the Beal too which was my first and it’s 5.5…I’ve used both on both, currently the 6 on the 8
Yeah, I get my stuff from EWO
Decide what decender you are going to use. The GRIGRI Plus and Madrock and both have different size rope you should use. The F4 and the FCX have different rope sizes also.I myself wouldn't buy my rope and descender in a kit. You can save some money buying separately. Do some research before you buy.
drpike22
Active Member
If I understand you correctly, you are going to leave your rope on the tree. I don’t think I would be comfortable doing that. Lots of things can happen to a rope left out in the elements and available for critters to play with. Not to mention screw ball people that can access public land and hate hunters. Stay well, stay safe.I decided to learn how to rappel during this off-season, so I bought the kit from EWO that included a MadRock Safeguard & the 9mm Sterling Canyon Elite.
I also got 35' of 8mm Teufelburger Resc Tech to see how that works with the MadRock.
!!NOTE!!
Both have been great ropes so far, and both have easily been pulled down from the tree once I've descended.
The only difference is that for some reason, the Canyon Elite wants to always slide down the tree, when I'm climbing. I'm mainly "practice-climbing" Shagbark Hickories, & Chestnut Oaks, which both have pretty rough bark. I even removed my quick link from the Canyon Elite, to lighten it up to see if that made a difference, which it didn't. Climbing with that & advancing my tether/rappel rope is kind of "fiddly" for me. Not a big deal, because I don't care how long it takes to get to hunting height-I'm not a speed demon!
But, I've pretty much decided that it will be a great pre-set rope, where I can climb with it & cinch it down ahead of time (with a stopper,) & leave it up there. For my pre-sets, if I'm going to leave the rappel rope on the tree (especially on public land,) I coil it up about 12 'or so from ground level, & hang it on one of my Wild Edge steps. Then when I go back, I use a lineman's belt & tether to get that far up, uncoil & drop the rappel line, & use that with the lineman's belt to go the rest of the way up.
The Resc Tech works fine-A little small to grab with my gloved hands, ( I ALWAYS wear gloves when climbing,) but very manageable. And, it doesn't seem to want to slip down the tree while climbing as easily as the Canyon Elite.
I personally have experienced no issues climbing or rappelling down when used with the Safeguard.
Then, because I am a hopeless gear junkie, I saw this stuff on another thread, & decided that I needed to try it as well:
Glider Climbing Rope10.5mm / Camoforest / 660 Feet
Glider Climbing Rope by MAXIM; It is incredibly durable, making it a great choice for a dynamic rope that will last a long time and hold up to abuse while sport or trad climbing. Glider Climbing Ropes give the feeling of lighter weight as you pull the rope through protection on sport routes.www.rope.com
It's the first dynamic rope that I've tried, and so far, I'm very pleased with it. It's bigger, (10.5mm) so easier to grab & advance up the tree. Grips the tree very well, works well with the MadRock, & I can feel the stretch in it when I do a "less-than-adequate" job of starting/stopping my descents!
I am lucky enough to have access to private land here in PA & OH so I can do pre-sets, so all of this rope will get used, but so far, if I'm going in "cold," & have to find a tree to climb, my favorites are the Glider rope, followed by the Resc Tech!
Hope this helps!
I would never leave my ropes up in the tree. Animals like to chew on things and sun and weather can take a toll on your rope if left out all season. Plus someone might mess wit it. Do pre sets with a throw line and a throw ball and paracord. Then the only thing left in the woods is your paracord to pull up rappel rope . Check out NY saddlehunter on YouTube.I decided to learn how to rappel during this off-season, so I bought the kit from EWO that included a MadRock Safeguard & the 9mm Sterling Canyon Elite.
I also got 35' of 8mm Teufelburger Resc Tech to see how that works with the MadRock.
Both have been great ropes so far, and both have easily been pulled down from the tree once I've descended.
The only difference is that for some reason, the Canyon Elite wants to always slide down the tree, when I'm climbing. I'm mainly "practice-climbing" Shagbark Hickories, & Chestnut Oaks, which both have pretty rough bark. I even removed my quick link from the Canyon Elite, to lighten it up to see if that made a difference, which it didn't. Climbing with that & advancing my tether/rappel rope is kind of "fiddly" for me. Not a big deal, because I don't care how long it takes to get to hunting height-I'm not a speed demon!
But, I've pretty much decided that it will be a great pre-set rope, where I can climb with it & cinch it down ahead of time (with a stopper,) & leave it up there. For my pre-sets, if I'm going to leave the rappel rope on the tree (especially on public land,) I coil it up about 12 'or so from ground level, & hang it on one of my Wild Edge steps. Then when I go back, I use a lineman's belt & tether to get that far up, uncoil & drop the rappel line, & use that with the lineman's belt to go the rest of the way up.
The Resc Tech works fine-A little small to grab with my gloved hands, ( I ALWAYS wear gloves when climbing,) but very manageable. And, it doesn't seem to want to slip down the tree while climbing as easily as the Canyon Elite.
I personally have experienced no issues climbing or rappelling down when used with the Safeguard.
Then, because I am a hopeless gear junkie, I saw this stuff on another thread, & decided that I needed to try it as well:
Glider Climbing Rope10.5mm / Camoforest / 660 Feet
Glider Climbing Rope by MAXIM; It is incredibly durable, making it a great choice for a dynamic rope that will last a long time and hold up to abuse while sport or trad climbing. Glider Climbing Ropes give the feeling of lighter weight as you pull the rope through protection on sport routes.
It's the first dynamic rope that I've tried, and so far, I'm very pleased with it. It's bigger, (10.5mm) so easier to grab & advance up the tree. Grips the tree very well, works well with the MadRock, & I can feel the stretch in it when I do a "less-than-adequate" job of starting/stopping my descents!
I am lucky enough to have access to private land here in PA & OH so I can do pre-sets, so all of this rope will get used, but so far, if I'm going in "cold," & have to find a tree to climb, my favorites are the Glider rope, followed by the Resc Tech!
Hope this helps!
Iron_llama
Well-Known Member
Not to pile on, but I'll also encourage you to bring the rope out of the tree with you. The right way to do presets involves paracord and a stout branch or false crotch. NY Saddle Hunter and others have videos I won't summarize here.I decided to learn how to rappel during this off-season, so I bought the kit from EWO that included a MadRock Safeguard & the 9mm Sterling Canyon Elite.
I also got 35' of 8mm Teufelburger Resc Tech to see how that works with the MadRock.
Both have been great ropes so far, and both have easily been pulled down from the tree once I've descended.
The only difference is that for some reason, the Canyon Elite wants to always slide down the tree, when I'm climbing. I'm mainly "practice-climbing" Shagbark Hickories, & Chestnut Oaks, which both have pretty rough bark. I even removed my quick link from the Canyon Elite, to lighten it up to see if that made a difference, which it didn't. Climbing with that & advancing my tether/rappel rope is kind of "fiddly" for me. Not a big deal, because I don't care how long it takes to get to hunting height-I'm not a speed demon!
But, I've pretty much decided that it will be a great pre-set rope, where I can climb with it & cinch it down ahead of time (with a stopper,) & leave it up there. For my pre-sets, if I'm going to leave the rappel rope on the tree (especially on public land,) I coil it up about 12 'or so from ground level, & hang it on one of my Wild Edge steps. Then when I go back, I use a lineman's belt & tether to get that far up, uncoil & drop the rappel line, & use that with the lineman's belt to go the rest of the way up.
The Resc Tech works fine-A little small to grab with my gloved hands, ( I ALWAYS wear gloves when climbing,) but very manageable. And, it doesn't seem to want to slip down the tree while climbing as easily as the Canyon Elite.
I personally have experienced no issues climbing or rappelling down when used with the Safeguard.
Then, because I am a hopeless gear junkie, I saw this stuff on another thread, & decided that I needed to try it as well:
Glider Climbing Rope10.5mm / Camoforest / 660 Feet
Glider Climbing Rope by MAXIM; It is incredibly durable, making it a great choice for a dynamic rope that will last a long time and hold up to abuse while sport or trad climbing. Glider Climbing Ropes give the feeling of lighter weight as you pull the rope through protection on sport routes.
It's the first dynamic rope that I've tried, and so far, I'm very pleased with it. It's bigger, (10.5mm) so easier to grab & advance up the tree. Grips the tree very well, works well with the MadRock, & I can feel the stretch in it when I do a "less-than-adequate" job of starting/stopping my descents!
I am lucky enough to have access to private land here in PA & OH so I can do pre-sets, so all of this rope will get used, but so far, if I'm going in "cold," & have to find a tree to climb, my favorites are the Glider rope, followed by the Resc Tech!
Hope this helps!
I've never climbed on Canyon Elite, but I guess it's close enough to the C-IV I use. With a delta link. I haven't climbed your species but have spent a lot of time in oaks and conifers. Lots of threads on keeping your rope from loosening, but what works for me is a light bungee loop. I Prussic it onto my line so I can hook it into my Delta link, thereby keeping it from loosening and sliding down the tree. A bit more fiddley than using an Ohm, but it works very well. Of course, you won't need this on a preset.
Appreciate the comments! I actually ordered a throw ball kit today on Amazon, & absolutely agree with not leaving my ropes up for an extended period of time.
When I leave a rope up, it's usually on private land, although I have done it on public land-a wildlife area 5 min from my house where most folks (hikers & bird watchers) never go off of the trails because it's too thick,) & because I plan on coming back in the the next day or 2 -never more than 2-4 days tops. If it's longer than that, I tie paracord on the end of the rappel rope before I loosen it & set a pull up loop...
The problem with that is I don't always remember to mark the tree on my OnX Hunt app before I leave, so, full disclosure...there's probably 7-9 trees out there with loops on 'em & I don't remember where they are!
When I leave a rope up, it's usually on private land, although I have done it on public land-a wildlife area 5 min from my house where most folks (hikers & bird watchers) never go off of the trails because it's too thick,) & because I plan on coming back in the the next day or 2 -never more than 2-4 days tops. If it's longer than that, I tie paracord on the end of the rappel rope before I loosen it & set a pull up loop...
The problem with that is I don't always remember to mark the tree on my OnX Hunt app before I leave, so, full disclosure...there's probably 7-9 trees out there with loops on 'em & I don't remember where they are!
Iron_llama
Well-Known Member
The problem with that is I don't always remember to mark the tree on my OnX Hunt app before I leave, so, full disclosure...there's probably 7-9 trees out there with loops on 'em & I don't remember where they are!
A combination of reflective tacks, scent dispensers, flagging tape, and (very judiciously) trimming back shooting lanes, should help you re-locate your trees. Before I got into saddles I made a lot of brush blinds; when I come back to a property I've hunted in the past it's not uncommon for me to say, "huh, this looks like a good spot to set up a... wow, looks like I already did!"
How blatent I go depends on how many other hunters I see on that property. I've never lost a tree, and I want to make sure I don't leave any litter out after the season ends.
How much bulkier is the Glider than say Oplux or Resc Tech? Can you post a comparison pic? I'm one sticking this year and use a push pole to advance my tether so I'm looking to upgrade from my Oplux to something beefier and stiffer. Thanks.I decided to learn how to rappel during this off-season, so I bought the kit from EWO that included a MadRock Safeguard & the 9mm Sterling Canyon Elite.
I also got 35' of 8mm Teufelburger Resc Tech to see how that works with the MadRock.
Both have been great ropes so far, and both have easily been pulled down from the tree once I've descended.
The only difference is that for some reason, the Canyon Elite wants to always slide down the tree, when I'm climbing. I'm mainly "practice-climbing" Shagbark Hickories, & Chestnut Oaks, which both have pretty rough bark. I even removed my quick link from the Canyon Elite, to lighten it up to see if that made a difference, which it didn't. Climbing with that & advancing my tether/rappel rope is kind of "fiddly" for me. Not a big deal, because I don't care how long it takes to get to hunting height-I'm not a speed demon!
But, I've pretty much decided that it will be a great pre-set rope, where I can climb with it & cinch it down ahead of time (with a stopper,) & leave it up there. For my pre-sets, if I'm going to leave the rappel rope on the tree (especially on public land,) I coil it up about 12 'or so from ground level, & hang it on one of my Wild Edge steps. Then when I go back, I use a lineman's belt & tether to get that far up, uncoil & drop the rappel line, & use that with the lineman's belt to go the rest of the way up.
The Resc Tech works fine-A little small to grab with my gloved hands, ( I ALWAYS wear gloves when climbing,) but very manageable. And, it doesn't seem to want to slip down the tree while climbing as easily as the Canyon Elite.
I personally have experienced no issues climbing or rappelling down when used with the Safeguard.
Then, because I am a hopeless gear junkie, I saw this stuff on another thread, & decided that I needed to try it as well:
Glider Climbing Rope10.5mm / Camoforest / 660 Feet
Glider Climbing Rope by MAXIM; It is incredibly durable, making it a great choice for a dynamic rope that will last a long time and hold up to abuse while sport or trad climbing. Glider Climbing Ropes give the feeling of lighter weight as you pull the rope through protection on sport routes.
It's the first dynamic rope that I've tried, and so far, I'm very pleased with it. It's bigger, (10.5mm) so easier to grab & advance up the tree. Grips the tree very well, works well with the MadRock, & I can feel the stretch in it when I do a "less-than-adequate" job of starting/stopping my descents!
I am lucky enough to have access to private land here in PA & OH so I can do pre-sets, so all of this rope will get used, but so far, if I'm going in "cold," & have to find a tree to climb, my favorites are the Glider rope, followed by the Resc Tech!
Hope this helps!
backstrap19
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2019
- Messages
- 446
I used Resc Tech for 2 seasons to rappel. Loved it most of the time. It stores well, easy to work with, and works in the mad rock, even though "out of spec". HOWEVER, when it gets wet, it is NOT a fun ride. I ditched it and went with CIV because of the problems when it gets wet. Just my 2 cents.
I'll post a "side-by-side" photo of the 3 ropes I have, but won't be home to do that until Mon. night...please stand by!
In the mean time, I would say that the Glider (10.5mm) is much bulkier than the Resc Tech (8mm), & only slightly bulkier than the Canyon Elite (9mm.)
As promised...
What we have here are 30 ft (give or take 4-6 inches) of each rope. Left to right, they are Maxim Glider (dynamic,10.5mm,) Maxim Canyon Elite (static, 9mm,) and Teufelberger Resc Tech (static, 8mm.)
I use a roll pouch (beaston's, by the way, which is a GREAT pouch-he has a thread in the Classifieds.) Anyway, I normally coil the rope between my hand & elbow, & put it in the pouch. The coiled ends stick out a little on both sides, & I put the link & loop ends inside. So far that hasn't been a problem for me-I've experienced no "hangups," & when I get to the tree it's just too easy to dump all or part of the rope out of the roll pouch & start on my way up.
But for you dump pouch hunters, I folded the coil in half & used a rubber band to "simulate" its approximate size in a dump pouch. The approximate "bundle" measurements are as follows:
Glider- 9.75" L x 4.75" W x 3.5" H
Canyon Elite- 9" L x 4" W x 3" H
Resc Tech- 8.75" L x 3.5" W x 2.75" H
Note- the photo was taken at an angle, measurements were taken looking straight down at each bundle.
These bundles are probably NOT as compressed as they could be, but they are close. You won't get a 30 ft bundle significantly smaller than what you see here, IMO. Hopefully this gives you an idea on these 3 ropes.
What we have here are 30 ft (give or take 4-6 inches) of each rope. Left to right, they are Maxim Glider (dynamic,10.5mm,) Maxim Canyon Elite (static, 9mm,) and Teufelberger Resc Tech (static, 8mm.)
I use a roll pouch (beaston's, by the way, which is a GREAT pouch-he has a thread in the Classifieds.) Anyway, I normally coil the rope between my hand & elbow, & put it in the pouch. The coiled ends stick out a little on both sides, & I put the link & loop ends inside. So far that hasn't been a problem for me-I've experienced no "hangups," & when I get to the tree it's just too easy to dump all or part of the rope out of the roll pouch & start on my way up.
But for you dump pouch hunters, I folded the coil in half & used a rubber band to "simulate" its approximate size in a dump pouch. The approximate "bundle" measurements are as follows:
Glider- 9.75" L x 4.75" W x 3.5" H
Canyon Elite- 9" L x 4" W x 3" H
Resc Tech- 8.75" L x 3.5" W x 2.75" H
Note- the photo was taken at an angle, measurements were taken looking straight down at each bundle.
These bundles are probably NOT as compressed as they could be, but they are close. You won't get a 30 ft bundle significantly smaller than what you see here, IMO. Hopefully this gives you an idea on these 3 ropes.
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John RB
Well-Known Member
Nice collection. By my caliper, although Canyon Elite is sold as a 9mm rope, it's really almost 10, with an average measurement of 9.9. RescTech and Oplux are almost identical although I have a slight preference towards RT for any doubled rope connection and Elite for a single rope application. Sampson Predator is also a great single rope.
To the original poster, the ideal choice of a rope will be contingent on what we want to use it for and with in terms of friction device, rappel device or hitches. For example, I will rappel on 7mm ropes but prefer something 9mm or thicker for most single rope applications.
My main rule is that no matter what rope i use on a given day and no matter how i climb, consider my one rope to be my lifeline. It's not a tether... they are too short ... and it's not just a Rappel rope that we only use on the way down. It's the first thing on the tree and the last thing off the tree, and its always connected and if anything goes wrong, i can't fall, not even a few inches, cuz there isn't that much slack, ever, and i can always get safely to ground no matter what went wrong. I encourage everyone to look at their own systems and try to make that the case. When I hear that someone got hurt because a device we have our feet on fails or we slip off it, I consider that user error. They aren't life safety devices. If they were, they would be as strong as our carabiners. And when I see nothing but a lineman's belt, or less, on the way up... well, that's not a chance I would take.
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I agree! That's why, whatever rappel rope I use, it's the first thing that goes around the tree. I like to be able to "bail out," at any time, for any reason!
backstrap19
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2019
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This is very good food for thought for everyone. Thanks for sharing this wisdom!
My nephew is a Pittsburgh city Firefighter and they use the F4 and practice with it more than one time. I don't think they would rappel out a five story building on a device that they haven't practices with. If it is shock loaded with a fall they would replace it. The disclaimer is written by lawyers . Common sense would tell you that you just don't use something without trying it. Would you climb and rappel out of a tree without practicing with your device first ? I don't think so .
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Wasn't implying you should? In fact I was stating you shouldn't.