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What is current "state of the art" rappel gear for SH?

slonstdy said:
I like how easy it is taking up slack with the ATC tending the schwabish. It's much better than the Madrock. Think I'm going to ditch the Madrock and go back to the tried and true ATC/friction hitch combo.
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I wouldnt say much better....its literally pulling a lever....i dont know if you could get much better than that.
 
Chandler96 said:
I wouldnt say much better....its literally pulling a lever....i dont know if you could get much better than that.
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Tending slack to shorten distance from device or friction hitch to tether girth hitch around tree. Lever is only for rappel down, not upward motion
 
slonstdy said:
Tending slack to shorten distance from device or friction hitch to tether girth hitch around tree. Lever is only for rappel down, not upward motion
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just pulling up on your rope....i dont know how you improve on just pulling up your rope.
 
VASteve said:
I switched over to this after seeing that video and I really like it. I had been just switching over from tether to my ATC/Rappel set up at the end of the hunt, but now I just hunt from the set up in the video and don't have to switch over.
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I climb on my friction hitch and install a figure-8 at height, above my climbing hitch, in an extended rappel configuration. I generally like having my backup below my descender. But... using my descender as a progress capture and a tender for my friction hitch is efficient.

I'm probably not going to do it before this season as I've got to rein in my spending but next time I'm at REI I'm probably going to come home with a Guide and shiny new carabiner(s). because you can never have too many carabiners.
 
Dmathews87 said:
For anyone interested in the schwabisch combo,he does a good job of breaking it down more here:

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Interesting. He say's in another video that the Madrock instructions say to not put anything above or below the Safeguard, which they do (more than likely for liability reasons). But in this video, he got a response back from Madrock saying a prusik above is recommended as a backup ...

 
skyjacker said:
Interesting. He say's in another video that the Madrock instructions say to not put anything above or below the Safeguard, which they do (more than likely for liability reasons). But in this video, he got a response back from Madrock saying a prusik above is recommended as a backup ...

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madrock probably never intended for hunters to use their equipment. they are probably covering all their ass's now
 
I'm a rope access tech and own a small arb company. I take a more cautious approach than others. I would never use a Madrock for saddle hunting. I would however use a GriGri/GriGri+ at height (not for onesticking), because they can be "locked off."

My go to is the Elderid Megawatt. Auto locking, hands free device. Can work from 8.9mm-11.7mm ropeIMG_5908.jpeg
 
TreeRecon said:
I'm a rope access tech and own a small arb company. I take a more cautious approach than others. I would never use a Madrock for saddle hunting. I would however use a GriGri/GriGri+ at height (not for onesticking), because they can be "locked off."

My go to is the Elderid Megawatt. Auto locking, hands free device. Can work from 8.9mm-11.7mm ropeView attachment 92489
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that thing is 220 dollars and almost a pound of weight.......
 
SNIPERBBB said:
With everyone running the skinny ropes now, the F4 is really a nice option. Just so many ways you can use it, either in a 2TC, SRT system or as a rapelling sytem for stick or even climber stands
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While it's *probably* safe, the F4 was not tested to the same standards as other descenders. It only has the NFPA cert and no others. NFPA has no tests around supporting a weight for X period of time. But they do have drop tests. To me, I wouldn't feel comfortable hanging off of it for hours.
 
TreeRecon said:
While it's *probably* safe, the F4 was not tested to the same standards as other descenders. It only has the NFPA cert and no others. NFPA has no tests around supporting a weight for X period of time. But they do have drop tests. To me, I wouldn't feel comfortable hanging off of it for hours.
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It's rare that I hang solely off the belay devices. If I do they are backed up with a swabish hitch above the device.
 
skyjacker said:
Interesting. He say's in another video that the Madrock instructions say to not put anything above or below the Safeguard, which they do (more than likely for liability reasons). But in this video, he got a response back from Madrock saying a prusik above is recommended as a backup ...

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They say not to tie a knot or an autoblock on the brake line side. When he reached out to them about using it hands free for self rappel, they recommended a friction hitch placed above the device. It’s not solely a liability thing, if you were to have a dynamic event, an autoblock or hitch on the brake line side, would stop the rope from stretching and pulling itself into the belay device (which allows it better “shock absorption”) which can put too much force on the main pin and cause it to fail. Is it likely any of us would fall far enough? Probably not, however our forces could be high simply because we are usually using static ropes to climb and rappel on….
 
Fl Canopy Stalker said:
They say not to tie a knot or an autoblock on the brake line side. When he reached out to them about using it hands free for self rappel, they recommended a friction hitch placed above the device. It’s not solely a liability thing, if you were to have a dynamic event, an autoblock or hitch on the brake line side, would stop the rope from stretching and pulling itself into the belay device (which allows it better “shock absorption”) which can put too much force on the main pin and cause it to fail. Is it likely any of us would fall far enough? Probably not, however our forces could be high simply because we are usually using static ropes to climb and rappel on….
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You’re sound advise has left an empty space around here. It’s good to see you back in the fold, even if just for a moment.
 
sureshotscott said:
Can't recall if this has been discussed lately, so apologies if this has been covered recently.

I typically climb with Lone Wolf Hand Climber. I would like option to rappel from certain trees where I have to adjust the traction belt during the climb up. Adjusting this belt is a PITA so if weight/bulk penalty of carrying rappel gear is not too high I'd rather just rappel down.

What's the latest/greatest rope and device combination for doing this?
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I tried quite a few options including an ATC, a figure 8 (which I keep as an emergency back up in my back pack), a Madrock safeguard, and a Petzl Gri Gri plus. I’ve used 10mm HTP, 8mm oplux (packs great but that’s about the only advantage to oplux in my opinion) and 9mm pro tac.

I settled on 9mm protac because it handles better than oplux or HTP, it’s stronger than either and it packs down pretty good. And I prefer the Petzl gri gri plus. It’s a little bigger and heavier than the Madrock but there is no comparison between the two when it comes to smoothness of operation. As stated in the Madhunts video attached on page 4, I use a 7mm hitch above my device as a safe way to go completely hands free. A little paracord and a small key chain style carabiner from Home Depot and it’s super easy to tend the hitch while rappelling. Just my two cents. Definitely curious to hear what you end up with and if you enjoy it
 
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