I've had the Klemheist 'eat' my rope 4, 5 or 6 times in the last few years...
View attachment 97411 This is once, I think I have more pictures in my phone?
Yep, here's another time.
View attachment 97413
I finally had time to play with the Klemheist and had these observations:
1. See photo. I needed 4 wraps on a Klemheist to get usable performance and used 7mm cord on 9.5mm rope. That's a good ratio: 74% Note: don't generally recommend 8mm ropes for single rope applications. Sure, they are plenty strong, but getting enough surface area for adequate hold in wet conditions is a common problem with many hitches using 8mm ropes.
2. When testing with thicker cords, like 90 or 100%, the rope is subject to collape inside the hitch, like you experienced.
3. Flimsy ropes will collapse easier than stiff ropes. I don't recognize the ropes you used. If you don't know the brand and specs of the rope you're on, even if you got it from a saddle supplier, it might not be fit for the application. If the supplier of the rope isn't giving you that information or references to it from the original manufacturer, I wouldn't use the rope or the supplier.
4. Overall, i just don't like the performance. I need 4 wraps for hold but then it gets pretty tight to move after load. As a backup, Hedden outperforms. As a primary friction hitch, I would never use Klemheist given the better alternatives. The Longhorn Agile is getting rave reviews from my team.
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