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ascender for 5mm rope
- Thread starter prvance
- Start date
I think a better question might be, have you found a 5mm rope that is safe to ascend on? I don't know of any ascenders for 5mm rope. I think the arborist associations have said 5400 lbs should be the breaking strength of a life support rope. I always look at 10:1 to be a safe ratio. Two people, as in rescue, hanging from a rope would be 400 lbs so 10 times is 4000 lbs. 22kN or 4800 lbs is another standard in rock climbing or is that 24kN? If you are in this range you should be good. I have climbed a tree on 8mm Beal rope which I found someone say breaks at 1700 lbs. I weigh 175 so I thought is was OK but I went to 8.5mm rope for more safety. 8mm Oplux rope has a breaking strength of 5400 to meet the first standard. I probably answered more than asked. Sorry if that is the case.
You aren't likely to find an ascender for a rope smaller than 8 mm because of the standards of certification for climbing equipment
New England Tech Cord 5mm
This is a 5mm diameter cord with a smooth polyester cover and a 100% Technora core. VERY STRONG for it's size. The avg. break strength is a touch over 4,700 lbs! This is the cord of a hundred uses. Because it is so strong it is perfect for the following applications: Emergency rapelling Mini...
www.knotandrope.com
I tried it out this weekend and worked great with 7/64 amsteel prusik but is hard to adjust for lineman and tether. Rappelled good with an 8 double wrapped. 100 ft weighs 1.57 lbs and all will fit in a small pouch on my saddle.
Great. It sounds like you have it all figured out. I can't help with an ascender suggestion.
Another consideration is one of friction really goes down as diameter decreases. I am rappelling on a device rated for 8mm and would be very reluctant to go any smaller personally. Be careful and test at a low height.
New England Tech Cord 5mm
This is a 5mm diameter cord with a smooth polyester cover and a 100% Technora core. VERY STRONG for it's size. The avg. break strength is a touch over 4,700 lbs! This is the cord of a hundred uses. Because it is so strong it is perfect for the following applications: Emergency rapelling Mini...
I got some of this rope in 6mm for a friction hitch. I made an eye to eye hitch and all I have to say is good luck getting it to budge. I tested it at 3 feet and it was strong. Great I thought...made it as my main friction hitch. Got to 20 feet in the tree and as I put my weight into it it did well for about 3 feet. Then nada, nothing...I was frozen in the tree suspended 17 feet up. Good thing I had put my stick and platform on my saddle. Put my stick on the tree, and had my friction hitch from aero hunter. Pulled my tether out and hooked up. I grunted and farted getting that 6 mm cord off of my 9mm HTP rope. I thought about cutting it but then I realized that it broke my axe cutting it (I’m kidding)...so I took about 6-7 minutes to loosen it. Put my arrow hunter eye to eye Hitch on my rope and walked down the tree.
That 6mm rope is still on my basement wall...every time I look at I shudder.
If you do use it... bring your chain saw. Just saying.
Sounds like you were on a single line and this why SRT devices add additional friction to allow the hitch to be loosened. Weight has to be reform the hitch before trying to move it. DRT the hitch sees half the friction and this contributes to the hitch moving freely and gripping when weighted.
I tried drt with this rope too but the Blake's hitch wouldn't bite and then when it did it wouldn't release. And knots are a devil to get out of the rope. It's a stiff rope. But works great for lineman's rope because of the stiffness.
Yup...single line rappel down. I used the one stick method up the tree and at dark i rappelled down...well tried to. Learned a valuable lesson that day.
Good idea to carry a toothed ascender or a ropeman to get your weight off a friction hitch or a jammed belay device. Thanks for posting all the problems. It can help others get prepared for when they get stuck up a tree. This is not usually an emergency. A little calm thought can usually reveal a way down. Use what you have.
I know the latest craze is to use Amsteel for everything I think there are better choices for prussics or hitches. The key to hitches is to match the diameter of the prussic for optimum performance with a given climbing line for example I find 8 -9 mm works great with a 11-11.7mm rope and also I am finding a 5.5mm hitch cord works great with a 8mm Oplux rope. Also do yourself a favor and perhaps learn how to tie a Michocan (basically a Blake's with eyes) it tends well and grips reliably. Prussics are great and have their place in climbing but as far as efficiency there are better hitch choices in my opinion.
Friction hitches are usually made of heat resistant cord such as Aramid. Friction builds heat and Amsteel is heat UNSTABLE. I wouldn't use it for a sliding friction hitch but I don't want to fall out of a tree either.