Backing up your rappel system.

[CharlieTN]

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I was actually one of the first people to bring up this warning on this forum. However I will say that as I envision their intended purpose, I can absotely see why they warn against it. In any climbing belay system, part of what makes them work is that the overall system is designed to give a softer catch to the climber, from the rope itself with it’s built in stretch, even to the belay device and the reaction time for the belayer to lock off and catch the climber. If you put a hitch below the device then you take out part of that system. As i watched the video, and as I think through more and more of how and when we would lock it off, in a static application with very little chance of actual shock loading, then I feel that it would be perfectly fine to back up the device, although I personally feel it unnecessary and don’t without any issues.

 

[Brocky]

To easily release a bound up hitch you need to take your weight off of it. You can simply do this by correctly wrapping the rope around one foot, which locks it off and you can stand up to loosen the hitch.
With the rope on the inside of the foot, raise the rope a little and wrap it over the top of the foot, and then around under the foot, locking the rope going down under the rope coming from the top. It’s not just taking the rope under the foot and wrapping it around the foot. The top method is how it should look, NOT THE BOTTOM ONE.


With the rope in place, raise your foot up and take the slack out, point your toe down and don’t let your ankle turn, keep your foot under yourself, and stand up. It works great with a little practice, it can also be used to ascend the rope like a foot ascender.

 

[jhunter13]

I rappel with a friction hitch above a munter. Simple, easy.

 

[Islandshooter]

I do so I dont forget it at the top.

Yep, same here

 

[jphillips97]

I watched this on the tube the other night. Have you guys seen this video? If so what do you think? Agree or disagree. This season I'm using the the Cornell hitch with a tending small carabiner. Last year before I found this method I would use this knot tying method like he shows in this video while I rappeled and stopped to pull my sticks of the tree on the way down.

I hear people talk about redundant bridges and two tethers and back up knots.... At some point, if you cannot trust your gear, you should consider hunting off the ground. I do not back up my safe guard because a loaded safeguard does not release or slip. YMMV

 

[SNIPERBBB]

I hear people talk about redundant bridges and two tethers and back up knots.... At some point, if you cannot trust your gear, you should consider hunting off the ground. I do not back up my safe guard because a loaded safeguard does not release or slip. YMMV

The reason why you back up a belay device is when you know you will be unloading the device. Rappelling you can't unload the device unless you're body gets caught on something. Ascending on a belay you do temporarily unload the device on each move upward. At hunting height when you're on a platform you can unload the device.

 

[jphillips97]

The reason why you back up a belay device is when you know you will be unloading the device. Rappelling you can't unload the device unless you're body gets caught on something. Ascending on a belay you do temporarily unload the device on each move upward. At hunting height when you're on a platform you can unload the device.

My device is never unloaded at height unless I am controlling it. Look at the amount of movement it takes him to cause a slide. He literally opens the gate with his hands. In his video he could not make it slip without pulling the lever.