• The SH Membership has gone live. Only SH Members have access to post in the classifieds. All members can view the classifieds. Starting in 2020 only SH Members will be admitted to the annual hunting contest. Current members will need to follow these steps to upgrade: 1. Click on your username 2. Click on Account upgrades 3. Choose SH Member and purchase.
  • We've been working hard the past few weeks to come up with some big changes to our vendor policies to meet the changing needs of our community. Please see the new vendor rules here: Vendor Access Area Rules

Figure of 8 progress capture???

Schemeecho said:
I use the @phatkaw method as well. I really like it. So easy. As far as the second wrap being tight one thing I have done to overcome that issue was to let myself fall into the tree and wrap my legs around it and take some of the pressure off the rope. The I just twist the 8 a bit with my hand towards me a little using the first wrap almost like a fulcrum. It seems to pop out pretty easy . but then again I'm also using 8mm ultra-tech rope. What size rope are you using?
Click to expand...

That makes sense.
I tried from about 3’ the other day and had trouble getting the second wrap to release (8mm UltraTech).

I will say that this kind of reminds me of the auto stop method in post #3 above. I was trying that last year and was having a hard time getting it to release. When I finally muscled it open, it went all the way open and I free fell 12’ flat on my back. I’m a dumbass for not having a backup. I would never run anything like these methods without a backup again. FWIW, YMMV.
 
mtsrunner said:
That makes sense.
I tried from about 3’ the other day and had trouble getting the second wrap to release (8mm UltraTech).

I will say that this kind of reminds me of the auto stop method in post #3 above. I was trying that last year and was having a hard time getting it to release. When I finally muscled it open, it went all the way open and I free fell 12’ flat on my back. I’m a dumbass for not having a backup. I would never run anything like these methods without a backup again. FWIW, YMMV.
Click to expand...

I’ve been working this method lately and each time I use it I like it more and more but there is no way I would use it at hunting height without a backup.
It’s one thing to practice in the summer months without frozen fingers and plenty of day light but throw in cold hands and the dark that’s another story.
It’s very easy to pull out both wraps trying to release the second wrap to go on rapell if you lose that brake hand for what ever reason your going for a ride.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
mtsrunner said:
Oh no. What happened?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Cable change on a melt shop crane.
Was focused a little too much on where my right hand was...
Some whiskers on the old cable grabbed my left glove and sucked my fingers in the block. I was watching where the cable was feeding into the upper sheaves... My own damn fault!
It only takes a split second around that kind of equipment and you're toast.
 
Last edited:
I don’t know. When I shattered both ankles at the same time that was pretty brutal.
I think when I shattered my knee was the worst pain?
The shattered pelvis wasn’t a whole lot of fun either...

I could go on and on.
 
Last edited:
phatkaw said:
I don’t know. When I shattered both ankles at the same time that was pretty brutal.
I think when I shattered my knee was the worst?
The shattered pelvis wasn’t a whole lot of fun either...

I could go on and on.
Click to expand...

Maybe I don’t want to be using your method for rappelling!!! Lol

Hope you heal quickly!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
phatkaw said:
I might not be practicing ‘my’ method for a couple days???
View attachment 49484
Click to expand...
Holy crap man. I have been there. I know your pain, about 20 years ago I ran my my right hand through a table saw while cutting some Luan to make the facial for a set of cabinets I was making. While cutting a 1 inch strip with a run of 40 feet long. My helper decided to drop the Luan that he was supposed to be holding for me' It got bound up in the saw blade so to protect myself as it shot up toward my face I grabbed it as a reflex. the weight of it caused my hand to fall on top of the saw blade. Lost a half inch of my thumb and the first 3 fingers were broken and spun upside down. Took two years of corrective surgery to fix and 1 screw holding my thumb together as well as 1 screws in each knuckle of my fingers. The funny thing was as my hands was healing, I decided to go out with some friends and got a little drunk and closed the car door on the head of the screw that was holding my thumb together in the car door. couldn't get the door open after that so had to call the fire dept. who had to use the jaws of life to separate the door from the door jam. So yeah i feel your pain.
 
Did some testing today since I've been debating swapping my C-IV for Resc Tech. There's nothing wrong with the C-IV but the Resc Tech is slightly thinner, lighter, stronger and should store better in my saddle pouch. It would also eliminate the Madrock and use a Kong Duck to climb and an 8 to rappel.

My first climb I got about 15', looked down and my platform was as the base of the tree. I had to use my 2TC foot loop to take tension off of my climbing rope to switch over to the 8, then rappelled, grabbed the platform and climbed again. Both climbs, the Duck worked well, was smooth on the ascension but does have a slight drop when locking back down. Once at the top, it was easy to switch over to the 8 while standing on the platform then rappel down.

I am torn though if I like this method better.
Pros:
Lighter (hardware and rope)
(Subjectively) more secure at hunting height as the Duck won't slip if tension is removed
Smaller overall with less "stuff" in front of you once at height

Cons:
More steps involved
More hardware required (though still lighter)
If you forget something on the ground or need to rapidly descend, no changeover required with the Madrock
 
MNFarmHunter said:
Did some testing today since I've been debating swapping my C-IV for Resc Tech. There's nothing wrong with the C-IV but the Resc Tech is slightly thinner, lighter, stronger and should store better in my saddle pouch. It would also eliminate the Madrock and use a Kong Duck to climb and an 8 to rappel.

My first climb I got about 15', looked down and my platform was as the base of the tree. I had to use my 2TC foot loop to take tension off of my climbing rope to switch over to the 8, then rappelled, grabbed the platform and climbed again. Both climbs, the Duck worked well, was smooth on the ascension but does have a slight drop when locking back down. Once at the top, it was easy to switch over to the 8 while standing on the platform then rappel down.

I am torn though if I like this method better.
Pros:
Lighter (hardware and rope)
(Subjectively) more secure at hunting height as the Duck won't slip if tension is removed
Smaller overall with less "stuff" in front of you once at height

Cons:
More steps involved
More hardware required (though still lighter)
If you forget something on the ground or need to rapidly descend, no changeover required with the Madrock
Click to expand...
I was conflicted with the same choice and decided to stick with the Madrock as I have become used to it and it has almost no loss when weighting. I use a autoblock on the tail when going down and it is really smooth.
 
I tested my Madrock on my Oplux and it works fine, even if out of spec so I'll most likely stick with it no matter which direction I go with the rope. Once at height, I use a Klemheist safety so it really isn't an issue.

Aside from hunting, this is also my hobby this year and am always looking for ways to multi-purpose things. Since I left my platform on the ground the first climb, I did learn that I could do a modified 2TC/SRT climb using my 2TC foot loop and SRT rope. That way, if I somehow forget my pack which holds my ascender and Mardock, I can still climb and rappel with what I have in my saddle pouches.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top