Kong KISA energy absorber for one-stick climbing

[Boog]

After reading the thread on "The dangers of short, static falls," I started looking into energy absorbers (ripstops an screamers). Along the way I ran across the Kong KISA, an energy absorber that works by friction on the rope rather than threads pulling apart. I decided to give one a try. Here's what it looks like:



The more holes you thread the rope through, the greater the force it takes to make the rope slide. It's designed for use with 11 and 9 mm ropes. I tried it out at ground level with a tether made of Samson Predator and a RC harness and found that with the rope threaded through three holes it didn't slip under my full weight (215 lbs.) even when maneuvering around the tree or if I bounced up and down slightly.

Then I tried to imitate a short fall by standing on a five gallon bucket and jumping off. The rope slid about 6 inches through the KISA and cushioned the fall nicely. I'm 58, and it didn't bother me at all. I repeated the five gallon bucket test several more times with the same result - about 6 inches of rope passed through the KISA before it stopped my fall.

Feeling confident, I decided to try to imitate a fall with the amount of slack I would have during a one-stick climb. (I use the "Cain Method" just like in the video.) As I climb, I make sure to keep my tether attachment point (where it wraps around the tree) at or above my belly button. This introduces around two feet of slack into my tether. To imitate this, I stood on top of a 55 gallon drum with my tether at belly button level and jumped off.



This time, the rope slid 14 inches through the KISA before it stopped my fall. The fall was not uncomfortable. In fact, I tried it a couple more times with the same result. (The white mark on the tether is where the top of the KISA was before I jumped.) Best I could tell, the rope was not damaged or burnt by the friction. (Don't worry, it's an old tether I only use for messing around at ground level, so I won't be using it at hunting height.)

This video shows a little more rigorous testing of the KISA. It's in Russian (I think), so I have no idea what the men are saying. The drop test begins around the 1 minute mark in the video.

THINGS I LIKE ABOUT THE KISA:
1. Replaces friction hitch
2. Shorter than my friction hitch (distel with 24" Beeline eye-&-eye)
3. Way shorter than a screamer attached to a friction hitch
4. Reusable (Screamers are "one and done.")

THINGS I DON'T LIKE:
1. No one-hand adjustment (Though not impossible, it is difficult to move the KISA once you weight it. With a prusik tender, my distel hitch was easy to adjust with one hand.)
2. Metal on metal attachment (The carabiner attaches to the large hole at the bottom of the KISA. I think the noise it makes can be fixed with tape.)

 

[ThereWillBeSpuds]

Awesome! I may have to look into one of these

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[Boog]

Haven't tested it at hunting height, but I think I like it. I have an adjustable rope bridge on my saddle, so the difficulty in adjusting the KISA on the tether isn't a big deal for me.

 

[sojourner]

How difficult is it to move it with two hands after being weighted?

Looks promising for those who have not tried one sticking due to fall factor concerns.

 

[Boog]

You really have to work the rope to loosen it up. Very difficult to do once you've started up the tree. I tried adjusting it when I was only about 5 feet off the ground. Balanced on the stick while I worked it loose. Not really a viable option. I suppose you could use your lineman's belt if you really needed to make a change on your way up the tree, but that adds a lot of "fiddle factor."

I was playing with it this afternoon and found that if I start at the bottom of the tree with only two or three inches between where the rope exits the girth hitch on the tree and the KISA, I wind up with about six or eight inches between them when I get to hunting height (about the same as with my friction hitch).

 

[bj139]

Nice. It looks like you could rappel with that as well although it would be an unauthorized use.

 

[Boog]

I tried it with the rope threaded through just two holes. Still holds my entire weight, but if I bounce a little it starts to slide through slowly. I guess you could pull the rope out of the third hole when you're ready to descend and push yourself down the tree. Difficulty would be pulling all that rope through the hole while still at hunting height.

 

[LarkHarrison243]

If I understand correctly, you have to re-tie the stopper knot every time you change the friction?

 

[Boog]

That's right. If you want to change the number of holes the rope is threaded through, you have to untie the stopper not and retie it after the change.

 

[melocal]

Anyone have experience on this in the rain? I know my safeguard and autoblock are different when wet.

 

[Boog]

The instructions that came with it say that friction increases when the rope is wet. Seems backward to me. Maybe the rope swells up a bit when it gets wet. Haven't tried it with a wet rope.

 

[bj139]

That's right. If you want to change the number of holes the rope is threaded through, you have to untie the stopper not and retie it after the change.

Would this stopper knot be easier to untie? The direction you tie it is important. Be careful.

 

[ThereWillBeSpuds]

Would this stopper knot be easier to untie? The direction you tie it is important. Be careful.

You dont worry about panic grabbing the tag end of that stopper knot? I would at least slip the tag end through the loop so that a panic grab just tightens the loop down on the tag end?

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[bj139]

You dont worry about panic grabbing the tag end of that stopper knot? I would at least slip the tag end through the loop so that a panic grab just tightens the loop down on the tag end?

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I was going to suggest a carabiner through the loop. I am being supported by the Madrock Safeguard with the ascender backup then stopper knot. I have learned to go hands off if anything starts to slip. Climbing with friction hitches taught me that.

 

[Boog]

I've been practicing one-stick climbing with my Kong KISA. One problem I've run into is noise. Even with camo tape on the carabiner there is still a lot of metal-on-metal noise when slack is introduced. A one inch rubber O ring has worked well to hold the carabiner in place. It prevents rattling and it keeps the carabiner from moving into a position where it might get cross loaded.



The other issue has been what to do with the tag end of the tether while climbing. I can't just fold it and tie it up in a loose knot since this would act as a stopper knot preventing the KISA from sliding down the rope in the event of a fall. My solution is a small loop of shock cord tied to the KISA. Tucking the stopper knot in the loop cuts the length of the tag end in half getting it out of the way for climbing, but leaves the tag end free to slide through the holes in a fall.



The more I practice with it, the more I like it. The one disadvantage remains the difficulty of adjustment. The best solution might be to switch to a tether with a friction hitch once at hunting height. My concern in doing this is that I might forget to switch back to the KISA tether before climbing down.

 

[Marmuzz]

[mention]Boog [/mention] Sorry, I’m feeling dense but am having trouble understanding your setup and how this works. Let me see if I have it straight: you have the bottom of the Kisa connected to your bridge by a carabiner, and then you have your tether wound through the Kisa holes, with a tail hanging below the Kisa terminated in a stopper knot? So if you fall with enough force to activate the rope sliding through the holes (setup pending), some of the strain on your tether is dissipated through the Kisa until it hits the stopper knot? So there is no prusik knot involved?


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[Brocky]

I’ve used these for a number of years when I switched to static ropes, but made them a separate system that clipped to the friction hitch. A short length of cord is used that doesn’t needed to be adjusted once set up. I see we used the same practice dummy, but mine stepped off a ladder instead of buckets.
The right size cord is the tricky part, it needs to slip when extra force is generated, but can’t slip when you’re just weighting it statically. Pelican Ropes 8mm Technora cover, nylon core is one that worked for me for the Kisa. The other device is from an older style Via Ferrara set that used two sections of rope, all now use the sewn zipper type.

 

[Boog]

[mention]Boog [/mention] Sorry, I’m feeling dense but am having trouble understanding your setup and how this works. Let me see if I have it straight: you have the bottom of the Kisa connected to your bridge by a carabiner, and then you have your tether wound through the Kisa holes, with a tail hanging below the Kisa terminated in a stopper knot? So if you fall with enough force to activate the rope sliding through the holes (setup pending), some of the strain on your tether is dissipated through the Kisa until it hits the stopper knot? So there is no prusik knot involved?


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Everything you said is exactly the way it works, only I have never slid all the way to the stopper knot. The friction caused by the rope sliding through the holes is sufficient to stop the sliding after around 14". I keep at least two feet of rope between the KISA and the stopper, so I never hit the stopper in my testing.

 

[Boog]

I’ve used these for a number of years when I switched to static ropes, but made them a separate system that clipped to the friction hitch. A short length of cord is used that doesn’t needed to be adjusted once set up. I see we used the same practice dummy, but mine stepped off a ladder instead of buckets.
The right size cord is the tricky part, it needs to slip when extra force is generated, but can’t slip when you’re just weighting it statically. Pelican Ropes 8mm Technora cover, nylon core is one that worked for me for the Kisa. The other device is from an older style Via Ferrara set that used two sections of rope, all now use the sewn zipper type.
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I've been thinking of trying out your idea. It's a real pain to move the KISA on the 11mm predator when I have to adjust for tree diameter. You're right about the tricky part being the rope diameter. I tried 9mm Samson Ultratech, but the KISA wouldn't slide when I jumped off my bucket! Ouch!

I'm guessing the tag end on your KISA setup is wound up inside the little black case to keep it from dangling?

 

[Brocky]

My first cord was also too big, decided to go small and work my way up in diameter after that. Right about the older style phone cases, didn’t want the dangle and they were mounted near device to make sure the cord couldn’t get snagged while deploying. I tried mostly fall factor 1 jumps and only had about a foot and a half slide through, figured it would be at least double with a ff2, which hopefully you don’t get into, so had 6’ in the reserve, just in case.