Rappel device testing with oplux

[GTel]

I’ve done several hundred rappel tests over the past two months and wanted to share my findings. Using oplux 8mm, Sterling Hollow Block autoblock (French prusik) below the ATC and every combination of seven different tube style belay/rappel devices and six different carabiners. Testing without an autoblock was done from 6', testing with an autoblock was done from 25'. Nothing scientific here, just me testing a bunch of different devices to see what works best for me and makes me feel safe.

My main goal was to see if any of these rappel/biner combinations would lock me in place without the autoblock engaged. The only one that did was the Edelrid Micro Jul, BUT, it's thin stainless-steel walls chewed up the aluminum biner pretty good (first image below) after only a few rappels, which looks like it could chew up my rope pretty badly, so that biner has been decommissioned. It probably wouldn't have the same effect on a steel biner, but it also was not a very smooth rap down because of too much friction. It also required you to rotate the device in order to unlock/descend, so it was a two-handed operation. Since I leave my main prusik connected to the tether above the ATC during a rappel, I already need to keep my left hand on that to keep it loose on the way down. This is my backup if anything goes wrong with the ATC/autoblock and works great for me.

The seven belay/rappel devices tested:
Black Diamond ATC Sport
Black Diamond ATC-XP
Ito Rocky ATC XP
Edelrid Micro Jul
Petzl Verso
Metolius BRD
Grivel Master Mono

Five carabiners tested:
Madrock
Black Diamond Vaporlock Magnetron
Black Diamond Gridlock Magnetron
Grivel Mega HMS Twin Gate
Black Diamond Rocklock Magnetron

I found that biners with round edges didn't seem to provide as much friction as the ones with the T shaped ridges. The
BD Vaporlock Magnetron has the T shape throughout the entire biner; the Grivel Mega HMS has the T shape only at the top, as shown here.

.
Using two carabiner's in the "3" mode shown below provided even more friction, but as I got better and built up more confidence, I found the single biner worked just as well.

While the rappel devices all worked well with this setup, the ATC Sport and Grivel Master Mono required the least amount of force with my breaking hand and gave the smoothest rap down. They were also the lightest/smallest of them all.

Note: I'm not interested in using/testing mechanical belay devices, simply because I was only able to find one recall on tubular style devices from the past two decades, but found several recalls on mechanicals, so I trust the tube style/autoblock combo more because it has no moving parts.

In summary, the ATC Sport and Grivel Master Mono were keepers when combined with the Black Diamond Vaporlock Magnetron and the Grivel Mega HMS Twin Gate (when used with narrow end up aginst the rap device). I purchased the Grivel from DanO and the ATC Sport on Amazon.

What's your favorite tubular ATC device with oplux?

Sent from up in a tree

 

[Exhumis]

This is quality info right here. Thanks!

 

[Jrybicki]

Thanks for posting your testing. Ive been looking into one sticking up and rappelling down and was curious myself what would work best. Unfortunately planning/paying for my wedding/old lady didnt give the okay to buy a bunch of different equipment just to test. Trying to get her into saddle hunting and finding the system that is easiest for her that she also has confidence in... she hates the climber we got her a few years ago but she tolerates it.

 

[cspot]

You sure did a lot of testing. Thanks for posting. Have you experimented with different autoblocks?

 

[lhold450]

I started with a figure 8 with the oplux, even doubling through I had to use a substantial amount of braking. I then went to the micro jul with a rounded carabiner and autoblock, even then I wasn't getting enough friction to hold me without locking the rope when I stopped. I occasionally would rappel down after climbing with a knaider/swaider, so having to lock off every 5 foot was aggravating. I went to a madrock safeguard and love it. I agree, mechanical devices can fail, but that doesn't stop us from hoping in cars or elevators everyday...

 

[Gumbymedic]

Using oplux 8mm, Sterling Hollow Block autoblock (French prusik) below the ATC

Do you have any issue with the Sterling Hollow Block as an Auto-block on the Oplux?
Mine does not seem to grab as quickly and as tightly as I would like. I should add that I have not done nearly as much testing as you have

 

[GTel]

Do you have any issue with the Sterling Hollow Block as an Auto-block on the Oplux?
Mine does not seem to grab as quickly and as tightly as I would like. I should add that I have not done nearly as much testing as you have

I use 5 wraps and haven't had an issue with slipping. Maybe a little bit when I first started so perhaps the ropes broke in a bit and some of the slickness wore off after a bunch of rappels. That could also be the same reason I needed to use two carabiner's when I first started but don't seem to need the second anymore. I'll give my beal jammy a shot tomorrow as the autoblock and let you know if I notice any significant difference. Which rappel device are you using?

Sent from up in a tree

 

[GTel]

You sure did a lot of testing. Thanks for posting. Have you experimented with different autoblocks?

Just the French prusik since it was the one most of the climbing shops recommended and never felt that was a week link. Will definitely give a few others a shot but I think they would probably all work about the same and the French prusik is probably the easiest to tie in the dark.

Sent from up in a tree

 

[GTel]

I started with a figure 8 with the oplux, even doubling through I had to use a substantial amount of braking. I then went to the micro jul with a rounded carabiner and autoblock, even then I wasn't getting enough friction to hold me without locking the rope when I stopped. I occasionally would rappel down after climbing with a knaider/swaider, so having to lock off every 5 foot was aggravating. I went to a madrock safeguard and love it. I agree, mechanical devices can fail, but that doesn't stop us from hoping in cars or elevators everyday...

I should clarify and say that the micro jul locked up the most when double line rappelling like in this photo.

Unlike my F150 that was built to protect me from serious injury in most car accidents, my body doesn't have the same built in protections for handling falls. I also trust my driving skills a whole lot more than my rappelling skills! As for elevators.. well, I only live an hour and a half from Manhattan, but I avoid that place as much as I can.

Sent from up in a tree

 

[Gumbymedic]

Which rappel device are you using?

I'm using a Madrock Safeguard. I understand your reasoning for using an ATC but I really like the Safeguard even though it's not rated for Oplux. Quite a few people say you don't have to back up a Safeguard but I like the warm fuzzy feeling of having a backup

 

[Flee]

I used the atc xp with 9mm climbing rated rope(forget the brand) and the black diamond positron biners. I didn’t double it up. I used it like the “0” or “1” picture above. I think I just used a regular prussik but can’t remember. I didn’t have any trouble stopping to take off my WE steps in the way down. Was actually fun the more I got used to it. I’m glad the oplux is working well I think I’m going to order that for this year. I like the 9mm but it is pretty hefty and bulky.

 

[Tapeworm]

I’ve done several hundred rappel tests over the past two months and wanted to share my findings. Using oplux 8mm, Sterling Hollow Block autoblock (French prusik) below the ATC and every combination of seven different tube style belay/rappel devices and six different carabiners. Testing without an autoblock was done from 6', testing with an autoblock was done from 25'. Nothing scientific here, just me testing a bunch of different devices to see what works best for me and makes me feel safe.

My main goal was to see if any of these rappel/biner combinations would lock me in place without the autoblock engaged. The only one that did was the Edelrid Micro Jul, BUT, it's thin stainless-steel walls chewed up the aluminum biner pretty good (first image below) after only a few rappels, which looks like it could chew up my rope pretty badly, so that biner has been decommissioned. It probably wouldn't have the same effect on a steel biner, but it also was not a very smooth rap down because of too much friction. It also required you to rotate the device in order to unlock/descend, so it was a two-handed operation. Since I leave my main prusik connected to the tether above the ATC during a rappel, I already need to keep my left hand on that to keep it loose on the way down. This is my backup if anything goes wrong with the ATC/autoblock and works great for me.

The seven belay/rappel devices tested:
Black Diamond ATC Sport
Black Diamond ATC-XP
Ito Rocky ATC XP
Edelrid Micro Jul
Petzl Verso
Metolius BRD
Grivel Master Mono

Five carabiners tested:
Madrock
Black Diamond Vaporlock Magnetron
Black Diamond Gridlock Magnetron
Grivel Mega HMS Twin Gate
Black Diamond Rocklock Magnetron

I found that biners with round edges didn't seem to provide as much friction as the ones with the T shaped ridges. The
BD Vaporlock Magnetron has the T shape throughout the entire biner; the Grivel Mega HMS has the T shape only at the top, as shown here.

.
Using two carabiner's in the "3" mode shown below provided even more friction, but as I got better and built up more confidence, I found the single biner worked just as well.

While the rappel devices all worked well with this setup, the ATC Sport and Grivel Master Mono required the least amount of force with my breaking hand and gave the smoothest rap down. They were also the lightest/smallest of them all.

Note: I'm not interested in using/testing mechanical belay devices, simply because I was only able to find one recall on tubular style devices from the past two decades, but found several recalls on mechanicals, so I trust the tube style/autoblock combo more because it has no moving parts.

In summary, the ATC Sport and Grivel Master Mono were keepers when combined with the Black Diamond Vaporlock Magnetron and the Grivel Mega HMS Twin Gate (when used with narrow end up aginst the rap device). I purchased the Grivel from DanO and the ATC Sport on Amazon.

What's your favorite tubular ATC device with oplux?

Sent from up in a tree

Thanks for the info


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[dlist777]

Great info. Thx for taking the time

 

[Chrighton]

For sure good stuff. I've had issues with the hollow block gripping when tied as an autoblock. I was going to try the 6mm orange version, but this lead me to believe it may be my carabiner. I will try some different ones. It may also be the slickness of brand new Oplux rope.

 

[trainhardlivefree]

I'm running Oplux for rappelling and played with several different ideas too.

Currently what's working best for me is a Grivel Mono ATC with 13.5 Sterling Hollowblock

The issue I had was how to tie the hollowblock and get a good bite, the standard autoblock wrap would not hold.

Using a klemheist hitch with the hollowblock on the Oplux works great for me though

 

[Aaronpaul14]

I mentioned this on another post...

On doublesteps.com and sterling the hollow block is recommended for prusik or klemheist hitches.

 

[GTel]

For sure good stuff. I've had issues with the hollow block gripping when tied as an autoblock. I was going to try the 6mm orange version, but this lead me to believe it may be my carabiner. I will try some different ones. It may also be the slickness of brand new Oplux rope.

What rappel device are you using? I had the autoblock slip as well with several of the devices I tried, because they required so much breaking force. If you read up on the climbing forums or speak with a climbing instructor, you will learn that rappelling doesn't _require_ a backup because you are supposed to be able to control your speed and easily stop yourself by pulling down on the break line. Some even suggest that using an autoblock leads to complacency and can cause more accidents (seems many of rappel accidents are from improperly using the autoblock) and therefore recommend a fireman's belay instead, which isn't an option for us unless we're hunting with a partner. In our case, we _need_ the autoblock if we want to easily stop on the way down to removed steps, etc. Further compounding the need is when using a slick 8mm rope such as oplux. Try rappelling with a half inch or larger rope and the weight alone of the break line is often enough to stop you.

This is why I decided to focus my testing on finding a device that would require the least amount of breaking force rather than testing which knots held the strongest.

On a safety note, makes sure to ALWAYS fully weight load your device and autoblock before you unclip your main prusik from the tether. This ensures that it's working correctly before you unclip. I choose to leave the main prusik connected the entire rap down.

Sent from up in a tree

 

[GTel]

I mentioned this on another post...

On doublesteps.com and sterling the hollow block is recommended for prusik or klemheist hitches.

I think that's what everyone is using it for, no? And one of the reasons it's so popular in the climbing world is because it's melting temp is 932 degrees Fahrenheit. The ATC can heat up significantly when doing 150-300 foot rappels and melt other cordlettes, but not something we really need to be concerned with while hunting, unless you like to hunt from a VERY high hunting height

Sent from up in a tree

 

[GTel]

You sure did a lot of testing. Thanks for posting. Have you experimented with different autoblocks?

So I tested today and found out why I like the French prusik better than the klemheist. With the French prusik, I keep one end of the hollow block loop connected to the biner the entire time I'm in the tree and the biner is connected to my linesman loop. The one end stays connected while wrapping it around the rappel line, then I connect the other end. With the klemheist, you have to fully detach it from the biner to thread it through the other end of the loop. Sounds trivial at first, but I managed to drop the hollow block during one of my tests today. I stood there on my step ladder, looking at it lying on the ground, and being very happy I wasn't 20' up a tree. For the rest of the tests where I didn't drop it, I didn't notice any difference than with the French prusik. Being that the Grivel Mono doesn't require a lot of break force to hold me, just about any type of autoblock would probably work well. PS - I weigh 185lbs.

Sent from up in a tree

 

[Aaronpaul14]

I think that's what everyone is using it for, no? And one of the reasons it's so popular in the climbing world is because it's melting temp is 932 degrees Fahrenheit. The ATC can heat up significantly when doing 150-300 foot rappels and melt other cordlettes, but not something we really need to be concerned with while hunting, unless you like to hunt from a VERY high hunting height

Sent from up in a tree

I heard several have tried using it with autoblock/French prusik hitch. I couldn’t get it to bite that way but seems better with klemheist.