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Rappelling 101

What is the recommended size of the "eye" on a rappelling rope?

Mine is a figure 8 on a bite with the hole about fist sized. Only thing that goes through it is the tag end anyway.

My short rope (tether/lineman) is similar but the eye is probably 2 fists wide since I might pass a ropeman etc through it.


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I'm curious, for those of you that rappel it seems like most people use the rapell line as your tether. Is that true? Other than the obvious advantage of not having to pack a separate tether why wouldn't you just use the rapell line? Thanks in advance
 
I'm curious, for those of you that rappel it seems like most people use the rapell line as your tether. Is that true? Other than the obvious advantage of not having to pack a separate tether why wouldn't you just use the rapell line? Thanks in advance
Like @boyne bowhunter mentioned, there may be times during freezing rain / sleet that you don't want your entire rappel line hanging down and becoming frozen. You could coil it up and put it inside of a pack and just use the top portion, but that could still freeze up and you might have trouble getting it down. That's one example. I plan to use mine as my tether except in that scenario and will have a separate tether available to use.
 
I'm curious, for those of you that rappel it seems like most people use the rapell line as your tether. Is that true? Other than the obvious advantage of not having to pack a separate tether why wouldn't you just use the rapell line? Thanks in advance

I don’t like being attached to a 40’ rope for the hunt but it’s definitely doable. I use several climbing methods and always transition to my OpLux tether, even with an SRT ascent.


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This is what my set up looks like. The only real mistake you can make here would be to have your autoblock too close to your ATC. IF it gets caught in your ATC, that would be bad. You should be easily able to prevent that by testing your system out at ground level. With this system, just squeeze the autoblock and down you go.

If you decided to use a figure eight, it’s basically fool proof.

ATC with Sterling Hollowblock:

f68b4a2db216add41e2b6d8bb37ea204.jpg


I think it’s in Jamie’s video but DON’T forget to connect your pull cord before you rappel down. I use a very small rated wire gate carabiner (Metolius Bravo) but that’s not necessary. My reasoning is just to have a backup if needed for something else. Realistically, you could probably use a keychain carabiner.

Picture from ground once the line was pulled down. I connect just behind the figure eight, wire gate out. This way, the knot comes down first and you don’t have to be concerned about pulling it through a tree crotch. Key is to ensure a clear path for your rope to come down prior to the rappel.

8e6cbdc8c0b6259217cca3e60cd71504.jpg



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@weekender21
 
For those of us that don't have sewn/spliced loops, what knot are you using for the loop? I just got 40ft of oplux.
Figure 8 on a bight
Learn how to tie a Figure 8 the other ways also... example the threaded figure 8 can also be useful. Gives you the same knot, but allows you to capture say a bridge loop or anything else you want to secure within your loop.
 
I'm curious, for those of you that rappel it seems like most people use the rapell line as your tether. Is that true? Other than the obvious advantage of not having to pack a separate tether why wouldn't you just use the rapell line? Thanks in advance

Rain and freezing temps. I used my rappel line last season as my tether. Worked great until it rained and hit freezing temps then it was a PITA to rap down using my figure 8. This season I'm leaving the rap line tucked away in my bag until I'm done for the day. Taking an extra 6-8ft of rope for a tether into the woods isn't that noticeable IMO.
 
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