Rappelling

[Newhunter1]

Ok, I have been practicing rappelling for a couple of weeks here and there. My arsenal is 8mm oplux, manguard, and hollow autoblock. The issue i am having is that the hollow autoblock tightens pretty hard and is hard as heck to break it loose again. I noticed that the area of 8mm that i practiced on the first week slowly eased up the more i went down on it. This past weekend I went up in a tree 15 plus feet and went down pretty smooth til i hit the rope that i haven't gone down yet. Is that normal? Or is there ssomething i am missing? How many wraps do yall run with holllow and or jammy?

I tried using a jammy as an autoblock and it got so hard to do that I thought I was stuck. I was able to take the tension off and move it down the rope until I was on the ground. Luckily I only did it about 8 feet off the ground. I switched to a looped end of 6mm TRC rope and made a distel hitch on my rappel rope. It does not jam at all and is quite easy to get to the ground using the TRC on my right as an autoblock and my mad rock lifeguard as my rappel device. Either switch to a distel or scwabisch hitch.

 

[bj139]

Ok, I have been practicing rappelling for a couple of weeks here and there. My arsenal is 8mm oplux, manguard, and hollow autoblock. The issue i am having is that the hollow autoblock tightens pretty hard and is hard as heck to break it loose again. I noticed that the area of 8mm that i practiced on the first week slowly eased up the more i went down on it. This past weekend I went up in a tree 15 plus feet and went down pretty smooth til i hit the rope that i haven't gone down yet. Is that normal? Or is there ssomething i am missing? How many wraps do yall run with holllow and or jammy?

Yes. Friction hitches are quite variable. You just have to deal with it. I went to mechanically assisted descenders for this very reason (GriGri, Safeguard, etc.).

 

[SnakeEater]

What @bj139 said!


Sent from parts unknown

 

[weekender21]

Ok, I have been practicing rappelling for a couple of weeks here and there. My arsenal is 8mm oplux, manguard, and hollow autoblock. The issue i am having is that the hollow autoblock tightens pretty hard and is hard as heck to break it loose again. I noticed that the area of 8mm that i practiced on the first week slowly eased up the more i went down on it. This past weekend I went up in a tree 15 plus feet and went down pretty smooth til i hit the rope that i haven't gone down yet. Is that normal? Or is there ssomething i am missing? How many wraps do yall run with holllow and or jammy?

Different materials will require different number of wraps. Are you tying your "autoblock" in the French Prusik configuration? I've never had any issues with a French Prusik locking up. Different materials work better/worse together. I'd try a few different friction hitch options with your OpLux.

 

[Hughes03]

Different materials will require different number of wraps. Are you tying your "autoblock" in the French Prusik configuration? I've never had any issues with a French Prusik locking up. Different materials work better/worse together. I'd try a few different friction hitch options with your OpLux.

Gotcha. I bought the autoblock from DanO. I will have to look at it when i get home, I cant remember how many wraps i used on the french prusik. I am going to try different friction hitch options when i get time. Thanks

 

[Realpatriot74]

I absolutely love this site/forum! I just ordered rope yesterday to start getting gear for rappelling. Was going to search for a thread today on it. What do you know? Right here when I logged on. The amount of knowledge here is fantastic and plentiful. Thank you to all for sharing what you know. Much appreciated.

 

[Yazoo Hntr]

Gotcha. I bought the autoblock from DanO. I will have to look at it when i get home, I cant remember how many wraps i used on the french prusik. I am going to try different friction hitch options when i get time. Thanks

I am currently using a Klemheist knot. Fast and easy to tie. If it seems to slip add another wrap.

 

[sad_story]

Been following this thread, just waiting for my order from @DanO to come through with my gear (kudos to hom for such attentive customer service!).

Seems like most are on mechanical belay devices plus an autoblock... not a lot of talk about simply using a blakes hitch to descend... it was the standard mechanical-less way to get down taught @ arborist roping class.... (true, most use mechanicals as they moved on)

What, if any are preople doing to descend if they aren't using a mechanical device?

(BTW ill be on oplux w TRC).

 

[Chrighton]

I use the Grivel Master Mono... also available from DanO... its one of the only ATCs that I know of rated down to 8mm rope. Backed up with a friction hitch and clipped in with a climbing carabiner to my lineman loop. I also use TRC, Beal cordellette, beal jammy or 6mm sterling hollowblock... allows me to stop hands free and pickup my platform and stick. Learn to tie and become very familiar with prusik, distel, and schwabisch hitches.

Practice low and do your research. For me, this is a simple, effective and reliable setup. Many videos and threads on this or similar setups are available if you search the forums for them.

Good luck and be safe.

 

[bj139]

Been following this thread, just waiting for my order from @DanO to come through with my gear (kudos to hom for such attentive customer service!).

Seems like most are on mechanical belay devices plus an autoblock... not a lot of talk about simply using a blakes hitch to descend... it was the standard mechanical-less way to get down taught @ arborist roping class.... (true, most use mechanicals as they moved on)

What, if any are preople doing to descend if they aren't using a mechanical device?

(BTW ill be on oplux w TRC).

Isn't a Blakes hitch used strictly with DRT where the half load on the doubled rope and the friction of the rope over the branch reduce the tendency of the knot to lock up? I tried friction hitches with a single rope and they lock up tight or slide uncontrollably. I was always fighting them to make them work so I gave up and went to mechanical belay devices. No problem ever with those for me.

 

[weekender21]

Been following this thread, just waiting for my order from @DanO to come through with my gear (kudos to hom for such attentive customer service!).

Seems like most are on mechanical belay devices plus an autoblock... not a lot of talk about simply using a blakes hitch to descend... it was the standard mechanical-less way to get down taught @ arborist roping class.... (true, most use mechanicals as they moved on)

What, if any are preople doing to descend if they aren't using a mechanical device?

(BTW ill be on oplux w TRC).

ATC with an autoblock. For rappelling I’ll take that all day over any mechanical option.


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[NikoTheBowHunter]

Been following this thread, just waiting for my order from @DanO to come through with my gear (kudos to hom for such attentive customer service!).

Seems like most are on mechanical belay devices plus an autoblock... not a lot of talk about simply using a blakes hitch to descend... it was the standard mechanical-less way to get down taught @ arborist roping class.... (true, most use mechanicals as they moved on)

What, if any are preople doing to descend if they aren't using a mechanical device?

(BTW ill be on oplux w TRC).

I’ve said it a hundred times and will say it again. All a guys needs to rap is some rope, figure 8 and carabiner. Anything else is overkill in my book. Ran the above all last season and don’t plan on changing a thing.

 

[bj139]

I’ve said it a hundred times and will say it again. All a guys needs to rap is some rope, figure 8 and carabiner. Anything else is overkill in my book. Ran the above all last season and don’t plan on changing a thing.

Some people like to fly in a jet plane and some like to fly in a biplane. This is America so each person is free to choose. The figure eight will work fine if you are careful. If you get distracted then I could guess what might happen. I like to use a method where if I remove my hands nothing bad happens.
Same principle applies with your Kestrel flex, Ultra light stick and Predator platform. I use a sitdrag, Hawk Helium and Primal step platform. I spend the money I saved on mechanical descenders. To each his own.

 

[Ontariofarmer]

I’ve said it a hundred times and will say it again. All a guys needs to rap is some rope, figure 8 and carabiner. Anything else is overkill in my book. Ran the above all last season and don’t plan on changing a thing.

I have thought about a figure 8 but the safeguard seems easier for stop and go retrieval of gear. Unless I misunderstand something.
It doesn’t seem like it would be as secure to lock off

For those interested here is an article on using a figure 8.

How to Rappel with a Figure 8 – Scoutorama

www.therockulus.com

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[Aaronpaul14]

I like the figure 8. I got mine from DanO. You can flip it for quicker or slower rappel. I follow mine up with a backup to stop hands free at anytime. Works pretty good.

 

[bj139]

I have thought about a figure 8 but the safeguard seems easier for stop and go retrieval of gear. Unless I misunderstand something.
It doesn’t seem like it would be as secure to lock off

For those interested here is an article on using a figure 8.

How to Rappel with a Figure 8 – Scoutorama

www.therockulus.com

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Nice article on using the figure eight. There is a lot of information there to know for you to do it safely so more chances of getting it wrong. I have tested the figure eight a lot at ground level and would double or triple wrap the rope through the loop to get enough friction to stop me reliably.

 

[loujo61]

I have thought about a figure 8 but the safeguard seems easier for stop and go retrieval of gear. Unless I misunderstand something.
It doesn’t seem like it would be as secure to lock off

For those interested here is an article on using a figure 8.

How to Rappel with a Figure 8 – Scoutorama

www.therockulus.com

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

Is the Safeguard quiet while ascending?

 

[bj139]

Is the Safeguard quiet while ascending?

Yes, with SRT. There is a carabiner in contact with the Safeguard but while it is weighed, no noise. If you allow slack, it could clink, as in stick climbing.

 

[iamcorey]

Anyone used the grivel figure 8 with the oplux? Currently have a mad rock wingman atc that is out of spec. The master mono is out of stock, so I’m considering the grivel 8.


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[Aaronpaul14]

Anyone used the grivel figure 8 with the oplux? Currently have a mad rock wingman atc that is out of spec. The master mono is out of stock, so I’m considering the grivel 8.


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That’s the one I have. Picked up at doublesteps.com. I like it. I have a diamond atc that couldn’t pass up how cheap it was but will probably only use the grivel. I have a safeguard I picked up to try SRT stuff but I like the simplicity of the figure 8 if I’m just rappelling.