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Shifting from Ropeman 1 to hitch on 11mm tether.....suggestions that have been field tested

Black Titan said:
Would the Schwabisch, distel, kleimheist not work for this situation?

BT
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As I was researching hitches last fall, those three came into the conversarion as well. Some folks here related they are more effective for a linemans that is roughly parallel or moderately angled with only partial body weight applied for holding and ease of breaking loose during load. None were fully recommended for a dedicated tether which is much more vertical and supporting much more of your body weight. That is what I gleaned from the discussion, so I moved on to others that were again recommeded in this thread. Not bashing on them, but a bunch of folks here have been doing this much longer and I am taking experience into consideration.
 
Alaska at Heart said:
As I was researching hitches last fall, those three came into the conversarion as well. Some folks here related they are more effective for a linemans that is roughly parallel or moderately angled with only partial body weight applied for holding and ease of breaking loose during load. None were fully recommended for a dedicated tether which is much more vertical and supporting much more of your body weight. That is what I gleaned from the discussion, so I moved on to others that were again recommeded in this thread. Not bashing on them, but a bunch of folks here have been doing this much longer and I am taking experience into consideration.
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I need to look into some of these others as well. I use the Schwabisch as a backup for my duck on my linemans, and it works perfectly. I also use it as a backup above my madrock on my rappel rope, but if there is something better for that application I'm all ears, or, eyes I guess lol. I'm about as new to this as you are so I'll take whatever info I can absorb. I appreciate you starting this thread to shine some light on the subject.

BT
 
I’ve tried about every hitch mentioned, as I really like to tie knots, but I keep going back to the soft stitch! Yes it takes a little more finesse to get it dressed down nice and compact but once you squeeze it all down as tight as you can, it is just great! I’ve even modified the stitch for my bridge hitch because it tends one handed with ease. The only thing keeps it from being perfect is the fact I wouldn’t want to tie it in the field in the dark lol. For those applications I use the longhorn agile which is also a fantastic hitch, I use it for my srt climbing hitch.
 
Black Titan said:
I need to look into some of these others as well. I use the Schwabisch as a backup for my duck on my linemans, and it works perfectly. I also use it as a backup above my madrock on my rappel rope, but if there is something better for that application I'm all ears, or, eyes I guess lol. I'm about as new to this as you are so I'll take whatever info I can absorb. I appreciate you starting this thread to shine some light on the subject.

BT
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Just like with saddles, ropes, climbing sticks, bows, arrow shafts, broadheads, boots, etc.....there is no such thing as "best" when it come to hitches. Clearly folks have tried some and found one that works well for them.....and that can vary from person to person. Honestly, the Ropeman 1 that came with my first tether worked just fine....but they can lead to premature rope wear and also have the potential for mechanical failure. That is what prompted me to move beyond the mulling stage to the action stage this winter.
 
The friction hitch on a tether, SRT, or rappel rope is holding all your weight, on a linesmen’s or adjustable bridge the hitch only sees half, because the end of the rope is also attached to the saddle.

The main job of a backup hitch is to grab the rope if the device fails for some reason, but if you can’t use the device for some reason are you going to be able to descend on the backup hitch alone?

All friction hitches should grab reliably when loaded, with no slipping. Some hitches bind up and need to be unweighted and loosened up before they will slide on the rope. Other hitches will slide without having to loosen/massage them, but still need to be unloaded first. Another group of hitches will release under load when used for a linesmen’s, or adj. bridge, when only getting half the weight. And only a few will release under load, repeatedly, under control, on a fixed/stationary rope.
 
Brocky said:
The friction hitch on a tether, SRT, or rappel rope is holding all your weight, on a linesmen’s or adjustable bridge the hitch only sees half, because the end of the rope is also attached to the saddle.

The main job of a backup hitch is to grab the rope if the device fails for some reason, but if you can’t use the device for some reason are you going to be able to descend on the backup hitch alone?

All friction hitches should grab reliably when loaded, with no slipping. Some hitches bind up and need to be unweighted and loosened up before they will slide on the rope. Other hitches will slide without having to loosen/massage them, but still need to be unloaded first. Another group of hitches will release under load when used for a linesmen’s, or adj. bridge, when only getting half the weight. And only a few will release under load, repeatedly, under control, on a fixed/stationary rope.
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With the Cosmo, Soft Sticht and Cornell being discussed here,......along with the Longhorn Agile a friend is using.....it seems we have a number of viable options for a dedicated tether. After watching several videos, I decided on the Longhorn Agile and from my first round of testing, it is working quite well. What would you recommend from your much wider experience?
 
Alaska at Heart said:
.but they can lead to premature rope wear
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This is primary reason I ditched the Ropeman from my climbing tether. I typically climb similar sized trees and that means the Ropeman grabs at about the same point in the rope each move during my climb and throughout the sit. I was finding a very local wear spot in the sheath right at that point from the teeth. I went to Distel and have been happy with it.
 
1simplemann said:
2 years ago Brocky turned me onto Sticht hitch w/ a ring. 8mm Resc tech and 6mm Sterling STP I think. Anyway, I haven't looked back. Works everytime and grabs great.
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Did you go with the soft ring or the hard ring? Where did you get your ring? I've been looking at that as well since the link showed up.
 
Alaska at Heart said:
With the Cosmo, Soft Sticht and Cornell being discussed here,......along with the Longhorn Agile a friend is using.....it seems we have a number of viable options for a dedicated tether. After watching several videos, I decided on the Longhorn Agile and from my first round of testing, it is working quite well. What would you recommend from your much wider experience?
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Being a stationary rope I would use the Sticht, or a WLR type hitch, to be able to easily descend without having to unweight the rope.
 
Alaska at Heart said:
Did you go with the soft ring or the hard ring? Where did you get your ring? I've been looking at that as well since the link showed up.
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I use the Sticht with an 8mm eye-eye cord and a Camp 34mm aluminum rappel ring ($18.35 on Amazon) to SRT on Sampson predator. With a lot of up and down I find the Sticht with the hard ring doesn't have to be dressed as often as the soft Sticht. It's also easier for me to tie, especially in the dark. For a linesman or tether, the soft Sticht tied like @Brocky has in post #14 tends with one hand super easy.
 
To update.....I have it narrowed down to two options. On my backup 11mm tether, I have a Longhorn Agile that JRB likes and recommends. On my primary 11mm tether, I have a soft ring Sticht with an 8mm sewn eye 30" Amazon version for testing that will be replaced by a much better option before taking to height. At ground level testing in a front yard tree, both hitches grab well without slipping and release under load. The more I test them, my confidence is growing and the Ropeman 1 is likely headed to a new home before too long. Researching, testing and affirming the wide variety of hitches has been a fun endeavor.
 
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So I have canyon elite 9 mm what cord works best with it as in making hitches? And what is the go to hitch all I know so far is 6 Marc works great with 8 mm police but still playing with what works best on 9mm. Elite. I haven’t tried using the 9 mm yet only in house the hollow block seams to slip. Any suggestions I deeply appreciate
 
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