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Single stick rappel down

P

Poynor

New Member
Joined
Nov 24, 2020
Messages
15
Any advice would be great just played around with this in the back yard today. I am a rookie and know very little about this so if y’all see anything unsafe please holler.. so I have 2 military grade rappel ropes. Also have several snap links and a figure 8. I cut a 30 foot section from a rope and I want to used single stick techniques and rappel down I’ve attached pics of my setup and thoughts or advice would be great
 

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I’m no expert, but just a couple comments... not 100% sure what I’m seeing on the safety hitch if that’s tied double fisherman’s are the tag ends almost non existent? I like longer tag ends. I run a similar setup using a swabisch (not sure I ever spell it correctly), just make sure you find a safety hitch that balances well for you between good stopping friction and ability to release it and keep the descent going. Make sure tension in the system will never pull that hitch to the 8 because then the 8 can start dressing it and advancing you faster than you’d like. Once in stand take a good long pause before descent to make sure all systems look good.
 
Is that amsteel for the friction hitch? It would probably be better to use a different cord with a higher melting point. Its not under a ton of load in this application, but it doesn't take a whole lot of heat to glass over amsteel. Grab some regular accessory cord inan appropriate thickness or some TRC from doublesteps.com.


Edit: said oplux when I meant amsteel.

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ThereWillBeSpuds said:
Is that oplux for the friction hitch? It would probably be better to use a different cord with a higher melting point. Its not under a ton of load in this application, but it doesn't take a whole lot of heat to glass over oplux. Grab some regular accessory cord inan appropriate thickness or some TRC from doublesteps.com.

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It is Amsteel thanks for the info
 
Poynor said:
It is Amsteel thanks for the info
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I brainfarted and meant to say amsteel the whole time. Early. Sorry. Amsteel has a low melt point and isn't well suited to friction hitches. I'm gonna edit my previous post.

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ThereWillBeSpuds said:
I brainfarted and meant to say amsteel the whole time. Early. Sorry. Amsteel has a low melt point and isn't well suited to friction hitches. I'm gonna edit my previous post.

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Roger that ...
 
Absolutely ditch the amsteel as a friction hitch immediately. Especially in a rappel situation. You will melt it and it won’t bite and you are going for a ride.
 
Also I would suggest that you make as much distance as possible between fig 8 and your backup autoblock safety hitch. If these two touch/bind up/ become one you have no safety back up any more.

Its hard to tell in the pics how close they could get when loaded.
 
I will simply reinforce what has been said. Overall your setup is on the right track. I would absolutely switch from the Amsteel on the friction hitch to a good rated cord. There are some big concerns with using Amsteel where it will be subjected to the kind of friction the hitch will get as you rappel down.

It appears you have a traditional Prusik knot. If so, and that is what you prefer, the adjust it so that the knots forming the loop are not part of the actual friction. There are some easier hitches to use for this application, such as the Distel or Schwabisch. They’re less likely to just completely lock up, like the Prusik does.

The final suggestion would be with whatever hitch you settle on, shorten it up so that it’s not so close to the rappel device. If the hitch contacts the rappel device it can cause it to not catch and that’s bad.

Other than those suggestions, you’ve got a good system going.
 
CharlieTN said:
I will simply reinforce what has been said. Overall your setup is on the right track. I would absolutely switch from the Amsteel on the friction hitch to a good rated cord. There are some big concerns with using Amsteel where it will be subjected to the kind of friction the hitch will get as you rappel down.

It appears you have a traditional Prusik knot. If so, and that is what you prefer, the adjust it so that the knots forming the loop are not part of the actual friction. There are some easier hitches to use for this application, such as the Distel or Schwabisch. They’re less likely to just completely lock up, like the Prusik does.

The final suggestion would be with whatever hitch you settle on, shorten it up so that it’s not so close to the rappel device. If the hitch contacts the rappel device it can cause it to not catch and that’s bad.

Other than those suggestions, you’ve got a good system going.
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Thank you
 
I’m using military grade rappel rope. I cut it to 30 foot long. Is there a better rope that I can use something that will fit into a pouch.
 
Poynor said:
I’m using military grade rappel rope. I cut it to 30 foot long. Is there a better rope that I can use something that will fit into a pouch.
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A lot of people recommend Sterling Oplux. It’s an 8mm rope. Very flexible, very packable. I bought 30’ from double steps. I’ve only rappelled once with it and a figure 8. Worked great. Fits in a water bottle pouch. I would recommend getting more than 30’ if you hunt bigger trees. I was 22’ high and almost ran out on my first rappel.
 

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40' Canyon IV with a Madrock Safeguard. A little stiffer than Oplux and it is 9mm within the specs of the Safeguard. Packs into a water bottle along with the safeguard and carabiner. It has become my preferred method of getting down at the end of the day
 
tylerray378 said:
A lot of people recommend Sterling Oplux. It’s an 8mm rope. Very flexible, very packable. I bought 30’ from double steps. I’ve only rappelled once with it and a figure 8. Worked great. Fits in a water bottle pouch. I would recommend getting more than 30’ if you hunt bigger trees. I was 22’ high and almost ran out on my first rappel.
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Roger will check into it
 
waynedawg51 said:
40' Canyon IV with a Madrock Safeguard. A little stiffer than Oplux and it is 9mm within the specs of the Safeguard. Packs into a water bottle along with the safeguard and carabiner. It has become my preferred method of getting down at the end of the day
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Thanks
 
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