"Test Driving" my JRB Hitch, Cinch and Climbing Technique

[BowhunterXC]

I did a "dry run" with everything that I intend to use for hunting this fall and I believe that I have 99% of the "bugs" worked out of it. Now, I just need to get used to putting the system together quicker, so that I'm not standing around at the bottom of the tree fumbling around with things.

Ape Canyon Outfitters is where I purchased the 9.5mm rope and I'm using 7mm cord for the Longhorn Agile hitch. The JRB Cinch is working like a dream on every type of tree configuration that I've attempted so far. I'm using a Ropeman1 with 2 CGM stirrups for my feet and I've had great success with this system.
Many thanks going out to John RB for all of his hard work in demonstrating knot tying, climbing demos and encouraging safety at all times on his YouTube channel.

 

[krub6b]

I'm sure its camera angle, but it looks like your carabineer is about to pop through your rappel ring in that last picture

 

[Westfale]

Hey bow hunter XC, thanks for your detail-pics of your real-life set up!

Your declarations about the shown stuff is very helpful.
I was amazed, how long the longhorn spreads out under load. I didn’t realize the true dimensions when watching JRB’s videos.

 

[gcr0003]

Like @krub6b said this don’t look right. The ring should not be inside of your carabiner. I guess you’re only 93% ready after all.

Thanks for sharing, any time any of us do decide to share we stand the high likelihood of getting railed for our mistakes.

 

[gcr0003]

Hey bow hunter XC, thanks for your detail-pics of your real-life set up!

Your declarations about the shown stuff is very helpful.
I was amazed, how long the longhorn spreads out under load. I didn’t realize the true dimensions when watching JRB’s videos.

Yea I have no need for a 14” hitch, no wonder it doesn’t bind under load My bridge goes directly to the tree almost for the way I hunt.

I have found i like the WLR as a middle ground for break under load hitches. JRBs are not compact and I don’t trust the sticht hitch after several failures while climbing. The WLR is a little longer than the sticht but it’s never slipped on me so it’s what I use when rope climbing.

 

[Brocky]

Yea I have no need for a 14” hitch, no wonder it doesn’t bind under load My bridge goes directly to the tree almost for the way I hunt.

I have found i like the WLR as a middle ground for break under load hitches. JRBs are not compact and I don’t trust the sticht hitch after several failures while climbing. The WLR is a little longer than the sticht but it’s never slipped on me so it’s what I use when rope climbing.

Sounds like the Sticht might have been tied so that it spread out too much.

 

[gcr0003]

Sounds like the Sticht might have been tied so that it spread out too much.

I think a caveat should be given to anyone trying the sticht since it is an inherent risk with the sticht as you acknowledged. Granted, I haven’t tried the soft Sitcht so I’d be curious if it also an occurs there.

The sticht is great for about two to four climbs and rappels and then it stretches out too much or becomes too loose and it’ll slide on you when you least expect it. Even after being aware of this and making sure I tightened up and dress the sticht I still had problems. I’ve tried it on several different combos of ropes annd diameters and the results were always the same. My worst slide came on only a tether thankfully. If it would have been on a single rope climb I would could have gotten hurt badly. After that I haven’t used them as much.

Not to just pick on the sticht, I do think this is also something that can be overlooked by the Saddlehunter community. I doubt arborists leave a hitch on a rope at all times. They rig their rope and then tie in. JRB makes an argument for always leaving hitches on your rope; however, I do think an argument could be made for tying in everytime too. In my experience repeated use of a hitch without adjusting not only causes wear spots but can potentially reduce friction of the hitch by working loose. I’ve not had a WLR slip on me in two season so I probably am survival biased.

 

[Seekbigger]

I use the soft stitch all the time and never had one slip yet and have never had to retie one through the entire season! I did however send a couple tethers to a member on here that I had climbed on with no issues, his began to slip some, he sent them back to me and after examining everything I found that the hitch cord I used just seemed to flatten out too much under load. This was tied with 7mm Sterling on 9mm htp only combo I ever seen a problem with. I retied with 6mm TRC and it holds perfect. The rope i use is 8mm restec with 6mm TRC, even my bridge is tied using the soft stitch and works perfectly! I do know though that I really pay attention when tying the soft stitch that I pull all the slack I can, load the hitch hard several times and then take out remaining slack, from there I’ve never had to retie and I probably have near 100 climbs a season!

 

[BowhunterXC]

I'm sure its camera angle, but it looks like your carabineer is about to pop through your rappel ring in that last picture

It's the camera angle, from the top down. That carabiner is way to big to pass thru a 2" ring.
This is the same size carabiner as the blue one in the photo above.

Yea I have no need for a 14” hitch, no wonder it doesn’t bind under load My bridge goes directly to the tree almost for the way I hunt.

I needed to "dress" that Longhorn Agile Hitch up, before taking the photo, but yes, it does tend to stretch out longer than I like. The LHA hitch uses 84" of 7mm cord, so it does eat up some space, even when it's dress up tight. I use this hitch for ascending only and as soon as I'm at hunting height, I replace it with a Madrock Safeguard. The MR holds me in place, is great for rappelling and I trust it to not slip for any small adjustments that I may make during the hunt.
I tried using the JRB Acsender Hitch, but it doesn't release as easily as the LHA Hitch, during the climb.
I love the Madrock for rappelling!

 

[BowhunterXC]

It seems like I'm always trying out a new hitch....after learning how to tie it. Then often there's a new knot to be learned that goes with the new hitch that I learned.
This morning I tied the Maverick Hitch and I'm going to take it out for a "test drive" this afternoon. No metal rings, no carabiners and yet it pulls down quite easily. The Maverick Hitch may replace the current Moose Hitch with the rappel ring and tethered carabiner, which is called the JRB Cinch. Nothing wrong with the JRB Cinch, other than I get away from any metal objects and the metallic noise possibilities.
EDIT to add photos: (Maverick Hitch and my pull-down dyna-glide cord on a carabiner)

I transition from the Longhorn Agile Hitch for climbing to the Madrock Safeguard for rappelling. (carabiner isn't locked in the photo)

 

[gcr0003]

Now you’re talking. Maverick hitch should have been called the magic hitch because when you retrieve it from a tree it’s like, POOOF! and your rope is magically at the base of the tree.

 

[Brocky]

I think a caveat should be given to anyone trying the sticht since it is an inherent risk with the sticht as you acknowledged. Granted, I haven’t tried the soft Sitcht so I’d be curious if it also an occurs there.

The sticht is great for about two to four climbs and rappels and then it stretches out too much or becomes too loose and it’ll slide on you when you least expect it. Even after being aware of this and making sure I tightened up and dress the sticht I still had problems. I’ve tried it on several different combos of ropes annd diameters and the results were always the same. My worst slide came on only a tether thankfully. If it would have been on a single rope climb I would could have gotten hurt badly. After that I haven’t used them as much.

Not to just pick on the sticht, I do think this is also something that can be overlooked by the Saddlehunter community. I doubt arborists leave a hitch on a rope at all times. They rig their rope and then tie in. JRB makes an argument for always leaving hitches on your rope; however, I do think an argument could be made for tying in everytime too. In my experience repeated use of a hitch without adjusting not only causes wear spots but can potentially reduce friction of the hitch by working loose. I’ve not had a WLR slip on me in two season so I probably am survival biased.

A mystery why it slips for you, I’ve been using it for about 10 years and haven’t had it slip, and 5 years on the Oval VT before that.
Adding a wrap should help, but if the cord is too stiff and the rope soft, or Technora cord on Technora rope, it might not solve the problem. I don’t think leaving it on affects it, multiple hours doing tree work with constant hitch manipulation of the hitch doesn’t cause it to loosen up.
@Seekbigger, I found that cord grabs better if it can flatten out some, some slack in the cover seems to help. The 7mm Sterling is the accessory cord I’m assuming, which is nylon, and might have slightly glazed, causing the slipping, that was my favorite cord for a few years.

 

[Coachschaller]

Adding a wrap should help,

Mine slipped slowly until I added one wrap - then has worked so far.

 

[gcr0003]

A mystery why it slips for you, I’ve been using it for about 10 years and haven’t had it slip, and 5 years on the Oval VT before that.
Adding a wrap should help, but if the cord is too stiff and the rope soft, or Technora cord on Technora rope, it might not solve the problem. I don’t think leaving it on affects it, multiple hours doing tree work with constant hitch manipulation of the hitch doesn’t cause it to loosen up.
@Seekbigger, I found that cord grabs better if it can flatten out some, some slack in the cover seems to help. The 7mm Sterling is the accessory cord I’m assuming, which is nylon, and might have slightly glazed, causing the slipping, that was my favorite cord for a few years.

I have some 8mm predator on the way to try out. I’ll give the ole sticht hitch another try. Any thoughts on cord that might pair well?

 

[BowhunterXC]

I have some 8mm predator on the way to try out. I’ll give the ole sticht hitch another try. Any thoughts on cord that might pair well?

6mm cord will work well with 8mm rope. I have 9.5mm rope and use 7mm cord.
According to JRB, 80% less is the size to use for the cord. He has a silly amount of specs for what to use for this or that.

JRB Tree Climbing - JrbTreeClimbing.com

JRB Tree Climbing & Saddle Hunting JRB maintains this (ad-free) website as a service to saddle hunters, with an emphasis on CLIMBING SAFETY. Although you can't purchase anything directly from here, there are plenty of links and discounts. Please consider: By adopting safe climbing practices, we...

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[gcr0003]

6mm cord will work well with 8mm rope. I have 9.5mm rope and use 7mm cord.
According to JRB, 80% less is the size to use for the cord. He has a silly amount of specs for what to use for this or that.

JRB Tree Climbing - JrbTreeClimbing.com

JRB Tree Climbing & Saddle Hunting JRB maintains this (ad-free) website as a service to saddle hunters, with an emphasis on CLIMBING SAFETY. Although you can't purchase anything directly from here, there are plenty of links and discounts. Please consider: By adopting safe climbing practices, we...

jrbtreeclimbing.com

Yea I have some beal and coppa 5.5mm but considering TRC.

 

[BTaylor]

Yea I have some beal and coppa 5.5mm but considering TRC.

The trc should work well on the 8mm. It's what I have used on oplux and resctec and have had no issues at all.

 

[Brocky]

TRC didn’t seem to want to grab as well as a non-aramid cover.
A way to test if a hitch will grab reliably is to pull up on the rope to completely compress the hitch, then grab the legs, or carabiner, and slowly pull down, also move it up and down a few times, while still holding the legs, or carabiner, shouldn’t be any slipping when loading.

 

[Westfale]

I‘m fine with Teufelberger 6mm Ocean on 8mm RescTech.
The cover is made of Polyester and Aramid, i guess 50/50 due to yellow and green coloured strands in the cover.
It holds my bodyweight with 4 wraps on a Sticht-style hitch when tightly dressed, but i run it with 5 just for ease of mind.
The cord is quite stiff out of the box, but softens under use. And i‘m happy with the low friction when pulling the hitch up the rope.

 

[bowhunthard88]

I haven't had any issues with the Sticht hitch, but then all mine are currently tied with a Beal Jammy sling with a ring... I've had more issues with other hitches/cords; but it's all come down to dressing the hitches or adding wraps.

I did have a Michoacan fail to grab reliably the other day on advancement, on my secondary system, until I added a wrap...