Hey Guys!! Mechanical vs Rope for weight purposes on DRT!

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DRT_Guy

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Hey guys,
I currently climb DRT with a VT or Schwabisch hitch and I have never climbed SRT because I'm so heavy. And before we start the "Lose some weight" comments, I'm not fat. Im 6'4" and 260lbs I haven't worked out for this long just for people to think my weight is fat lol. My concern has been that on SRT a mechanical prusik like the rock exotica unicender might not hold my weight or produce enough friction on the rope to stay steady. Petzl's mechanicals are rated at 300lbs. With gear I'm probably more and that number is to close for comfort. The roperunner is the same story. Along with Rock Exotica's Akimbo at 280 lbs. Will my weight be able to be supported with a rope wrench and a VT on SRT? Im trying to figure out other ways I can climb.
 
I'd try it out slow and easy, first.

In my very limited experience on SRT devices, they tend to lock up more than break. Look close for rope damage. Experiment, try different approaches before you dial in a 75' ascent with no buckstrap backup.
 
the akimbo and RR might slip, I know for a fact the unicender wont slip no matter the load, itll break first (or desheathe the rope)
in reality, I would be comfortable climbing on any mechanical even a little over its "rated" weight, ive never had good luck with hitch cords

the hitch and wrench combo will hold you no issue, as will the rope, my prefference is always aluminum or steel on rope tho and never rope on rope like with a hitch
 
Stay low and slow and give it a whirl.

My guys and I all run petzl zig zags with chicane. Very simple and easy to use. But we each way in the 200lb ballpark.

I also never got the hang of a VT with rope wrench. But then again most of our aerial work is with bucket trucks.
 
I'm 330 now, Petzel ID, on 13mm line. sometimes a modified srt with a micro pully on a hand ascender or vt above the ID to give me a little 2-1 advantage.
The ID works as a progress capture device and the pully and ascender above as the redirect, then to descend just remove the hand descender and away you go.
I don't climb much anymore, I'm held together with cobwebs and good intentions...
 
pdqdl said:
Eh. I'm held together with surgical pins and wishful thinking. At 260, I'm thinking I don't need too much more of this aerial stuff.
My knees agree.
Click to expand...
I had a bunch of screws... some of them came out, some are loose... the rest I was too broke to go to a real doctor for, or the real doctor OD'd on coke weeks after putting me back together again...
 
It's not talked about much anymore, but a RADS system, like northmanloggin suggested might be nice. I use a Camp Druid Pro and a CT Quickroll hand ascender. If you're used to pulling down, it might work for you.
 
This sounds so familiar. First, those friction hitches that work so well with MRS will lock up on a single line, DAMHIKT, making the descent truly horrible. Practice low and slow.

If you switch from MRS you'll be required to change your handle, so give this a try. Instead of running a rope across a union, set a pulley up there for your MRS. It reduces the effort needed, and preserves the rope. From there, add a foot loop on a rope grab and your progress capture device of choice and you can go forever. That might not be the best practice if you are in a hurry, and it makes stepping your way up a bit more problematic, so it depends on your use case.
 
I do that just a bit different. I shoot a line into the tree, then raise my DDRT rig on a pulley at the end of a single rope to where I want it. At that point, I have an isolated DDRT setup, with very low friction. I can just hand over hand with the descending line, and I keep a Petzl hand ascender attached to a loopy for any progress capture. Then my old climbing rig does fine at holding my position and taking up the slack.

I try to be careful not to be too high on the ascender before I take up the slack. Goof ups could hurt, even on a short fall.
 
pdqdl said:
I do that just a bit different. I shoot a line into the tree, then raise my DDRT rig on a pulley at the end of a single rope to where I want it. At that point, I have an isolated DDRT setup, with very low friction. I can just hand over hand with the descending line, and I keep a Petzl hand ascender attached to a loopy for any progress capture. Then my old climbing rig does fine at holding my position and taking up the slack.

I try to be careful not to be too high on the ascender before I take up the slack. Goof ups could hurt, even on a short fall.
Click to expand...
Trying to visualize that. Is that a variation of the "secret weapon" from the climbers companion?
 
I don't know, actually. I don't recall that description, and the book got taken from me by yet another guy that didn't like to return borrowed materials.

I kinda invented it on my own, after deciding it was too much trouble to isolate a clear path to the top of the tree on DRT. I was pleasantly surprised to discover how easy it is to go up and down when you are on a 2:1 advantage with low friction.
 
That describes how I set the pulley. I found that without the friction of rope-on-union that it wasn't so easy to maintain progress without capturing each time. From there, there are many options. Pull on a jumar along with hip thrust, or foot loop, etc
 

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