VT hitch advise

[Bodean]

Just got back to this thread, Dang, huge response on the hitch climber, Thanks!. I've been looking at olks' gear. The inline biners look cool with the hitch climber. i'll get one at work irst then one or home.

 

[Burnham]

On the subject of counting turns and wraps, Jay...try as you might to have it not be so, most vt's will drop the top turn into a wrap when loaded.

 

[Burnham]

Just got back to this thread, Dang, huge response on the hitch climber, Thanks!. I've been looking at olks' gear. The inline biners look cool with the hitch climber. i'll get one at work irst then one or home.

Deva, drop me a PM if you'd like to try a Hitchclimber pulley out for a spell...I have a spare I'd be happy to send you to play with, see if you want to spend the dinero to upgrade your kit.

 

[woodworkingboy]

I noticed that, Burnham, technically a turn, I concluded.

 

[Jed]

Now THAT'S a VT Brian! (I mean the yellow one.) That one looks super good. For some reason, no one up here knows how to tie em' right. Their hitch-chords are always WAY too long, and they always have all kinds of weird, stupid extra wraps in there.

 

[woodworkingboy]

Can I bump this thread and ask about the standing side of the line....

It doesn't get discussed so much when folks are talking about the vt. My hitch has settled in and although still a beginner using it, I have a lot more confidence. Once the HRC cord softened up (didn't take long), the whole thing became great. I have been attaching the standing part via a carabiner directly to the D-ring with an anchor or figure eight knot.....seems to get less in the way when using the hitch. I see the set up shown where the standing part gets attached to the pulley. Wondering what you guys do as the preference, and reasons?

Thanks.

 

[Bermy]

I don't have a splice in my line, so the end is attached to a carabiner in the second hole of the HC, the biner with the VT is in the bottom hole. The top hole remains empty.
There is minimal interference between the knot (double fisherman's) and the VT, the VT stays above the knot for the most part... and I have gotten into the habit of flicking up on the VT when coming to a stop.

 

[woodworkingboy]

Thanks Fiona. It seems that most folks attach both the hitch cord and the standing side to the pulley. I'm going to try that today. It doesn't seem bad with the standing part attached directly to the D with a carabiner, but I would like to compare.

 

[Porkbrick]

i don't use a hitchclimber, and i clip both biners to the ring on my bridge. another setup ive been using lately is the "endless loop"(?). the standing part is run through the bridge ring (or biner clipped to bridge in my case) and tied to the vt biner. this effectively makes your rope a continuous loop and you can push your vt away from yourself for ascents and pull it back for working. what makes it work is a trigger snap next to the micro pulley. you grab the standing part with the snap to hold your vt at whatever distance you wish. ive seen a ropeman or small prussic used in place of the snap, but i like the quick release aspect. hope that all makes sense. jaime

 

[CurSedVoyce]

I use my VT either way Jay. It is pretty much what not only works and feels right for you, but how your knots and hitch react together. Like with the fig 8 termination, it may hit your VT if not tied to the D on the bridge. I, myself prefer the anchor hitch as it is easy to tie and interferes less with the VT. I don't use the Ice tail anymore. Just the Ultra Tech on the PI and Arbormaster. I also use Bee line, HRC and Bail Out on the Arbormaster & True Blue. The Bee Line are eye2eye Nick made me.
I also prefer to be able to just unclip my biner and not have to untie and tie knots every time I redirect

 

[canadiantreeman]

I prefer splice's on both the hitch cord and the rope myself. Little more $, but I find that its significantly more efficent and gives me a peace of mind that it will not interfere with the hitch function.

And its sexier. That counts for a lot with me.

 

[woodworkingboy]

That you are sexy goes without saying, but where do you attach the standing end? (The lengths one has to go to garner techniques where there is no proper instruction available. :roll

 

[Burnham]

This is pretty much how I set mine up, Jay...though I'm using oval profile biners these days.

That's an Icicle hitch rather than a VT, but the principle is the same.

 

[woodworkingboy]

Helpful to know that it is preference rather than a particular right vs wrong regarding the attachment points. Helpful photos guys, thanks for posting.

 

[Porkbrick]

i made this this afternoon cause explaining it is a little difficult. <object style="height: 390px; width: 640px"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/pO8jN6fi2R8?version=3&feature=player_detailpage"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/pO8jN6fi2R8?version=3&feature=player_detailpage" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="360"></object>

 

[canadiantreeman]

Sweet. I like the footlock line trick, sending your system up and footlocking the rope below it. Very nice.

Thanks.

Oh, and Jay I attach to the lead to the HC same way as B.

 

[woodworkingboy]

 

[chris_girard]

On the subject of counting turns and wraps, Jay...try as you might to have it not be so, most vt's will drop the top turn into a wrap when loaded.

This is so true Burnham, and I have just learned to live with it.

 

[Burnham]

It is what it is, as some smart guy once put it.

 

[pantheraba]

Pork...that was a very good video. As they say, "who thinks of this stuff?" You have passed along some very interesting ideas. Running the standing end of the rope thru a biner and snapping back to the hitch system is ingenious. And your footlock setup so you have 2 ropes to footlock is great.

Thanks for taking the time to share that (good work with the camera, too...easy to follow visually and verbally).

 

[Porkbrick]

thanks. once you get used to the system it is very easy, and makes moving through the tree that much easier as well. i was worried about the camera as i couldnt find my tripod. three cheers for youtubes stabilizing edit.

 

[pantheraba]

Ha! That's funny...I figured you were using a tripod since the image was so steady. Good work.