Knotorious
That Guy With The Face
About three months ago, I decided to buy a new rope. After careful consideration, I decided to purchase 150' of Teufelberger Drenaline 11.8mm rope. At this point, buying a new Rope Runner Pro (RRP) wasn't on my radar. Fast forward to roughly one week ago and, after tirelessly researching multicender options, I eventually decided to buy an RRP. It was my hope that this device would work well on my new rope because of how its diameter were toward the middle of the size spectrum compatible with it and because the rope is 32-strand, which theoretically could help it work with any mechanical device more effectively. At least this was my reasoning for getting my hopes up.
Unfortunately, despite four days (for roughly 1 hour per day) of testing the RRP "low and slow," I have encountered a number of challenges. One issue I'm having is finding a position for the upper bollard which represents a "happy medium." The more open settings I dial in result in a nice, easy to depress bird but, once I start descending and lift my hand off of the bird to re-engage it to stop, the rope will continue to run through the device until I hit the ground.
In the more close end of the spectrum, as one might expect, the bird grabs the rope securely and swiftly, but depressing it to initiate a descent is extremely difficult or impossible or, after much effort, it will break, drop abruptly until it suddenly locks up yet again.
When the bollard is somewhere in the middle of these two aforementioned adjustment settings, depressing the bird to initiate descent isn't too difficult, but it's not that smooth functionality that I've heard countless people raving about. So even though the bird's operation in most of these settings would be tolerable, I found that whenever I bounce on the rope with my body weight, the rope will slip much more than I'm comfortable with. In some cases, this action can cause the rope to start running through the bollard until I hit the ground.
Another element of potential concern is how much the RRP will flatten my rope. I realize that the device relies on some level of compression of the rope for it to work, but I hadn't expected it to be so aggressive. I'm not entirely sure how concerning this should be. My understanding has always been that mechanical devices will function better with ropes which maintain their natural round shape. But I'm brand new to the RRP, so I suppose the flattening could be neutral or even positive. If anyone knows, feel free to elucidate me.
In any event, I now find myself wishing I had bought the RRP before the new rope so that I could have purchased a rope approved for the device by the manufacturer. Has anyone else had any experience using a Drenaline rope with the RRP? It's beginning to look as though I may have to invest in a second new rope. Asking anyone with experience using the RRP, which ropes (approved and otherwise) have worked the best with your RRP? It seems that a lot of people like the Xstatic lines. Perhaps I just need to break my rope in more before the RRP willl behave itself like a good multicender.
Anyways, sorry for the lengthy message. I never keep anything short. I'm done!
Unfortunately, despite four days (for roughly 1 hour per day) of testing the RRP "low and slow," I have encountered a number of challenges. One issue I'm having is finding a position for the upper bollard which represents a "happy medium." The more open settings I dial in result in a nice, easy to depress bird but, once I start descending and lift my hand off of the bird to re-engage it to stop, the rope will continue to run through the device until I hit the ground.
In the more close end of the spectrum, as one might expect, the bird grabs the rope securely and swiftly, but depressing it to initiate a descent is extremely difficult or impossible or, after much effort, it will break, drop abruptly until it suddenly locks up yet again.
When the bollard is somewhere in the middle of these two aforementioned adjustment settings, depressing the bird to initiate descent isn't too difficult, but it's not that smooth functionality that I've heard countless people raving about. So even though the bird's operation in most of these settings would be tolerable, I found that whenever I bounce on the rope with my body weight, the rope will slip much more than I'm comfortable with. In some cases, this action can cause the rope to start running through the bollard until I hit the ground.
Another element of potential concern is how much the RRP will flatten my rope. I realize that the device relies on some level of compression of the rope for it to work, but I hadn't expected it to be so aggressive. I'm not entirely sure how concerning this should be. My understanding has always been that mechanical devices will function better with ropes which maintain their natural round shape. But I'm brand new to the RRP, so I suppose the flattening could be neutral or even positive. If anyone knows, feel free to elucidate me.
In any event, I now find myself wishing I had bought the RRP before the new rope so that I could have purchased a rope approved for the device by the manufacturer. Has anyone else had any experience using a Drenaline rope with the RRP? It's beginning to look as though I may have to invest in a second new rope. Asking anyone with experience using the RRP, which ropes (approved and otherwise) have worked the best with your RRP? It seems that a lot of people like the Xstatic lines. Perhaps I just need to break my rope in more before the RRP willl behave itself like a good multicender.
Anyways, sorry for the lengthy message. I never keep anything short. I'm done!
