HitchHiker XF now available.

I have not been here for a few years but thought I would answer any questions if asked.
First of all the HHxf is not trying to compete with the HH that came before, it is more of an alternative or another choice. A fine distinction I know but I hope that the original HH will always be there and those that love it will keep loving it. I have loved the HH since the beginning and remember meeting with Paul at an Expo in Indianapolis many years ago. Paul's design of 2 opposing inclined planes with a hitch cord intrigued me greatly. I still believe it is an unsung hero in the world of multicenters.
Aside from differences in material, the major change is that this device has combined the SRT tending and anchor as one attachment point. Also the additional function of being able to add "on the fly" friction adjustments for descent or more secure positioning.
Being that it is a hitch based system it ships with 4 different hitch cords to give a user some exposure to how they may fit different preferences.
Paul was very kind to let me move this direction. I won't say he liked, approved or agreed to the design as I don't want to subject him to any liability. And believe me, I now understand the liability our legal system can present. I have been in court and also now find myself working as an "expert witness" in an injury case.
So if you are interested, I have a page that has information and also answers to common question. The manual is also there for any reference and if anyone sees an error, please let me know.

HHxf | Climbing Innovations LLC - https://climbinginnovations.com/hhxf/
and
HitchHiker FAQ | Climbing Innovations LLC - https://climbinginnovations.com/hitchhiker-faq/

Richard
Best CI logo for email.jpg
 
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So, which one? Been thinking I want a hitchhiker for awhile, wesspur's sold out of the HH2, and that leaves this. I'm not a professional, so my concerns about the aluminum probably don't matter. I'll likely be dead before I wore one out. If not, it probably lasted well enough that I got my money out of it.

I'm skeptical of swivels. I don't completely understand what they'd add for me, and there's a hidden component that makes them harder to inspect. The two leading choices are captive eye or not. The captive eye looks like it's easier to clip in a tender, and without is easier to connect to whatever you want, but harder to tend. Maybe the captive eye could be clipped to the main shackle ignoring the eye if desired? What do you all think?
 
lxskllr said:
So, which one? Been thinking I want a hitchhiker for awhile, wesspur's sold out of the HH2, and that leaves this. I'm not a professional, so my concerns about the aluminum probably don't matter. I'll likely be dead before I wore one out. If not, it probably lasted well enough that I got my money out of it.

I'm skeptical of swivels. I don't completely understand what they'd add for me, and there's a hidden component that makes them harder to inspect. The two leading choices are captive eye or not. The captive eye looks like it's easier to clip in a tender, and without is easier to connect to whatever you want, but harder to tend. Maybe the captive eye could be clipped to the main shackle ignoring the eye if desired? What do you all think?
Click to expand...
Do you have a rope bridge? Will it be your primary device during a climb?
My recommendation is to put the captive on your rope bridge and leave it there. It is not much more that leaving a ring on your bridge. Get used to removing the SlicPin, it is not a big deal because of the form factor the HHxf body, simply push down the plungers for the first side, then turn and pull for the other side. The SlicPin keeper will keep you from dropping it but put it back in place if you are going to run around for a while. If you are passing the HHxf over a limb or thru a branch union, all you will be tossing is the hitch and the HHxf body, so you will avoid banging up a carabiner or swivel or pulling a whole system thru a branch union.
This link should take you to a place in the video showing the removal of the pin.
Some will say, "but I like the quick disconnect from a carabiner", if that is the case and a climber does not want to operate a SlicPin, this is not a tool for that climber. I'm not selling refrigerators on the North Pole.
 
Operating a slicpin isn't a big deal, and retying my bridge isn't the worst thing in the world either. I have a couple saddles I use, and it would be more convenient having the whole unit completely portable, but I can work with the eye "permanently" installed on my primary saddle.
 
@yoyoman thank you for giving us the story. Yoyos kick ass!!! it still blows my mind how many tricks can be done with one, and how fast people are with being able to switch from trick to trick, its a treat. haha. i just like to see how long i can walk the dawg!

i dont care what other people say about you Richard, you are doing a fantastic job helping the tree community! i loved to watch your youtube videos, there is tons of great information in the videos, that can be applied to climbing as much as rigging. i was just watching the " pulleys are force multipliers Redirects can be like pulleys" video. its great to see the forces and how they multiple in real life and not just learn about them from reading and seeing pictures. i also now test tie in points standing on the line, instead of trying to hang on the line like a monkey. lol

thank you, for what you have done and i hope you have a long and joy filled tree climbing career.
 
Got it today...

IMG_20220413_145950400.jpg

Nice package of stuff. The sample rope the sample hitch was tied on interests me. Has a nice hand feel. It's teufelberger escalator. I'm gonna do some reading on it, and I may pick some up. Also, I've been wanting to try 8mm ocean, and that was one of the included cords, so that's just great. Looking forward to trying everything out. Thanks Richard!

edit:
The cord I thought was ocean, is actually marlow viper. That's fine. It'll be cool trying something new.
 
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lxskllr said:
Got it today...

Nice package of stuff. The sample rope the sample hitch was tied on interests me. Has a nice hand feel. It's teufelberger escalator. I'm gonna do some reading on it, and I may pick some up. Also, I've been wanting to try 8mm ocean, and that was one of the included cords, so that's just great. Looking forward to trying everything out. Thanks Richard!

edit:
The cord I thought was ocean, is actually marlow viper. That's fine. It'll be cool trying something new.
Click to expand...

The climbing line is retired Marlow Vega, very static and super low cover/core slip. That is important to me as I climb with a sewn eye on each end of my line. I'll never repel off the end using some weird technique that uses lots of rope. Most other lines would send a bubble to the end. The HHxf also contributes to the lack of core/cover slip as I have heard splicers tell me they can get it too milk, I can't, but maybe that is why I'm not a splicer. Stepping on a peddle and watching it happen is just fine for me. I think one of the reasons for that is that the HH does not bend the rope as it goes over it. On descent the first thing that happens to the rope is that it gets squeezed together between the SlicPin and the Body of the HH, this helps keep the core and cover from moving independently.
Yep, hitch cords are RIT 9mm, Rit 8mm all aramid fiber, Marlow Boa, (all polyester) and Marlow Viper, a mix of Poly and Arimid.
And thank you!
 
Hmm... This is the Vega from Marlow's page...

Screenshot_2022-04-16_07-24-01.png

This is Escalator from at-height.com...

Screenshot_2022-04-16_07-26-33.png

and this is what I have...

IMG_20220416_072847.jpg
 
I seem to favor static ropes. Since I got into all this, I've pretty much been climbing 100% on ½" KM3. I have a brand new hank of xtc I haven't even climbed on yet, but when I tried someone else's, I found the stretch annoying. I also have a bunch of short length ropes I've done microclimbs on, but it's hard to really get a feel for a line with short lengths.

The escalator is a little smaller than the KM3, but has a nubbier cover. Kind of a tradeoff. Thicker line is nice, but so is nubbier line. Doesn't matter, but the orange escalator *looks* good to me. Has a 1970s/early 80s cassette tape kind of vibe going with the color scheme :^D
 
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Got to tryout the HH today. Works great! Everything works smoothly, and using the bridge mount as a tending point works well. The only thing I'm undecided about is the friction plug. It works very well, but I can get similar results feathering the hitch to drop at a controlled speed. Probably better as an occasional use thing for long descents. I don't think I'll use it every time I want to go down.

Also got to try the Innovation hitch. That's a nice hitch. Grabs reliably fast. It perhaps wants to stick a bit in the grab, but not enough to affect ascent to any meaningful degree, and easy enough to break if desired.

Very happy with my purchase, and I'm looking forward to getting it tuned finer over time :^)
 
lxskllr said:
The only thing I'm undecided about is the friction plug. It works very well, but I can get similar results feathering the hitch to drop at a controlled speed. Probably better as an occasional use thing for long descents. I don't think I'll use it every time I want to go down.....
Click to expand...
Good perspective and I totally agree. I don't often used the eXtra friction, as you mentioned long descents is great. The other thing is to be able to add that friction if for some reason you have to add an additional load, (climber). The way my hitch is tuned, if I add an additional load, it will start to creep at that load. Try it low and slow and see how it works for you.
When it comes to feathering the hitch, notice how you can twist the hitch clockwise or counter clockwise, to first initiate a very smooth release, but also control the rate of descent. This works on the HHxf with the captive eye that is connected directly to the bridge. In other configurations with a swivel, of course turning or twisting the hitch, turns the whole thing.
Cheers
 
A suggestion in case you make another run of these... You recommend changing the position of the dogbone to distribute wear. It would be useful having the ends of each side of the bone marked to keep track of position. Maybe "A" and "B". That gives four possible orientations to distribute wear. A little nitpicky, and maybe doesn't matter, but if it isn't hard to do, why not?
 
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