HitchHiker2 tending, sitback, configurations?

[soup-n-sandwich]

Sorry, the shoulder harness I use is the Petzl Torse and the pulley is a Petzl fixe with the side plates pressed together so they firmly grip the bridge ring. I started with the original Haas and upgraded to the Velox. It has a much greater range of bungee travel.

Thanks! Tree Stuff doesn't carry the Torse. That's unexpected. WesSpar does though. Opps..is that a bad word here?
Holy crap. Any idea why the Petzl Fixe is half the price of the DMM Pinto?!

Sure now the Velox HAAS comes out.
Thanks for the great information. I'm working on it now...
c

 

[Bermy]

Chris, in my pictures I did have my hitch tied the 'other' way, I now tie it with the braid coming across in front not behind. I didn't pay much attention to the instructions in the beginning, and then when I moved to having five wraps instead of four, it put my braid on the 'correct' side!
I do believe it is better.

If you have spare bits of webbing and stuff about, try making your own chest/over the shoulder harness...nothing like a bit of 'custom' gear

 

[soup-n-sandwich]

Chris, in my pictures I did have my hitch tied the 'other' way, I now tie it with the braid coming across in front not behind. I didn't pay much attention to the instructions in the beginning, and then when I moved to having five wraps instead of four, it put my braid on the 'correct' side!
I do believe it is better.

If you have spare bits of webbing and stuff about, try making your own chest/over the shoulder harness...nothing like a bit of 'custom' gear

Thanks Bermy,
Ok just checking...not trying to be a nitpicker just confirming what works best.

I have plenty of spar bits of antennas, radio gear, coax and connectors but since I"m not an arborist and haven't being climbing all that long I don't have lots of extra gear. Ever-time I have an idea or want to try something I find I have almost nothing to work with. Initially the purchases I made wasn't what I wanted simply because of product availability. The Camp Turbo foot ascender was not what I wanted but ended up with it because the CMI Quick Step locking model wasn't available anywhere. The same thing happened with the HAAS vs the SAKA, and a few other pieces of equipment. I knew going into this that some of this stuff was temporary but had no choice to move forward.

I have messed around with some stuff tonight. I know this is going to be custom. Keeping that knee ascender out of my crotch and getting a full stride is important so I'll work on the alignment of where the knee ascender bungee is placed.
This takes forever! It's not the time it takes to work things out, rather it's the time it takes to order...wait for it to come in..try it and if it doesn't work do it all over again.

We need a "Tree Depot" with local "branches" (ha!) so we can go in with my harness and try everything out right there in the store!.
C

 

[Bermy]

For real on the 'TreeDepot'!

Try it, test it and adjust it...

 

[Tim_B.]

I'll try out your setup and two others. I'm surprised how each setup differs and how the slightest change in almost anything has an impact on something.

Yes I have had a lot of issues with the HH not being consistent in grab it may be related to my climbing line. Setting the hitch is very important to getting it right. I found that if I weight it hard then collapse it it works well...but I think my technique for tying the HH knot needs work because when I weight the HH then take out the slack, the knot kind of rolls out a bit and I'm stuck with the same amount of slack that I just removed! It drives me nuts. I'm sure the issue is with the way I'm trying it..not the knot itself but my starting point in the line...something.

Thanks guys!

Hey, Chris! Apologies for not responding to this question sooner. I think I've posted my method for tying my hitch before on this forum, but I'll be darned if I can find it. It might be in the Rope Wrench thread. Trying to find it in order to avoid rewriting was the reason for the delay.

Anyway, I for some reason like to use the Knut hitch when I climb, but I think the method of tying I'm about to describe will work with any hitch. When I tie my hitches the way I'm about to describe, I never have to loosen up and re-tie the dog bone's stopper knots in order to remove slack.

So, I'm sitting in my folding chair, with my Hitch Hiker in front of me, with my climbing rope already passing through it. The straight spine of the Hitch Hiker is facing me, and the open, sloped channel that the rope sits in is facing away from me. I have one stopper knot already tied in the hitch cord going through the dog bone, and the dog bone is inserted into its slot in the Hitch Hiker.

Here is the key part to this whole operation, to me. I have the rope coming out of the top of the Hitch Hiker folded right over forward, so that it is basically laying right against the downward sloping edge of the rope channel. I do the wraps of my hitch cord around the rope, do my cross at the bottom if there is one, pass the end of the hitch cord through the other side of the dog bone, and try hard to pull out every last bit of slack from the hitch cord, while at the same time trying to create my second stopper knot.

At this point, if I've succeeded, what I'm left with is a hitch that is still folded over the sloped channel of the Hitch Hiker, and so darned tight and short that it is tough to even pull the hitch up so that it sits at the top of the Hitch Hiker. I end up having to pull the hitch up with my left hand, while at the same time I use my right hand to press hard on the back of the spine of the Hitch Hiker, to try to create enough pressure to drive the hitch to the top of the Hitch Hiker.

At this point, the hitch is so tight it hardly wants to tend at all. I stand up, and I pull up on the rope to try to tend it, while at the same time still pressing hard on the back of the spine of the Hitch Hiker. If I don't press hard on the back of the spine of the Hitch Hiker when I first try to tend slack, the hitch is so tight that it will naturally just roll right back down the sloped edge of the rope channel, which is something I wish to avoid. Pressing hard on the back of the spine of the Hitch Hiker while I'm pulling up on the rope, trying to tend it, forces the hitch to stay seated on the top, flat part of the Hitch Hiker. I'm walking forward on the ground ten or fifteen feet as I'm tending this slack. Once I've walked about as far as I can go without needing to leave the ground, I sit in my harness really hard, to try to "set" the hitch. Then I put two fingers on the top of the hitch and press down on it to get it to release, while at the same time walking backwards until I reach my starting point.

I repeat the procedure three or four times, pretty quickly, back and forth, and each time I do it the hitch gets easier to tend. By about the fourth time, the hitch is giving me almost no resistance to tending anymore.

The important part of this whole procedure, aside from getting the hitch to tend easily, is the fact that the hitch needs no further adjustment. I had it so tight and short at the beginning that there is no unwanted slack in the hitch cord at the end. It just works the way it is supposed to.

Sorry for the long-winded post, I'm just trying to adequately describe my process. I hope this is able to be of help to someone.

Tim

tags: setting, hitch, Hitch Hiker, slack, tending, vt, knut

 

[soup-n-sandwich]

No apologies for the long winded post. I too do the same thing but find it important to be through to get the point across.
I will try your method...if it would stop raining! Actually I'm going to do the ol' Alpine Butterfly loop over the beam in the basement and try it now. I ordered the parts for Dave's system...should arrive in a few days. I don't want to give up on the HH I really do like it but some of these issues make is a real bear to setup. I find myself messing around with this thing for 20 mins before I can climb. Hopefully your tips will help.

Oh the HH will work correctly with 12.7mm rope correct? I'm using 11iah mm now. I just don't want to run into issue because of a larger rope.
I'll look into the Knut hitch as well.

Thanks Tim.
c

 

[r0ck1r0ck2]

also,
ARBPRO 9MM HITCH CORD is awesome with yale 11.7 and 11mm htp.

so there's that.

 

[DMc]

....Oh the HH will work correctly with 12.7mm rope correct? ....

Yes, it works very well but be aware, it will be a lot more bulky and heavier than your 11mm rope.

 

[soup-n-sandwich]

also,
ARBPRO 9MM HITCH CORD is awesome with yale 11.7 and 11mm htp.

so there's that.

Ok thanks. All of this info. is going into the list of stuff that works.
C

Yes, it works very well but be aware, it will be a lot more bulky and heavier than your 11mm rope.

Ok. Well my main concern is, is this change in rope size going to change the personality of the HAAS, HH, CT Quick Step foot ascender, the type of hitch cord...yah know that kind of stuff?

After everything you already said I think the overall answer is "no". I do understand it will be a bit different, naturally because it's simply a different rope...but nothing that's going to cause me having to go buy new equipment because it won't work correctly with the larger rope diameter.

 

[DMc]

No, it is what I use with all the same equipment and is in fact what I prefer because it works so well. What hitch cord will you be using? My choice with Vortex is 9mm ArbPro.

 

[soup-n-sandwich]

No, it is what I use with all the same equipment and is in fact what I prefer because it works so well. What hitch cord will you be using? My choice with Vortex is 9mm ArbPro.

Ok well if you have the exact same equipment with the same line...we are about 20 pounds different in weight. I can't image that my options would differ much from your.

Well I have the original 8mm Beeline that came with my HH, I have 9.3mm epiCord also have 8mm Ocean Poly and a couple of other hitch cords that I can't recall the name. Green and black in color.

I really like the Ocean Poly8mm..I use it for my prusik on the adjustable basal anchor sling and as a safety for the lower-able anchor in conjunction with a figure 8 for the climbing line. I love that cord. I'm testing it on with the hitchhiker but I don't think it works well with this HTP 7/16" line. It may not be a good choice for use with the HH period. I guess I won't know until I get the other 1/2" line.

 

[DMc]

Try all the cords you have to find out what works the best for you. But don't be satisfied with anything less than ultra smooth slack tending, almost zero setback and confident one handed descents.

 

[soup-n-sandwich]

Try all the cords you have to find out what works the best for you. But don't be satisfied with anything less than ultra smooth slack tending, almost zero setback and confident one handed descents.

Ok. Thanks for the advice. I certainly don't get that now. Inexperience leads to a misconception of what it should do. I starting thinking, "either I really suck at this or this device really sucks...either way - something sucks!" I've read a lot of reviews regarding how the HH performs but I haven't see that yet.
I would like to try RIT cord too.
The Torse harness, Fixe and swivel snap should be in soon. I was hoping to have the 1/2" line also but haven't ordered it yet.

How many feet of line to you use Dave?

Do you use canopy anchors or basal anchors.
If you use basal anchors do you use a lowerable type of fixed?

 

[DMc]

....How many feet of line to you use Dave?
Do you use canopy anchors or basal anchors.
If you use basal anchors do you use a lowerable type of fixed?

I use basal anchors almost exclusively. I set my lines with an APTA that has a green lazer targeting system so I can place a line pretty much exactly where I want.

Our trees are not particularly tall, most under 100'. So 150' and shorter lines get used a lot. Ropes are amongst the most bulky items we carry so I don't like dragging more around than I need.

Sometimes I will tie a couple of alpine butterflies but mostly I don't worry about setting up a lowerable system. Because a base tie is out of my sight most of the climb security and simplicity are more important to me. One wrap, a bowline with a yosemite finish is what gets used the most.

 

[r0ck1r0ck2]

has anyone tried mumford's rubber tubing over the down leg of the prussik?

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_hqz3JCch6U" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[Tim_B.]

Yup. I see that you still have the typical tether on your HH in that video...but the OTSHUT is much better I take it. I know the neck lanyard seems to work for a lot of folks but I don't want anything around my neck!

I neglected to respond to this post earlier. In my short video, I may have still had a small piece of cordage on my biner for tending the Hitch Hiker, but I don't think it was being used. In the video, when I wanted to fling my whole system around the small tree trunk, I got held up for a second because I'd forgotten that my Over The Shoulder Holder Upper Thingy (OTSHUT) was still connected to the top biner on my triple attachment pulley. I had to pull on the release of my stainless steel spring-loaded marine clevis, which caused it to pop right off. It happened pretty quickly. That spring-loaded clevis was connected to a 1" webbing strap that went down over my right shoulder and was connected behind me to my webbing strap tending harness.

I just wanted to point out the fact that the OTSHUT was in use during the video.

Tim

 

[soup-n-sandwich]

I neglected to respond to this post earlier. In my short video, I may have still had a small piece of cordage on my biner for tending the Hitch Hiker, but I don't think it was being used. In the video, when I wanted to fling my whole system around the small tree trunk, I got held up for a second because I'd forgotten that my Over The Shoulder Holder Upper Thingy (OTSHUT) was still connected to the top biner on my triple attachment pulley. I had to pull on the release of my stainless steel spring-loaded marine clevis, which caused it to pop right off. It happened pretty quickly. That spring-loaded clevis was connected to a 1" webbing strap that went down over my right shoulder and was connected behind me to my webbing strap tending harness.

I just wanted to point out the fact that the OTSHUT was in use during the video.

Tim

I see Tim. Oh yeah that did come across in the video. No worries there. Only your method and Dave's method use this tending method on the HH. I'm surprise others have tried it or video documented it.
Thanks Time for your reply.

has anyone tried mumford's rubber tubing over the down leg of the prussik?

I have not. It's hard to keep up with Richard M! He is always testing and improviing something.
Is Richard on this forum?

I use basal anchors almost exclusively. I set my lines with an APTA that has a green lazer targeting system so I can place a line pretty much exactly where I want.

Our trees are not particularly tall, most under 100'. So 150' and shorter lines get used a lot. Ropes are amongst the most bulky items we carry so I don't like dragging more around than I need.

Sometimes I will tie a couple of alpine butterflies but mostly I don't worry about setting up a lowerable system. Because a base tie is out of my sight most of the climb security and simplicity are more important to me. One wrap, a bowline with a yosemite finish is what gets used the most.

I made an all PVC version of the APTA with a Red Dot site also. Originally it was made out of steel pipe but was too heavy. I'm still dialling things in with the site. It fits a Stein 14oz bag perfectly. This method is the only way I can get the PSP/TIP high without snagging the hundreds of Pine branches on the way up.

Ok thanks for answering the rope length and type of base tie.
I was thinking I would need 250 to 300ft of line for a truly lower-able base anchor but I guess I could take a single leg of 150ft and if it needed to be lowered I could do a double fisherman knot to join two lines (above the belay device) together, if I needed to be lowered. This of course as long as my groundsman is trained for this.

 

[DMc]

If you are going to have a rescue system, it does make more sense, at least to me, to have a smaller and lighter weight line in a bag ready for deployment if needed. It will keep a fresh and ready rescue system handy without lugging around a longer climbing line than is actually needed for the job.

 

[DMc]

has anyone tried mumford's rubber tubing over the down leg of the prussik?

I have watched that video many times and have not seen anything that is doing better than the normal setup. I suppose if you are having troubles it would be worth a try.

 

[Tim_B.]

I have not. It's hard to keep up with Richard M! He is always testing and improviing something.
Is Richard on this forum?



I made an all PVC version of the APTA with a Red Dot site also. Originally it was made out of steel pipe but was too heavy. I'm still dialling things in with the site. It fits a Stein 14oz bag perfectly. This method is the only way I can get the PSP/TIP high without snagging the hundreds of Pine branches on the way up.

Ok thanks for answering the rope length and type of base tie.
I was thinking I would need 250 to 300ft of line for a truly lower-able base anchor but I guess I could take a single leg of 150ft and if it needed to be lowered I could do a double fisherman knot to join two lines (above the belay device) together, if I needed to be lowered. This of course as long as my groundsman is trained for this.

Hey, Chris, you're welcome for the response.

I think Richard is called yoyoman on this forum. Here's a link to his profile page.

https://www.masterblasterhome.com/member.php?3978-yoyoman

Regarding your home-made APTA, I think you should be aware that the PVC pipe you've used may be inherantly very dangerous for the purpose. I think the guy who developed the APTA for sale by TreeStuff came to that conclusion, possibly after having one or two PVC prototypes blow up on him. I don't think PVC is strong enough for the forces involved. TreeStuff fabricates theirs using threaded rigid aluminum conduit.

I modified my APTA just a bit, because I really did not care for the location TreeStuff chose to place the valve you use to fill the air chamber. They had it sitting right near the main ball valve's handle, such that it would be easy to pinch your fingers on it while trying to fire it. It also caused me to have to pick up on the air pump, because the fill valve was in the middle of the body of the APTA, and the bike pump's hose wasn't long enough to reach.

So I moved the pipe section with the fill valve to the bottom of the APTA, and added two more one foot long pieces of heavier black cast pipe to the middle of the APTA, but below the ball valve/firing mechanism, in order to increase the size of the air chamber, which in turn provides more power at a lower PSI pumped into the air chamber. Before this mod, I was maxing out the bike pump and still not getting shots high enough. After, I could use about 20 or 30 pounds less air pressure, and get a lot more power and altitude out of the APTA.

If you want to see the slickest design going, you should watch all of Tom Hoffman's videos on the subject. I think he goes by the name "oldfart".

Here's a link to his YouTube home page.

https://m.youtube.com/#/user/tghoffmann

Here's a link to his playlist of videos relating to the APTA.

https://m.youtube.com/#/playlist?list=PLUlSYuIlSMrTTF5ss4RvKbGZ0XWNn36h3

Regarding the base tie, if you tie an alpine butterfly knot slightly above your base tie's method of connection, it gives a rescuer a convenient and easy place to clip on a biner in order to attach a 2nd rope for lowering. You have to tie the alpine butterfly before you tension the rope, though. If you want to have a system that's always ready in an emergency, you can clip in a 2nd rope ahead of time, along with some device for lowering, like a Petzl Rig, maybe.

That's all for now.

Tim

 

[Tim_B.]

Tim this method is so whacked but works really well?! I never would have guessed that the HH would actually tends better then the "normal" method of using the tether on the top of the HH biner!
I'm kind of blown away. Now this isn't a done deal yet because my bridge is still really short. Too short.
Also, with this setup I can use the Weaver chest harness as is and it tends well.

If I use the ascender to get off the ground than "rest", when I put tension back on the rope with the foot ascender you do loss about 5" of travel as the pulley loads and flips over to the other side of the biner, but once it's loaded it doesn't do that again.

Where are you connecting your knee ascender bungee? I'm not sure if this setup will work until I get out of my basement but so far I'm impressed.

I also really like DMc's configuration as it completely eliminates the other biner.

I see what you guys are saying about the over the shoulder straps supporting your back when your in the sitting position. I'm getting that with the chest harness but I would image it would be even better with the lanyard of purpose built harness.
The only real downside...and this is minor is there is a bit more friction on the HH when "limb walking" out from the TIP. This is because the pulley is angling the rope back towards you, causing friction from the spine of the HH.

Again the tending is boarder-line ridiculous! Better than the "factory" suggestions. Now I can see why/how DMc's tending works well also.
Now I have to try it for real with a longer bridge and the knee ascender.

Sorry to keep quoting this same post of yours, Chris, but I just wanted to say "Thank you" for this review of my suggested setup. Most folks act like I'm out of my mind to want to have all that stuff underneath the Hitch Hiker, and rarely if ever does anyone actually try it out to see how well it performs. So I really appreciate you taking the time and trouble to try it out, and for keeping an open mind about the possibility that it might actually work.

I think the things you've said about my system represents the most positive review I've ever received regarding it.

Thanks again so much for the endorsement. No hard feelings at all if DMc's setup works better for you. As you might be the only guy on the planet who will have tried out both systems, I'm eager to hear your feedback on how the two systems compare to each other, and how well they both work for you.

I not sure if I ever gave Dave's system a go or not, I think because I felt like I needed something over my shoulder tight, to help hold me in a vertical orientation. That might mean I don't have my harness dialed in properly, still, as it tends to want to tip me backwards more than is comfortable for me. With all of Dave's experience, he's probably got his harness dialed in to the point where the apparent looseness of his tending harness, and the attachment of it at the front, does not bother him in the least. I feel as though I need more support along my back than that. This might be reflective of a nearly new climber's poor technique, however. Which is why I want to hear what you have to say about Dave's setup, as you and I are much closer in experience to each other than either one of us is to Dave. If you try his system and absolutely love it, I may have to open my mind up and give it a fair shot, maybe for a second time.

Tim

 

[soup-n-sandwich]

Ok...Dave and Tim,

Dave's idea is about as good as it gets for a person that already owns a TreeMotion saddle. The tending is so good it's hard to believe the hitch cord is even there. Zero sit-back when the prusik is setting correctly. Pinching the Petzl Fixe (as Dave did) just a little in a vise adds a little friction as you push the assembly over the TreeMotion's main bridge ring. Amazing tending...and all without the typical Hitch Hiker tending tether on the top of the biner. This configuration also eliminates alot of bulk. Actually other than the Fixe, it's the stock configuration of the Hitch Hiker with no added length to the system when it's connected to the bridge of the saddle.

I do have other issues but not related to tending.

When it comes to the TreeMotion saddle I've read and heard a lot about this saddle sitting lower on your body than most other designs. I can say that no matter where it sits prior to climbing it rides up on me as soon as I'm hanging in it. Since I used the Petzl Torse tending chest harness...which connects to the back loop on the rear of the TreeMotion saddle, what works in terms of adjustments when I'm standing, soon changes when I'm hanging. It means that there is much more slack introduced to the Torse chest harness once I up in the tree. I can adjust this slack out of the system which helps. Regardless of the height of the Hitch Hiker on my chest when connected to the Torse it seems to tend great no matter where it is.

I also re-tried my Weaver chest harness that doesn't connect to the saddle. Now that the Petzl Fixe is on the HH biner and bridge ring everything seems to work much better. The downside to the Waver chest harness in this configuration is that it doesn't offer any adjustment in terms of height of the tending ring on the center of the chest harness. So it's not quite as supportive as the Torse when you lean back in the sitting position.

I noticed no noticeable difference in resistance (I should but I don't) with the knee ascender (HAAS) connected to the bottom of the bridge ring vs the Torse chest harness. You would think having it connected to the bridge ring that you would feel the pull down from the HAAS bungee...but I couldn't tell. I have found that getting the HAAS bungee away from my body and centered is a big help in smooth operation.

One thing that I can't stand is the lack of bungee stretch of the HAAS. It simply isn't enough. I need another 3 inches or so from it. Has anyone modified the 2nd generator HAAS to have the new bungee that the new 3rd generation HAAS comes with? The factory boat snap on the HAAS is not very friendly either. It also will not fit over the TreeMotion bridge ring without grinding the crap out of it. It's not that the snap isn't large enough, it's the design of a boat snap. Since the gate opens inward, the gate itself makes the opening too small for the bridge ring to fit in. I'm replacing it with a trigger snap instead.

Since this is my first rodeo there has been some costly (in both time and money) mistakes when purchasing gear and I'm still making up for that a year later. The HAAS was not my first choice for a knee ascender but the SAKA wasn't available in stock when the initial order was placed. Same thing with the foot ascender. I ended up with a Camp Turbo but I wanted the CT locking Quick Step. Similar yet..but as a novice I just didn't want the extra "technique requirements" of the Turbo.

My climbing line...well I hate it. As we discussed in this post...it's a 7/16" HTP. Trying four different hitch cords the results are about the same. It's doesn't grab all that consistently as I need ti to...leading me to not trust it.

I'm going to make a quick video of how this thing tends and show how the Hitch Hiker knot is being tied. This should be a very straight forward knot...and it is, but I always end up with slack despite the recommendation from others. I'll show you what I mean soon.

Hey, Chris, you're welcome for the response.

I think Richard is called yoyoman on this forum. Here's a link to his profile page.

https://www.masterblasterhome.com/member.php?3978-yoyoman

Regarding your home-made APTA, I think you should be aware that the PVC pipe you've used may be inherantly very dangerous for the purpose. I think the guy who developed the APTA for sale by TreeStuff came to that conclusion, possibly after having one or two PVC prototypes blow up on him. I don't think PVC is strong enough for the forces involved. TreeStuff fabricates theirs using threaded rigid aluminum conduit.

I modified my APTA just a bit, because I really did not care for the location TreeStuff chose to place the valve you use to fill the air chamber. They had it sitting right near the main ball valve's handle, such that it would be easy to pinch your fingers on it while trying to fire it. It also caused me to have to pick up on the air pump, because the fill valve was in the middle of the body of the APTA, and the bike pump's hose wasn't long enough to reach.

So I moved the pipe section with the fill valve to the bottom of the APTA, and added two more one foot long pieces of heavier black cast pipe to the middle of the APTA, but below the ball valve/firing mechanism, in order to increase the size of the air chamber, which in turn provides more power at a lower PSI pumped into the air chamber. Before this mod, I was maxing out the bike pump and still not getting shots high enough. After, I could use about 20 or 30 pounds less air pressure, and get a lot more power and altitude out of the APTA.

If you want to see the slickest design going, you should watch all of Tom Hoffman's videos on the subject. I think he goes by the name "oldfart".

Here's a link to his YouTube home page.

https://m.youtube.com/#/user/tghoffmann

Here's a link to his playlist of videos relating to the APTA.

https://m.youtube.com/#/playlist?lis...vKbGZ0XWNn36h3

Regarding the base tie, if you tie an alpine butterfly knot slightly above your base tie's method of connection, it gives a rescuer a convenient and easy place to clip on a biner in order to attach a 2nd rope for lowering. You have to tie the alpine butterfly before you tension the rope, though. If you want to have a system that's always ready in an emergency, you can clip in a 2nd rope ahead of time, along with some device for lowering, like a Petzl Rig, maybe.

That's all for now.

Tim

Thanks Tim for the info regarding Richard M.
I've gone over this many times with PVC. Standard PVC pipe depending on size is rated high enough. 1.5" sch40 is rated at 330psi...but the fittings are not. Using a pressure rated PVC fittings like PVC# (I can't recall the name of this type of fitting) is rated equal to the pipe itself. The max pressure I'm using is 150psi. I'm no where near the max pressure rating. I originally made it out of cast iron pipe and was going to switch to aluminium until I did the math.
I have watched Tom's videos months ago which is what inspired me to built this.
The normal schedule 40 plumbing PVC is not pressure rated. The pressure rated fittings look very similar to the unrated versions. The difference being the surface area of the fitting itself. The pipe penetrates much further into the fitting than on the non-rated fittings.
https://youtu.be/4zXjnaCznpM

I might just take a piece of 1.5" PVC schedule 40 pipe...add two pressure rated T, elbows or end caps and pressurize it until it blows up. I guess this would prove this (at least for me anyway) and we could see exactly where this combo of pipe and fittings fail.
Thanks guys,
Chris

 

[DMc]

You are doing well, Chris. On the TM, it is almost impossible to get the waist belt tight enough unless you are hanging from the rope bridge. Try that and see if your waist buckle can be tightened, should help.

Don't worry about getting the hitch cord ultra tight, just get it so it will work the way you like. One of the tricks for keeping it from getting more slack than you want is to work the stopper knot by holding it and pushing it towards the dogbone while pulling on its tail. It is the soft setting of that knot that allows the hitch to elongate.

When you get to where you need to be, take the Torse off the ring and clip it to your waist belt. The HH and pulley combo will still tend slack and the Torse will working as should straps. It is because of this that I don't clip the HAAS to the bridge ring. If it's on the Torse buckle I can just leave it there and it has no effect on normal HH use. Though even then I normally just take it off and store it.

 

[soup-n-sandwich]

When you get to where you need to be, take the Torse off the ring and clip it to your waist belt. The HH and pulley combo will still tend slack and the Torse will working as should straps. It is because of this that I don't clip the HAAS to the bridge ring. If it's on the Torse buckle I can just leave it there and it has no effect on normal HH use. Though even then I normally just take it off and store it.

Thanks Dave,
I can't clip the HAAS onto the Torse because the bungee won't stretch that far. But I'm making some head way now! Thanks you to my friend.
How this method of tending is not the norm is beyond me. It's fantastic. Thanks very much for passing this method along to me.

You are doing well, Chris. On the TM, it is almost impossible to get the waist belt tight enough unless you are hanging from the rope bridge. Try that and see if your waist buckle can be tightened, should help.

Now that I haven't tried. When the TM is on me and I'm hanging the wasit belt is complete slack because it rides up on my. I have it adjusted much better now but it still slides up on me. I'll try your method and see what happens.

Don't worry about getting the hitch cord ultra tight, just get it so it will work the way you like. One of the tricks for keeping it from getting more slack than you want is to work the stopper knot by holding it and pushing it towards the dogbone while pulling on its tail. It is the soft setting of that knot that allows the hitch to elongate.

As you know, once the prusik goes about 2" above the body of the HH it doesn't work well at all. Very tight and jumpy/jurky. Not a confidenct builder that's for sure. I will try you method of pushing the knot towards the bone and trying to work the slack out. Thanks Dave for your time and efforts on trying to help.

Chris

 

[greengreer]

Ditch the boat snap for a trigger snap, they are cheaply available at any hardware store and work perfectly.