This is the Akimbo

Bodean said:
I just grab it and yank it down when I need it.... I have no techniques except over, around or through.

I actually like my gloves better after all the rubber has been eaten up.


I still love the Akimbo better as it doesn't like eating gloves as much...and it's so smooth....though in the rain? I haven't gotten the upgraded rain bollards....

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Click to expand...

Upgrade rain bollards?

That is news to me. I have become disenchanted with the Akimbo of late. It sits in the bottom of my bag. I pulled it out the other day. Climbed to about 70 foot on an ash tree. Started to descend to a limb and the thing just wouldn't hold me. I ended up just going all the way back down the the base and packed my kit up and went home.

Any improvements on this device might actually get me using it in earnest.
 
It was on Sterling 11mm htp. This had been the only rope I have managed to get it to work on properly. Maybe the cams nhave worn a bit and the device needs adjusting.

I didn't have the time to delve further and start messing... it was a rigging job, third day of hard climbs in a fairly hot weather spell. I did t drink enough, easy to say with hindsite, and my head was spinning. So I just packed it up and went home the tree got done another day.

I really, really want this device to prove me wrong and be consistent, but so far I haven't found the sweet spot.

One day when I have a bit more time. Or get these new cams mentioned earlier.
 
It's pretty adjustable.

I think 11mm is the small end of the spectrum... and 11.7 or 12mm is the upper limit.

I dunno, it's money for me.
I love it. I don't use it in pitch cause I'm too lazy to clean it.
I use blaze and the blue kernmantle.

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biggun said:
....I didn't have the time to delve further and start messing...third day of hard climbs in a fairly hot weather spell. I did t drink enough,... and my head was spinning.....
Click to expand...

Yeah, you gotta watch that hot and dehydrated stuff. It must have been your condition because no friction device i have used is faster or easier to adjust. That is not saying that you will be able to find the sweet spot quickly, just that it is easy to make adjustments.

Mine runs smooth as can be on 11.7mm Yale Aztec. 11mm is too small in my opinion. Skinny rope goes from great to crap too easily with little noticeable changes.
 
I know about the full adjustability of the device as I have climbed a fair bit on it.

Of the ropes I have tried the htp was the only one I managed to get it to operate to a remotely acceptable level. Maybe, my levels and expectations are too high.

I work as a contract climber and really need something to just get on with the job and get climbing. I have said it before, I have had it running sweet one day only to not operate correctly the day after.

I don't climb on the Yale family of ropes as they are far too bouncy IME due to changes made for CE marking.

I have tried it in Cougar Blue/ Orange, Kernmaster and the htp.
 
I don't use it in pitch cause I'm too lazy to clean it.
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I tried it in pitch, dead wooding a Cedrus atlantica, and it's definitively not a matter of a cleaning lazyness.
The Akimbo absolutely hates the pitch, as Porbrick says in the instructions. It's the onliest downside I've found for the moment.

Basically, you can manage to come up by pushing on the Pantin, but never come down. It becomes really locked on the rope, even fully collapsed and down rotated to straighten the rope. In SRT, my weight helped a little to force the rope "sliding" step by step, but in DdRT, no way, it was really stuck.
Put the Pantin on, take out the weight off the Akimbo, free the cams, take some slack, put the weight back on it, remove the Pantin ...
The final descent was a bit time consuming !

But still, I love it.:)

Oh! and the rope is an Argiope purple, 12,1 mm, a tinny tad over the max allowed (12 mm).
 
I guess there never will be a "best for everyone" climbing tool. We are all too different. When Paul first let me try the Hitch Hiker, I was blown away by how well it worked and how easy it was to use and adjust. Once it became available on the open market, I couldn't believe that everyone that tried it didn't feel exactly the same way about it. Still can't.

I feel the same about the Akimbo, I like and continue using it and think that it also is brilliant, works well and is easy to use and adjust.
 
DMc said:
I guess there never will be a "best for everyone" climbing tool. We are all too different. When Paul first let me try the Hitch Hiker, I was blown away by how well it worked and how easy it was to use and adjust. Once it became available on the open market, I couldn't believe that everyone that tried it didn't feel exactly the same way about it. Still can't.

I feel the same about the Akimbo, I like and continue using it and think that it also is brilliant, works well and is easy to use and adjust.
Click to expand...

Dave, my problem with the Akimbo is the need to adjust it. Yes it can be customised for different ropes. It just isn't consistent enough. I got it working great on the 11mm htp and loved it then one day it just wouldn't hold me up. That was it... I have spent enough time and energy trying to get it to work I can't be bothered anymore.

I think the main thing with the Akimbo were the initial prototypes were working well and people first experiences of the device were great.

The device we were sent out had different cams, springs and wasn't so beautifully engineered. Mine and a number of others have just locked in place for no reason. Turned out to be grime and a good clean out sorted it but for that to happen whilst trying to change over in the tree or locking up when working would just be a royal pain in the arse.

It is a great device and concept, it just need more work before it should re readily available.

I did get 60m or Samson Voyager 12mm to try it on but I have had a chance to climb on it yet. If that is still a no go then it will be for sale.
 
Shoot, even a hitch cord needs a a little tuning as things wear in. When I loan my Akimbo out I feel handicapped without it now.
 
biggun said:
Dave, my problem with the Akimbo is the need to adjust it. Yes it can be customised for different ropes. It just isn't consistent enough. I got it working great on the 11mm htp and loved it then one day it just wouldn't hold me up. That was it... I have spent enough time and energy trying to get it to work I can't be bothered anymore.

I think the main thing with the Akimbo were the initial prototypes were working well and people first experiences of the device were great.

The device we were sent out had different cams, springs and wasn't so beautifully engineered. Mine and a number of others have just locked in place for no reason. Turned out to be grime and a good clean out sorted it but for that to happen whilst trying to change over in the tree or locking up when working would just be a royal pain in the arse.

It is a great device and concept, it just need more work before it should re readily available.

I did get 60m or Samson Voyager 12mm to try it on but I have had a chance to climb on it yet. If that is still a no go then it will be for sale.
Click to expand...


Like I said, there will not be one perfect climbing tool for all climbers. Saddles, boots, ropes and saws, same thing. It does sound like the Akimbo is ill-suited to your needs, but as with the aforementioned items, it does not reflect a lack of quality or design deficiency.

With that understanding, I would like to point out a few things that you stated that I take issue with. You said it was working great on 11mm HTP and then it just stopped working for you. I weigh 155lbs and could not get it to work to my satisfaction on 11mm rope so am surprised it was working well for you in the first place. The sweet spot for this device appears to be with 11.7 mm ropes. But aside from that, what changed?

You said "Mine and a number of others have just locked in place for no reason." Then you go on to say it turned out to be grime and a cleaning sorted it out. That is a reason and an understandable one at that. The Akimbo might not be the best choice if ones work conditions are mucky and tool cleaning is of low priority.

"the initial prototypes were working well and people's first experiences of the device were great.
The device we were sent out had different cams, springs and wasn't so beautifully engineered."

I have had both in my possession at the same time; I disagree with the above quote. The Go Fund Me Akimbos matched and exceeded the originals in many ways. The only problem I encountered was with the anodizing on the rope contact patches made modulation inconsistent. Solved that by removing it and now it works stellar, for me.

I have no doubt that the Akimbo can be improved upon but as it is now, I do not see any design flaws, just limitations in the situations it can deal with, as is the case with all special-purpose tools.
 
DMc said:
Like I said, there will not be one perfect climbing tool for all climbers. Saddles, boots, ropes and saws, same thing. It does sound like the Akimbo is ill-suited to your needs, but as with the aforementioned items, it does not reflect a lack of quality or design deficiency.

With that understanding, I would like to point out a few things that you stated that I take issue with. You said it was working great on 11mm HTP and then it just stopped working for you. I weigh 155lbs and could not get it to work to my satisfaction on 11mm rope so am surprised it was working well for you in the first place. The sweet spot for this device appears to be with 11.7 mm ropes. But aside from that, what changed?

You said "Mine and a number of others have just locked in place for no reason." Then you go on to say it turned out to be grime and a cleaning sorted it out. That is a reason and an understandable one at that. The Akimbo might not be the best choice if ones work conditions are mucky and tool cleaning is of low priority.

"the initial prototypes were working well and people's first experiences of the device were great.
The device we were sent out had different cams, springs and wasn't so beautifully engineered."

I have had both in my possession at the same time; I disagree with the above quote. The Go Fund Me Akimbos matched and exceeded the originals in many ways. The only problem I encountered was with the anodizing on the rope contact patches made modulation inconsistent. Solved that by removing it and now it works stellar, for me.

I have no doubt that the Akimbo can be improved upon but as it is now, I do not see any design flaws, just limitations in the situations it can deal with, as is the case with all special-purpose tools.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the detailed reply. I can only comment from my own experiences and draw upon similar circumstances read online from other users.

As for the locking up issue, all the ones sent to the UK seemed to have been done up to different levels, only a turn of the centre connection loosens it up. When my Akimbo first locked up i ended up dismantling the whole thing to clean it and it worked fine... the second time I soaked in soapy water dried and then lubricated it and it has been fine since. TBH though I haven't used it enough since then. I have read and seen similar videos posted by users in the US on the Akimbo face book page.

Sterling HTP 11mm was the only rope I managed to get it working to a standard I was comfortable with. My Cougar blue was well worn so I didn't have much hope for that one. My Cougar Orange was pretty new and clean. I initially managed to set the Akimbo on that line but it became difficult to operate with the slightest change in humidity. In the end it was either locked or freefall. No feathering the device to control descent. Sometimes I would have to break the top arm with both hands. The HTP worked really well. Had it climbing, ascending and descending how I would have expected, and similar to review and video clips I have seen of others setup. I kept that rope pretty clean and only used the combo on dry days. One day I turned up to finish rigging and descent sized Ash. I got up to about 60 foot, sat my weight into the system and slowly started to descend. No rhyme or reason to it. I weigh 87 in my pants so about 90 in full ppe, maybe a bit more.

The different cams and springs were comments picked up from Jaime. He sent myself and Ben Rose alternate springs to try and that helped a little. There was also a different shaped cam in there and Ben tried that one out. As for different cams in the prototypes to the prerelease, maybe it wasn't a direct change of shape but the anodising certainly changed the characteristics of the cam and therefore how it reacted to the rope. This again was information from Jaime.

The beautiful engineering comment was regarding the centre pivot point when moving and opened it looks slightly different and looks like the holes are a tad off. At first I attributed that to be contributing factor to trouble opening and the sticking issues. I haven't had one of the prototypes in hand so maybe the comment shouldn't have been made. Although there was so much buzz about the device through the forums and Facebook, that there a plenty of high def pics to zoom in on.

I have mentioned similar feedback to Jaime and so has Ben. I think it is a great design but still need a bit of refinement but it will be a great product.

I also think that feedback, good and bad is needed, in order for the product to reach its full potential. Man, I was about the 10th person to crowd fund the project. I have faith in this product otherwise I wouldn't have donated.

These are just my experiences, as I said earlier.
 
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