Hitch Hiker or Rope Wrench

Which is it?

  • Hitch Hiker

    Votes: 10 35.7%
  • Rope Wrench

    Votes: 3 10.7%
  • I have only used the Hitch Hiker and love it

    Votes: 4 14.3%
  • I have only used the Rope Wrench and love it

    Votes: 4 14.3%
  • I have not used either one

    Votes: 2 7.1%
  • This is a stupid question. I use a a wraptor

    Votes: 5 17.9%

  • Total voters
    28
  • Poll closed .
Here is a good comparison review from Treestuff:

https://www.treestuff.com/store/catalog.asp?item=2171#detail
This Thing Rocks! - 01/29/2013
Reviewer: Brian
I've been a devout rope wrench guy for a couple years now, and still think it's a brilliant device. But, the Hitch Hiker is a definite step up, in my humble opinion. It is bomber, much simpler, way easier to pass through crotches when repositioning anchor points, easier/faster set up, and eliminates any "metal in the face" - sits lower because of its compactness. The Hitch Hiker is ever so slightly rougher to advance - emphasis on slightly. This is just due to the rope being pulled around the radius of the 'biner instead of a pulley. And it is also extra sensitive to variations in how long the hitch itself is tied. Slightly too long and your in for the "four inch heart-attack". Too short and it becomes hard to advance. I've found that this becomes less of an issue as the hitch cord gets broken in a bit, much like any other hitch-based system. I've been climbing with the Hitch Hiker for several months now, can work faster, and am 100% sold.
Review this product
 
The only advantage I see in the RW is that it takes up slack a bit more smoothly than the HH. Otherwise, HH hands down for me, for many reasons.
 
Hitch Hiker for me. I have a real problem accepting anything at face value without asking why? Even after being given an answer, if it does not make complete sense I will, much to the dismay of my former teachers, pursue it until it does. So telling me that, this is just how it is done, or this is how everyone else does it, has never been an acceptable answer.

This personality quirk has lead me to understand that much of what we think we know, we don't. It has also been responsible for my trying almost every tree climbing tool and system out there. This, though somewhat expensive, has left me quite confident in knowing that what I use is the best for the type of tree work I do.

I use the Hitch Hiker, not for any one of its abilities, but for the combination of them. Nothing else I have used has such a complete combination of ease of use, speed, safety and work positioning options.

Dave
 
Could those of you who prefer the RW over the HH be more descriptive as to why?

Dave
 
I'll bite on that, Dave.

For the record I didn't vote. I have a lot of different gadgets and fall in and out of love with them in a pretty consistent rotation.

I've been using the wrench more in the last 6 weeks or so. It had been shelved for a while in favor of the HH and I was using it on a rec climb with one of the Whipple tethers. I was immediately pleased by how easy it was to tend slack compared to the HH. So, the HH has been on the shelf for a while.

Pretty soon (probably as a result of this thread) I'll grab the HH and decide that I like it way better than having a wrench in my face. Then the cycle will continue.. :)
 
... I was immediately pleased by how easy it was to tend slack compared to the HH. So, the HH has been on the shelf for a while...

Thanks, Adam. I find the ease of slack-tending is all in the hitch type and setting. Most people that are using the RW, use a VT or a variant of the same. This type of knot does release and slack tend very well but, in most cases, with the penalty of increased setback. In DdRT three inches of setback is only felt as one and a half, but on SRT you feel the full three. While moving up several feet at a time this is not a problem but it is very noticeable and annoying for work positioning. With the right number of wraps and proper tension-setting, the knot that Paul has recommended for the Hitch Hiker, will not only tend slack with the lightest touch, it also has almost no setback. It takes no time at all to change the tension with the dogbone and the rewards are well worth doing so.

I have never been a fan of lifting the weight of the tailing rope every time you move as a slack-tending practice. When coming in from a limb walk while SRWP it is even more awkward and energy consuming than in DdRT, especially if the angle is acute and the limb is weak. The HH is compact enough in length that it can be used on a tether. When set up this way, the climber's weight and slack removal are achieved using both arms simultaneously and with all the physical effort applied in the direction of travel. No wasted energy and better control.

I have been revisiting an older idea I had for a HH advancer as I have become annoyed with certain aspects of the loop tether type. The small hole can be clipped into with either a chest harness snap or a bungee cord.

Dave

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That is a neat idea Dave. I bet a roller could be made integral with that attach point, held in place like a roller bearing with a race around the edge of the roller. But either way your increased radius should help make the slack tending even smoother.
 
I find the ease of slack-tending is all in the hitch type and setting.

I agree it's all in the hitch. I have a good selection of different hitch cords in the garage that I'm going to play with when I HH again. Right now I'm on a 5/1 michoacan with 10mm OP on imori. I'm going to try some of that 10mm OP with 5 wraps on the HH possibly today.

I like the idea you have going there, but how to you keep the advancer from rolling in and out? Do you just take some weight off and roll it out?

It seems like it might be nice to have a small bar welded on the top of the advancer to keep it from rolling into the channel there... but that also might keep the biner from moving as freely up and down. Have you tried anything like that yet?
 
That looks like a clean smooth setup Dave. I'm excited to try the HH it seems like a very nice piece of equipment and has received incredible reviews from everything I've read. I've been using the new Rope Wrench 2? since it came out and I really have become a huge fan and by default a big promoter of the RW. But again, I have yet to try the HH. Any tool that allows someone to work a tree SRT is good in my book though.

Since switching to SRT I've noticed I'm much more productive, less tired at the end of the day, and not near as limited in my movements through the tree. And to clarify, this is coming from someone who STRONGLY believed all the SRT junkies were just gear heads and were into anything that was NEW to tree climbing. I thought there couldn't possiby be a better way than DdRT.

jp:D
 
Dave, I check my mail all the time you know... No envelopes from Montana :(

Hey you should send me some snail mail and through one of those suckers in the envelope!
 
I was thinking today about how everybody was complaining about the slack tending of the HH. Yes I agree it is all in the hitch. For the last week I have been climbing on some 8mm armor-prus with 7 wraps like somebody said they really liked. Man when you get that setup dialed in it is smooth as butter. Funny I tried that cordage 8 months ago and hated it as it wouldnt grab consistently, however that was with 5 wraps, the 7 makes it very nice plus you dont need to whip the end!!!! Big plus when you have 100 hitch cords to get out the door!!
 
I told you how nice it was that it just fit right through the dogbone... I have wanted to try that ArmorPrus for a while.

I agree the tending is all in how you have your hitch set. Like David says you can go really tight for ascent then make a simple adjustment for easy slack tending.
 
HitchHiker pretty much exclusively now. I keep the RW handy for others to use when rec climbing.
Dave,
Your additional piece appears to offload most if not all of the wear from the carabiner?
 
Do you mean wear "to" the carabiner or "from" as said. It will stop wear to it but rope wear will be about the same IMO.
 
I was actually thinking of slipping a small piece of steel or plastic pipe on the carabiner there to see how it would affect slack tending.
 
I finally tried Jamie's setup, using a hand loop over the Basic/Croll and it is smooth! I tied it together roughly so it isnt perfect yet but I anticipate once I have the lengths worked out that it will be great for me.

Being able to climb hand over hand seems like it wouldnt be a big deal but it gives the rope climbing a much more natural progression.

I have tried pretty much every rope walker setup there is, Jamies is non-gear-intensive, really efficient and stows small. If you havent tried it I recommend it!

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/r4Y5mE4WmxE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
(it can be done without the advancing clip, you just need a lanyard over the shoulder or HUT thing as usual, but the clip on the foot loop is perfect.)
 
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