Loaner Unicender Thread

[rangerdanger]

I went looking for the Unicender thread Burnham started about the loaner uni that he's been floating around. I've had it for a few weeks now and haven't used it a ton. I think I'm just too set on hitch's to gain the full benefits of the Uni. I mean, it's great for SRT, being able to ascend and descend with ease, making it a great middle or upper ascender, so in the event of an emergency, you can bail quick.

But for regular climbing, SRT and DdRT, where a lot of up and down is required, I still prefer a hitch for various reasons:

1. The fairlead on the Uni needs to be reworked in a such a way that the rope has a tough time escaping it. The way it is now, it's tough to tend slack when returning from a limb walk or other things.

2. On DdRT more than SRT, the Uni is VERY VERY touchy. It would take a lot of getting used to to descend on this with one hand operation, like a hitch. Especially on a swing, where I would have to descend during a swing, I feel like I have no control over how fast it slides through.

3. The price. I know I'm not often one to care about the price of a piece of gear, but for what this device does, I could buy a ton of prussic cord for the same effect. And that roll of prussic cord would last a heck of a lot longer than the Uni I think(by that I mean the time till it needs to be rebuilt)

Overall, the Uni is a great device to play around with and for those that can get used to it, I'm sure it fits their purpose like a glove. But for others like myself, the Uni just has too many draw backs right now to get me enthused about it.

 

[SkwerI]

Here's the thread from the previous forum website.
http://www.masterblasterhome.com/showthread.php?t=13583

 

[canadiantreeman]

Who's next in line for the loaner uni?

 

[MooseHunter113]

ive never seen a a Uni in action before. If you get a chance Ranger i would love to see a quick video of how it works. Maybe pointing out the pros and cons?

 

[Tommy_B]

Nick made a video. Here it is

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0otdEn7VcNU

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[MasterBlaster]

LOL@ the outtakes and farmer's tan!

 

[Burnham]

Ranger, I would like to have it back for my mid october FS Technical Advisory Group meeting...I'll pm you the mailing address. We'll see about another round of loaner activity after that.

 

[DMc]

2. On DdRT more than SRT, the Uni is VERY VERY touchy. It would take a lot of getting used to to descend on this with one hand operation, like a hitch. Especially on a swing, where I would have to descend during a swing, I feel like I have no control over how fast it slides through...

Ranger, I think your appraisal and review is, for the most part, pretty accurate and I think most climbers that primarily use doubled rope would agree with you.

To use the Uni solely as a replacement for a friction hitch would be a serious waste of money. But used as a combination for SRT ascent, working the trees SRT or switching to DdR, all with the same tool is marvelously efficient. The Uni needs very little support gear to accomplish all of these tasks.

I'm guessing your above-quoted problem is directly related to technique, more than the Uni's lack of ability. When single-handed limb swings on a DdR are required, I use the pictured method. It works extremely well either left or right hand and gives full hitch-like control on one-handed swings. You pinch the rope in between the carabiner, resting your little finger on top of the Uni; modulating the pressure points gives you the control.

Dave

 

[Burnham]

Thanks for the input, Dave...that's a great tip and picture of what you're referring to.

 

[Bounce]

In addition to what Dave has shown, you can also wrap the line around the levers and use the Uni in the "squeeze to stop" method, which works a lot like a figure 8. The wrap generates more friction so if you've depressed the levers too far, you don't go into free fall. When you want to stop, it's easy to just flip the line off the top lever, allowing good one-handed control.

 

[rangerdanger]

Thanks for that piece of info Dave. I agree that the Uni is a true multi purpose tool, and should not be viewed as one thing or another, but as a combination of things.

BTW, what's up with that piece of metal below the Uni fair-lead. Is that your solution to the fairlead problem?

 

[NorthWoodsDiver]

How do we get on the list to loan out the uni?

 

[DMc]

BTW, what's up with that piece of metal below the Uni fair-lead. Is that your solution to the fairlead problem?

Good spot, ranger. A solution, for the moment. It is just a large scissor snap that I modified for the purpose. As you mentioned, not having a fairlead off the Unicender that captures the rope so that it may be tailed from any direction is a major oversight. This is a problem that can be very simply fixed on the manufacturing end and improve the Unicender's functionality 10 fold.

Dave

 

[TreeDimensional]

Yup, thats the only over-sight with mine. I will have a go at modifying it when harvest is done. Its not like it is ANSI compliant or anything!!!!II have a pic around here somewhere that someone mounted a small pulley on theirs. Looked like it would work well.