Rope Wrench Alternative??

bonner1040

bonner1040

Nick from Ohio
Joined
Nov 25, 2011
Messages
5,853
Location
Indianapolis / Cleveland
I have never used the Rope Wrench before. Lets just get that out in the open. I have also never tried what I am thinking here so i could be totally wrong, and i am not saying this would work. But it kind of seems like it would. It also seems like it would be similar to the F8 Revolver setup, which again i never tried.

Anyway, does anyone think that this might work similary to the WR?

mammut-smart3.jpg

I am thinking it could be used in a similar capacity. I might be crazy, and you might have to turn it upside down but @ $30 USD ( http://www.backcountry.com/mammut-smart-belay-device ) it seems like a good deal. I rock climb as well so if I buy one and the idea turns out to be hogwash and not work at all at least i wont have wasted my 30 bones.

Thoughts? Experience?

PS i am not taking anything away from the RW, and i know its the best thing since sliced pickles and all and I def do not want an argument. I have read all the RW threads and i understand its many advantages (and i am planning on getting one ultimately to try for myself)...And my hat is off to Mr. Bing for his hard work and innovation. But hey who knows.
 
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I am not sure what that tool is in your pic and your link doesnt make sense for this thread. Can you check on that link and maybe repost?
 
I think this is what he's getting at. Seems as though it needs to be loaded all the time in order to work. Interesting none-the-less.


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Ya beat me to it, I just went out and found what it was. One of the "features" of it is that it locks off even at minor forces. So I am guessing that it would not work in place of the Wrench. It could be a nice replacement to a figure 8 in a base tied anchor for SRT.
 
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  • #5
EMR,

The link was bad. I copied a link from some research i was doing for a different thread. I fixed it. Here it is as well...

http://www.backcountry.com/mammut-smart-belay-device

My thoughts about that auto locking is that the lever removes the cam-lock and allows the rope to run free. if the rope exits the device and goes down to the hitch-climber setup the climbers weight would keep the lever engaged and the cam disengaged.

My other though is to insert the biner on the opposite side as pictured in my original post this would put a small bend into the rope and position the handle down. A tether could then be attached to the biner as with the RW. The whole system would be midline attachable and in my mind, the way i see it, it should work.

I am going to pick one up so ill keep everyone posted.

I do not think it would make a good base tie for SRT as it is not a super positive lock, to my knowledge, and if the weight was removed it could disengage and slide possibly. I will test this out as well though and let everyone know.
 
You're better off with a $5 hammer handle, wooden RW. The RW allows you to use a foot ascender to climb, using leg power. Auto-disengage for ascent, engages (close to auto) on the way down. You don't even need the $5 handle, but its often a nice piece of hickory.

Have you seen the wooden predecessor to the RW. It works fine, just a little less adjustable, and can't be installed midline with the removable pin modification, plus the money that you spend will support the innovator. You'll make that money back fast if you have climbing to do that lends itself to RWing. If you're just doing simple conifer removals and crane work, it might not be worth it, otherwise, you'll be able to apply it to many, many different situations, IMO.
 
It looks like a fun tool, but with it only being rated for 10.5mm dynamic rope, its use for tree work may not pan out.

Dave
 
I think that the place for that tool in in sketchy anchor alpine/ traditional climbing where you would want to let the falling climber "run" a bit in order to reduce the peak force on the anchor point, preventing the anchor from ripping out of the rock, and the climber falling double the distance to the next piece below.

Its not a descender like the RW, more like the F-eight revolver, the predecessor to the RW.
 
bonner1040 said:
EMR,

I do not think it would make a good base tie for SRT as it is not a super positive lock, to my knowledge, and if the weight was removed it could disengage and slide possibly. I will test this out as well though and let everyone know.
Click to expand...

My bad, I should have mentioned that I always use a prussik above my lowering figure 8 and then hard lock the 8. I was thinking about this instead of a figure 8, but I am not sure if you could run the Smart as well as the prussik at the same time. I agree with you that I would not want this as the sole item holding your ascent rope.
 
Is anyone using the F8 system anymore? I actually use it when I am working down a spar. I just used it two days ago and it worked great. It just seems like that fell by the wayside once the RW came out. Its still a good method to use. Before the F8 was "developed", I would use a chain link and a biner in place of the F8. That worked great for descending but you could not ascend with it. I stole that idea from the rock climbing world.
 
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  • #14
Yeh ill bet if you ran the rope the rope right through it and clipped a biner on the opposite side of that roll bar (shiny aluminum cylinder on top) and attached a tether to the red handle that it would work the same.

f136676-i80585b.jpg

If you look at the original wooden RW from the post over at the buzz that SOUTHsound linked to it doesnt seem that far off. Im guessing i can make it work.

248081-ropewrench.jpg

277588-SingingTreeRopeWrench.jpg

Lastly, if you can lower someone on belay with it, than you can lower yourself with it if need be regardless of what anyone says.
 
I see what you're getting at. Don't use it in the typical belay mode, rather thread the rope through, a la the RW. From solely looking at it, I'd imagine you'd be better off modifying with a drilled bolt hole or bolt slot, plus a tether point.

Or just modify a piece of wood that costs little to nothing. The wooden Rope Wrenches work well.
 
Ya, those slots might work. Good point. You have indexed points of attachment with those finite slot options, instead of a continuum of spacing options with a slot. It could be worth a try. Worst case scenario, you have a belay device.
 
Eric, for the spar, did you use the F8 for lack of a rope wrench, or prefering it to a RW? Just seems like obsolete technology that has been part of the development of a better tool. I've used a F8 for spars, too, but the RW is mighty niiice.
 
No RW here. I want one but I am too cheap and there are many other tools I want first. If anyone has one they want to sell, let me know. Otherwise I will be using the F8 when necessary and just wishing I had a RW.
 
P1080763.jpg

Haven't seen pics posted of anybody's hammer RW, so I grabbed mine, in case it can help anybody. I'd shorten it if I still used it.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #22
emr said:
No RW here. I want one but I am too cheap and there are many other tools I want first. If anyone has one they want to sell, let me know. Otherwise I will be using the F8 when necessary and just wishing I had a RW.
Click to expand...

Eric, i guess im with you. I will let you know how it goes, @ $30 it would be an easier investment to make for sure on my end.
 
If it works I would give it a go for sure. Cheaper than the Revolver that I bought. My guess is that it won't work as smooth as the wrench but it would be fun to play with anyhow.
 
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