The French Coil: Do any of you use it?

[mattp]

I've been using the butterfly coils for years and it works fine for me, though I do usually flake it out because i tangle it often enough that it seems worth the extra time needed to flake it out - and since this is only necessary at the start of the first pitch of something it doesn't seem to be too much of a time drain to flake the rope. These French-coil or the carefully-unfold-and-stack-the-butterfly ideas sound worth trying, but there's a good chance I'll continue to make a mess of my rope. My hands are not size 14 and at the end of a climb I am usually not in as much of a mood to carefully stow the thing as I am, at the beginning of one, in the mood to carefully set it up for a lead.

 

For the last few years, however, I've been climbing with someone who likes the old fashioned circular coil despite the twisting imparted that way, and I've found myself more and more using this method -- especially when I'm not going to stuff the rope in a pack. A coil thrown over the shoulder carries much more comfortably than the butterfly-tied-into-a- pack.

[pindude]

Wallstein said:

pin-

I never have a problem with the rope feeding for a leader when I coil it over my neck and lay it flat. I think we are really talking about the same method but one is supported by the palm of your and and the other is supported by the back of the neck. I drape the rope over my neck with a dog ear on each side. Not a big loop around my neck. I will coil a rope in my palm when my shoulders are tired and vice versa. I probably coiled around 1000 (no exageration) ropes last year and have found the over the neck to be the quickest method and cleanest feading. But I probably need more practice since I am so young and youth always means incopetence. Well I go back to work on friday and get to practice my rope coiling for the next 6 months while guiding in yosemite. Hopefully I will have it all figured out by then and we can have a rope coiling competition at the next cc.com bbq.

 

Wallstein,

You're on... So you are young! Nah, it doesn't mean incompetence...some of us elders, as we get older, use guile and deceit to keep up, and try to keep young 'uns in their place.

 

Seems like you may very well have an improvement on my French Coil. What's a dog ear? Even though I'm a wordsmith, I have to see things "hands-on" to fully understand them. I'll have to make the drive from the east side for a BBQ or Pub Club just to see how you coil, or better yet, with my new job maybe I'll be able to break away and spend at least a week in the Valley this late summer/early fall.

 

Sounds like you've got the better job: 6 months in the Valley...I can only imagine right now. I learned a lot of my climbing there, but only on 1-2 week-long trips. In 6 months, I'm sure you'll be a climbing monster before you're done, and have lots of fodder for great stories. Have fun.

 

--Steve Reynolds

[pindude]

All good feedback. My main thing is having a coiled rope that doesn't need restacking. I never learned how to stack over my neck or how to coil a Butterfly so I didn't have to reflake--I'll have to try Retro's finger method with a Butterfly, and Wallstein's and Fern's neck coiling methods.

[erik]

i used to be the ropes worst nightmare....all my coils ended with frustration and swear words, then one time when i was out climbing with this little short guide like wanna be weak ass midget he showed me a new way! a smarter way! a better way!

 

coil the rope over your neck, supa fast and i have never had an issue since.

 

and yeah wallstain you need to learn to climb better?!

[mattp]

How dare somebody suggest they know something that Wallstein does not? He's a great climber and a great guy, but this is a discussion board and doesn't always have to be about "I know better than you." Keep an open mind, and one day you may find out that some newbie not even finished with mounty school actually has a good idea that you could learn from.

[erik]

I HEAR YA MATT

 

AND I READ WHAT PINDUDE PUT UP AND I WILL EVEN TRY IT WHEN I GET HOME TONITE....AS I AM ALL FOR LEARNING NEW THINGS IN HOPES THAT SOMEDAY I WILL BE A MEDIAOCRE CLIMBER, BUT MAYBE PINDUDE COULD TRY OUR WAY TOO!

 

AND WALLSTAIN CAN