equalette

[DavidHiers]

Does anyone climb on the equalette anchor described in Long's anchor book (2e)? Its an interesting little doo-dad...

[catbirdseat]

Rarely. I still usually pull it all together and tie off with a knot. It's faster. See the thread on the ACR.

[rob]

I use one.

[billcoe]

Rarely. I still usually pull it all together and tie off with a knot. It's faster. See the thread on the ACR.

 

I use the climbing rope. Faster stronger simpler.

[G-spotter]

PAS

[jared_j]

Caveat: I've only been trad climbing for a little over a year, and have probably built fewer than 100 trad anchors.

 

I initially learned anchor building from the first version(s) of the Long books, and used the cordelette. This summer, I started using the equalette. I've only truly encountered situations where it was usable a few times so far.

 

Thoughts:

If you practice tying one in your house somewhere, you can quickly get the hang of feathering the clove hitches quickly so that it sets up appropriately. I did this a few times before trying it on rock.

 

On rock, once weighted, you can easily see how this technology equalizes to at least two pieces regardless of the direction of pull on the anchor.

 

I like how you can use it on 4 marginal pieces easily if you want, something not easy to do with a typical cordelette length.

 

My only complaint is its lack of versatility. You could sling a big-ass boulder with your cordelette, not easily done w/ a pre-knotted equalette.

 

Bottom line: if you have the quantitative abilities to understand the testing results in the book, you will probably be persuaded that the equalette is a preferable tool to a cordelette in terms of its equalization. The choice of use of this tool ultimately rests with weighing the tradeoffs of its lack of versatility against its improvement in anchor integrity.

 

Probably not a bad tool to have in your quiver, especially if you know ahead of time that you might be dealing with sub-par anchor placements.

[rob]

you should not count on your rigging to overcome poor anchors.

[Lowlander]

I use it quite often, but don't have it pre-knotted. I use my tech cord as a cordelette, equelette, or a sling for a boulder or as a sliding X. One tech cord for all purposes. You can rig it pretty fast.

[catbirdseat]

Rarely. I still usually pull it all together and tie off with a knot. It's faster. See the thread on the ACR.

 

I use the climbing rope. Faster stronger simpler.

I sometimes do that too. Sometimes one will finish a pitch and not have enough rope left to use. Therefore, one should know several methods, including slings, cordellettes or whatever you happen to have.

 

To make a blanket statement that the rope is faster, stronger, and simpler is an oversimplified statement. How you the rope will determine all of the above.

[Jens]

Cordellettes,equalettes, and daisy chains are lame.

[Mark_Husbands]

I certainly prefer a cordalette when I'm doing all the leading. Swapping, I usually go with the rope.

 

I often use a short rabbit runner to equalize two ice screws, but prefer a big loop-o-lette for 3 piece rock anchors. two strands per piece plus an extra clip point up there over the rabbit runner style.

 

So many ways to get it done, the main thing from my perspective is to have enough tricks to solve problems when you encounter them.