Which rope?

[tpcollins]

Newbie question - are there certain line brands or types of line that are more suitable to work better with a prusik loop than others? The technical terms are a bit confusing with their various "coatings", etc., I'd just like to know which ones grip the best immediately with minimal slippage? Thanks.

[Ben Beckerich]

I've heard some people comment that some new dry-treated ropes can be a little slippy at first, but all ropes should work perfectly fine with a correctly installed prusik. Understand the limitations of friction hitches- i.e., they can slip under certain circumstances, and you should know what those are.... and you'll be fine with any rope.

[mattp]

As much as slippage, stretchage is a real impediment to prusiking up a rope. It may or may not be appropriate for whatever you are trying to do, but static lines are best if you just want to climb ropes.

[tpcollins]

Thanks Matt and Ben - without going into a lot of detail, I'm merely trying to arrest the possibility of a maximum 2' - 2 1/2' fall using a prusik loop. I probably should use a dynamic line but the characteristics of the static lines and their weatherproof properties are giving me mixed feelings since it will be used asa lifeline and kept outdoors for 3 months or so.

 

Since I'm a bit paranoid I might use a Ropeman in conjunction with a prusik loop. Thanks for the help.

[AntonYpma]

If you're looking at falling on a static line you might want to take a look at load limiters as an option:

 

http://yatesgear.com/climbing/screamer/

[tvashtarkatena]

Conditions - wetness/ice - will affect your prusik more than dry treatment/whatev. A pair of Tiblocs renders these questions moot.

 

Master of the obvious - never lead climb on a static rope.

[keenwesh]

tiblocks have shredded my ropes the few times I've used them (and stopped using them) If you're going to plan on doing any form of extended jugging petzl ascenders are the way to go. for a light crevasse rescue situation tiblocks work, but I'd shoulder the extra grams for a ropeman or croll if you're actually planning on using them. I've jugged a rope with prussiks, time consuming nightmare and there are much better tools available today compared to the 1950's.

[tvashtarkatena]

I think that's why they call them emergency ascenders. They won't shred your rope unless you use them inappropriately.

 

The guy's talking about prusiks, not El Cap.

Edited January 8, 2014 by tvashtarkatena

[keenwesh]

I used them to rig a 3:1 Z drag, boating application. haul the thing and reset the tiblock, same as you would for crevasse rescue. Shredded my rope every time I reset the thing and it was directly in line with pull and everything. Perhaps I'm just a dumbass, but tiblocks seem to get all their grip from the teeth, where other devices pinch the rope in a camming action. No shreddage.

[tvashtarkatena]

Tiblocs use the same camming action as ascenders to grip a rope - except its a passive system based on the offset pull and leverage of the weighted biner rather than an active spring loaded cam as on a regular ascender. Tiblocs have have more aggressive teeth than regular ascenders because they don't have the benefit of that spring loaded cam to catch the range of rope sizes necessary. The teeth simply catch the rope's mantle to initiate the camming that actually holds the load - they do not hold the load themselves. If they did, the load would be supported by the rope's non-structural mantle, rather than the kern - with predictably undesirable results.

 

Boat applications typically involve a lot of shock loading - anyone who has towed anything that floats knows what I'm talking about. You never want to shock load a Tibloc, or any toothed camming device for that matter - it can and will damage the rope's mantle - Petzl's pretty clear about that in their instructions. In contrast, a mountain rescue Z pulley should undergo little to no shock loading - no slack, no shock loading.

 

In short - if one uses Tiblocs for what they were intended - non shock loaded emergency applications, your ropes will hardly notice.

 

 

Edited January 8, 2014 by tvashtarkatena