Hauling Device Review | Best-in-Class

Ability to haul loads
The bigger the pulley, the easier the hauling. There is no way around that. It is no surprise that the Petzl Pro Traxion and Waul Hauler (each with 2" pulleys) are much better for hauling big loads than the Mini Traxion (1" pulley). Both the Pro Traxion and the Waul Hauler excel at loads in the 75 lb. to 150 lb. range and we feel that each does about an equal job. While the Wall Hauler is only rated to 190 lb. vs. the Pro Traxion's 560 lb, if we were hauling more than 190 lb. (which you will never catch us doing), we wouldn't use either device. Instead, we would want a big pulley (2" or bigger sheath) like the CMI RP 101 setup with the old school pulley and ascender method. For under 75 lb, the Mini Traxion works great. For any load bigger, it still works, it's just a little harder to haul. For climbing The Nose in two days, bring the Mini Traxion. On the first day, when the bag is heavy, you might wish you had a bigger pulley. But for the last two days, it's nice to have such a lightweight and compact device for free climbing.

Ease of setup
All the devices are easy to set up, especially compared to the time and effort of setting up the old school "pulley and ascender method." The Waul Hauler is the most intuitive to set up but the Pro Traxion is overall the easiest because it is always clipped to the anchor. With the Mini Traxion and Waul Hauler, if the haul line weighs a lot (which it usually does) it can be a little hard (and scary) to get the device set up. So we usually tie the haul line to the anchor temporarily (to get the weight off the part of the haul line we want to put in the hauling device). Then clip the Mini Traxion or Waul Hauler to the anchor and then undo the temporary bit of rope that was clipped to the anchor. If you didn't follow those last two sentences, don't worry. The point is that the Pro Traxion avoids all those steps because you can set it up while clipped to your hauling point. You never worry about dropping the device while trying to feed a heavy haul rope through it.

But to be honest, the whole paragraph above does not matter much if you have your hauling device "pre-loaded" which is what is recommended in our How to Big Wall Climb posts.

Ease of use
All the devices are fairly easy to use. One nice feature with the Petzl devices is that you can pull the cam back and out of the way easily with one hand. With the Waul Hauler it requires more effort. You have to pull the back the cam, hold it with your finger and then put a pin in. This is annoying when you are trying to get the bag off the Waul Hauler and onto the anchor.

Portability
The Mini Traxion is by far the most portable. Its light and compact package is greatly appreciated on mostly-free big walls such as The Nose or Half Dome where you don't want tons of heavy stuff on the back of your harness when busting free moves. In second place is the Waul Hauler, which is about an ounce lighter than the ProTraxion but is about the same amount of bulk. Overall, they are all very portable when compared the old "pulley and ascender method."

Durability
Both the Petzl devices use the same cam that Chris says he has never been able to wear out. The Waul Hauler cam will wear out over time and cause the bag to slip. Chris noticed that after about 15 walls this starts to happen. When he called Rock Exotica about it, they said very few devices ever get returned for this reason. So it could be that most people never climb enough wall for it to be an issue. Also, Rock Exotica gave Chris a quote of $15 to replace the piece. That gives some peace of mind if you think it will be an issue for you.

The Bottom Line
If you are going to climb a ton of walls, have some cash, and want to haul big loads, get the Pro Traxion. If you are going to so some short walls and want a device that also doubles as a toprope self-belay device, get the Mini Traxion. If you have a budget and want an all around good hauling device, get the Waul Hauler. If you need to haul absolutely monster loads (200-plus pounds) then get a 3" or bigger pulley and use the old "pulley and ascender method."