Metolius Rap Hangers

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J. Werlin

Social climber
Cedaredge, CO
Topic Author's Original Post - Feb 23, 2010 - 10:40am PT
I have a rappel/belay station project at the local crag. Found a couple metolius rap hangers from way back in the bottom of my bolt sack.

Seems I rarely encounter these anywhere. Opinions? Favorite rap systems?

Salamanizer

Trad climber
The land of Fruits & Nuts!
Feb 23, 2010 - 10:42am PT
They Suck in a major way.
Roughster

Sport climber
Vacaville, CA
Feb 23, 2010 - 10:46am PT
The reason is because lowering off them kinks your rope to hell, and even rapping then pulling your rope results in significant "kinkage".

I personally abandoned using them because of this, as their most useful purpose (back country / long routes) the last thing you want is a mess of kinked up and tangled ropes. Not too mention they give only a single tie in point.

The better solution is the standard hanger, 1/2" quick link, to a single or three segment chain. Easy to maintain over its lifetime. Just undo the quicklink and replace the chain when it wears. Gives multiple clip in points for hanging belays or other situations where it is nice to be able to clip into the anchor while threading for lower/rap. IMO the best anchor solution out there since it doesn't "promote" top roping through the chain since you have to thread it as opposed to drop in like Mussys which although great, just make it easier for people to not TR through their own gear.

And then of course the cost of the chain set up is reasonable as well.
couchmaster

climber
pdx
Feb 23, 2010 - 11:11am PT
I love them. Totally bomber and very simple. Shouldn't be lowering off of them in either case.

However, I bought about 168 Stainless versions of this:

based only on a picture of a cliff which I studied and worried over all winter long. Then when the snow broke, I finally got in there and the cliff in real life was disappointingly shorter than in the pic (it's only 40-50 feet tall, and the hillside below steeper and there's plenty of pinnacle shapes to wrap a sling and a ring....ahhhh sh#t, so I blew that off till later if at all and have lots of SS Fixe anchors now for all my projects. At some point there will be 200-300 sport routes lined up side by side on that cliff. (BORING!)

Here's the thing close up, it's still quite an interesting formation and cliff band and immanently climbable.
The distant shots, based on what I know to be the common tree size (lower down its old growth Doug Firs over 200' tall), made it seem larger. However, as the slope below the band is moss over rock and very steep, so the trees are generally small cedars and hemlocks (although I can see a small Doug fir in this pic to the right). A fire had swept the area 100-200 years ago, and may have wiped out all vegetation hillside and it is still working on being fully re-established. Thus the comparison via the long distance picture was false. I hiked up there Sunday checking it out again. Icicles were hanging off the rocks.
Scared Silly

Trad climber
UT
Feb 23, 2010 - 11:50am PT
I still have a few in the kit. I still use them but now add a quick link and some chain to them.

As noted, most fixed gear should not be used for lowering only rapping. Use your own gear for yo-yoing a route.
caughtinside

Social climber
Davis, CA
Feb 23, 2010 - 12:04pm PT
Don't really like them.

Plus, because they both face the same way, at least one usually ends up a spinner. Usually the left one.
jack herer

climber
veneta, or
Feb 23, 2010 - 12:19pm PT
everyones gotta bitch about the lowest impact anchor system availible. hmmmm
msiddens

Trad climber
Mountain View
Feb 23, 2010 - 12:28pm PT
I've never been a fan of these. Pulling the ropes through them tend to be a pain and does kink. Like most, I lean towards a design with a replaceable ring, quicklink with a ss biner, etc.
healyje

Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
Feb 23, 2010 - 12:58pm PT
Love them. Never had a problem with them spinning whatsoever or with pulling a rope through them. I'm guessing folks who are complaining prefer something more setup for sport and TR.
noshoesnoshirt

climber
Arkansas, I suppose
Feb 23, 2010 - 01:20pm PT
Not a fan, they kink your rope up.
I'd rather use super-shuts or rings.

Brian Hench

Trad climber
Anaheim, CA
Feb 23, 2010 - 03:10pm PT
I think they are great on long multipitch slab routes. They are very simple and low impact. Rope pulls through them just fine.
Minerals

Social climber
The Deli
Feb 23, 2010 - 03:31pm PT
I have heard that the Metolius rap hangers will twist the rope when pulling it, but don’t have enough personal experience with ‘em to know first hand. I like 5 links of 3/8” chain, connected to a regular hanger with a 3/8” quick-link for my 2-bolt belay/rap anchors.

Since the rap hangers are less conspicuous than chains or webbing, I like to use them for a single-bolt rap anchor, in order to rap into my routes to replace the quarter-inch bolts with 3/8” fatties.


nature

climber
Tucson, AZ
Feb 23, 2010 - 03:40pm PT
If your rope kinks after you lower off of a set of these you deserve the twists and kinks.

I've never had a problem with them when rapping off of them.

If you got 'em use 'em.
kev

climber
A pile of dirt.
Feb 23, 2010 - 03:49pm PT
Gonna be major kinkage, and not the fun kind

kev
tradmanclimbs

Ice climber
Pomfert VT
Feb 23, 2010 - 03:54pm PT
They are super durable and will never wear out. The rope does not pull as easy as some systems but it does not kink unless you are a sport weinie that has no rope management skills? Super low impact. Not my favorite but certainly safe and functional. You can spray paint the Fixe and raumer ring anchors rock color but most folks don't bother. Metelious come stealth painted.
ec

climber
ca
Feb 23, 2010 - 03:57pm PT
...they never were intended for lowering off of...

they are called RAP hangers!

 ec
kev

climber
A pile of dirt.
Feb 23, 2010 - 04:37pm PT
tradman wrote

"...not kink unless you are a sport weinie that has no rope management skills"

That makes no sense brah. We're talking about rapping here. The rope gets some twist by being pulled through two horizontally slightly twisted holes, that's the problem. Think before you speak.

kev
couchmaster

climber
pdx
Feb 23, 2010 - 05:08pm PT
I did a route at Smith in the 80's where on the 2nd pitch I kicked steps and dug handholds in the vertical "mud". The only real pro was a perfect parellel 2 feet long 1-1/2" wide crack that a friend fit in over 4" deep, a quick yank to test it blew out the entire crack. I put it back in slightly higher, and tied off a mud clump in the crack, equalized and fired it off. All this angst while the belayer was over 100' off the deck below, very precarious stance with his left butt cheek scumming on the rock as he slowly kept sliding off this bad perch, with a single small wired nut for the only pro.

That was much softer.
tradmanclimbs

Ice climber
Pomfert VT
Feb 23, 2010 - 05:09pm PT
Actually I did think. There are six sets of that style rap hangers localy and I NEVER have a problem with my rope kinking when useing them. Pulling or lowering. The few times that I have seen ropes kink on those anchors it was 100% user error. Rope running into the belay devise from the top and oposite side from the stack of rope intstead of straight down from the locking side of the device directly to the rope pile.

So I will have to repete myself. If your rope handeling skills suck you will not like these anchors. They do pull a bit stiffer than most other anchors. If however your rope handeling skills are half decent these anchors will be perfectly functional and will not twist your rope.
Greg Barnes

climber
Feb 23, 2010 - 05:11pm PT
They're great for ultra low visual impact. Sure they twist the rope when pulling, but so do single-ring Fixes (admittedly the Metolius are a bit worse). It's not that big a deal usually. The only other drawback is how thick the hanger is - which only matters for hand drilling short bolts (you want medium/longer bolts with them). They used to be the only choice for factory camo low-impact anchors, but you can get the Fixe single and double ring anchors in tan camo, so for camo situations the ASCA usually uses the double-ring Fixes with tan camo (and they are factory stamped "ASCA").

But I still have a few of mine, and I save them for minimum visual impact anchors. And obviously not for lower-off/"sport" anchors...
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