Beal Escaper - what do you think?

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Messages 1 - 20 of total 38 in this topic << First  |  < Previous  |  Show All  |  Next >  |  Last >>
kpinwalla2

Social climber
WA
Topic Author's Original Post - Jun 19, 2017 - 07:27am PT
https://www.facebook.com/beal.official/videos/1754083811298297

Looks like a lot could go wrong....
nathanael

climber
CA
Jun 19, 2017 - 07:31am PT
Made me think about how often you get to the bottom of a rap and can barely pull the rope because of the rope drag, and it seems like this requires more force getting to the anchor than just pulling a rope...

Would be a real problem to get to the bottom of rap and not be able to get it to release. Especially because jumaring up the rope would be suicidal.
monolith

climber
state of being
Jun 19, 2017 - 08:05am PT
Very clever. I can think of a party with a single rope (needed to bail on a middle cathedral route after leader fall injury last weekend) could have used.
WBraun

climber
Jun 19, 2017 - 08:24am PT
Just don't stop on a ledge or bounce too much .... :-)

In an extreme emergency, you can always remove the sheath and a few strands from the core of your rope and double it to escape.

Ultimately, ..... there's no escape period ......
rgold

Trad climber
Poughkeepsie, NY
Jun 19, 2017 - 08:45am PT
If you've been around long enough, you might recall the Decrocheur Allain, a spring-loaded device that sprung open when unloaded.


Werner's exhortation to not stop on any ledges was far more pertinent to this device, which would come plummeting down as soon as the tension on the rope relaxed enough.

The Beal gadget is interesting as a thought experiment, and not nearly as likely as the decrocheur to release inappropriately. But my guess is that, more than half the time in real circumstances, the effect of system friction will mean you won't get your rope back, which hardly improves an emergency situation.
ontheedgeandscaredtodeath

Social climber
SLO, Ca
Jun 19, 2017 - 09:15am PT
Totally crazy. I would never, ever, do that. Best case scenario is a stuck rope.
Ksolem

Trad climber
Monrovia, California
Jun 19, 2017 - 09:34am PT
Keep the rope weighted during rappel...

No sh*t. And their demo is in ideal conditions.

Actually it looks like it takes a fair number of unloading/loading cycles to release it, but still my heart would be in my mouth using that thing. If I were going to carry an extra item in case of such a situation it would be a tag line, or I'd lead on doubles.

And folks on the other thread were saying simul-rapping is sketchy.
Curt

climber
Gold Canyon, AZ
Jun 19, 2017 - 09:58am PT
Seems like the thing would also be optimized for only one rope diameter--and fatter or skinnier ropes would work less well.

Curt
looks easy from here

climber
Ben Lomond, CA
Jun 19, 2017 - 10:01am PT
Kamikaze knot seems a lot cheaper.
monolith

climber
state of being
Jun 19, 2017 - 10:05am PT
Curt, I would think the short rope comes with the device. You can then tie any rope to the short one.
Winemaker

Sport climber
Yakima, WA
Jun 19, 2017 - 10:21am PT
Talk about suicidal ......

[Click to View YouTube Video]
Studly

Trad climber
WA
Jun 19, 2017 - 01:33pm PT
The fifi hook method is no more suicidal then simo rapping. As the only time a problem will happen if generally if you unweight the rope in both instances.
Curt

climber
Gold Canyon, AZ
Jun 19, 2017 - 02:40pm PT
Curt, I would think the short rope comes with the device. You can then tie any rope to the short one.

Oh, right--good point.

Curt
Ksolem

Trad climber
Monrovia, California
Jun 19, 2017 - 02:59pm PT
and you dont want to deal with doubles/twins

I've only used twins once. They were my partner's, and I thought they were a total pain in the ***. Too skinny.

That said, I've used doubles extensively. Once you and you partner have the system dialed in it's great. The other thing that really matters is the ropes themselves, some work like a charm, others are an endless snarl-fest.

I'm not sayin' that Bear lacks this experience, just putting it out there for general consumption.

And of course they suck for sport climbing.

Murf

climber
Jun 19, 2017 - 03:10pm PT
Is it just me, or did they leave a stopper knot in for the demo video?
Ezra Ellis

Trad climber
North wet, and Da souf
Jun 19, 2017 - 06:19pm PT
Totally unnecessary and insane,
A solution to a nonexistent problem
Lol
Spiny Norman

Social climber
Boring, Oregon
Jun 19, 2017 - 09:06pm PT
Wasn't the Decrocheur Allain re-branded ACME by its importer in the desert southwest?
McHale's Navy

Trad climber
From Panorama City, CA
Jun 20, 2017 - 09:53am PT
This is interesting.The prusik part of the device is a variation of the standard prusik knot. Sling material can be used - that is the real key. Instead of the usual concentric version you wrap the cord or web down the rope like a vine and then back through itself. I used to experiment with it as an alternative for soloing because it did loosen more easily than the standard version. I designed a plate that could help pull it along by hand as I made progress and then it would catch more predictably than the standard prusic and slide along the rope more easily. It loosens easily as it gets bunched back together. I used to call it the Snake Bite. In the Beal version it looks like a wrap coming down in both direction around the rope - a DNA helix! OK, no Darwin jokes! Ultimately, I never ended up using it to solo - I tied knots for soloing instead.

Here it is called this: http://www.animatedknots.com/klemheist/index.php
Tom Lewin

Trad climber
Edinburgh
Mar 4, 2018 - 11:24am PT
I notice that the guy rapping on it for the demo d
vid did NOT have the confidence in the kit to remove the stopper knot before he started the descent!! (It had obviously been removed by someone else for demo purposes once he was safely down)! Interesting.......
Tom Lewin

Trad climber
Edinburgh
Mar 4, 2018 - 11:28am PT
I notice that the guy in the demo vid did NOT have the confidence in the kit to remove the stopper knot before he started his descent. It had obviously been removed by someone else once he was safely down and before the release was filmed. Interesting......
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