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Andrew F
Trad climber
Sunnyvale, CA
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Apr 13, 2012 - 02:58pm PT
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For those of you using two mini traxions on one rope, what happens when the top device fails? It seems like your bottom mini is going to bang into the top one and lever against it in weird ways. I would be worried about it disengaging the cam or doing something weird. Wouldn't it be better to have the bottom mini on a tighter connection that wouldn't allow it to touch the top mini?
I just ordered a micro traxion. I will report back on how it works for solo TR. I think I will now use the micro as my primary device, and use backup knots or my mini traxion on a separate rope for backup.
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Mark Hudon
Trad climber
Hood River, OR
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Apr 13, 2012 - 03:01pm PT
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Have you seen this thing? It's a Petzl ASAP. It's nice because it can slide up and down a rope without catching. When you fall the circular cam activates a lock and you stop. Petzl sells it for industrial work but not for climbing. I've used it for a couple seasons doing laps at the local gym for endurance training.
You need to have the rope anchored a the bottom of the climb, similar to solo TRing with the Mini-Trax system.
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kaholatingtong
Trad climber
the green triangle, cali
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Apr 22, 2012 - 11:01pm PT
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interesting post markHudon; just curious, do you back it up with anything/knots when you run that?
unfortunate that you need so large a size of rope, seems to be 10+ on that as well?
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wivanoff
Trad climber
Seymour, CT
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Apr 23, 2012 - 10:21pm PT
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I use a Gibbs ascender tied to my belay loop. I thread a meter of 7mm cord through the ascender eye and my belay loop three times and tie the ends off with an EDK. That keeps the ascender nice and close to my harness and doesn't run the risk of crossloading a carabiner.
Been using this setup for TR soloing for over 20 years and hundreds of falls. No incidents yet.
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klk
Trad climber
cali
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Apr 23, 2012 - 10:54pm PT
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so the micros been out awhile.
anyone got some mileage?
dont be shy.
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WBraun
climber
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Apr 23, 2012 - 11:11pm PT
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A lot of people know how to do a mini traxion top rope belay type setups correctly.
Some don't.
Petzl is scared of getting sued so that's why the warnings.
The warnings are also there to remind and show some of the potential pitfalls.
Their diagrams are not particularly complete, just general layouts.
There's idiosyncrasies to every tool used for this type of belay system.
Knowing all those idiosyncrasies is what will keep you alive .....
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climbingbuzz
Trad climber
SF, CA
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Apr 24, 2012 - 10:38pm PT
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Werner, what idiosyncracies should we keep in mind? Thanks.
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climbingbuzz
Trad climber
SF, CA
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Apr 24, 2012 - 10:58pm PT
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Re ushba, it won't work unless it can freely rotate to engage the caming action.
So if anything touches it, it might not cam.
I experimented with it as a solo belay with an ascender as backup.
Decided it definitely wasn't for me as it seemed way to easy for something, anything, to keep the cam from engaging.
The guy that decked...it might not have been because he grabbed the rope.
Unless he grabbed the rope right above the ushba, grabbing would not interfere.
Report said the ushba was below his crotch.
Most people grab the rope at chest level.
Just sayin, maybe his t shirt or something else got in the way of the cam.
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Apr 24, 2012 - 11:15pm PT
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Damn that looks high: The Soloist works for TR and lead solo.
What am I missing?
Be aware that on lead the Soloist can also fail if you just end up horizontal in a fall as opposed to fully inverted. Old partner of mine found this out the hard way decking to the tune of a couple of ribs, elbow and head.
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rgold
Trad climber
Poughkeepsie, NY
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Jun 28, 2012 - 12:22am PT
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Note that running two devices on separate ropes à la Petzl eliminates the issue that KLK and DMT describe in which the top device jams and carries all further slack up with it.
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RyanD
climber
Squamish
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Jul 12, 2012 - 06:41pm PT
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Yates rocker with a loose prussik above works pretty good although I like the idea of a 2nd device above/ below on a sling that is probably easier to take on/off when switching to rappel than a prussik. If u grab above the rocker or ushba when falling it cannot cam properly & u will probably take a big ride.
Anyone have experience using an ushba/rocker type device with a Mini Trax above or below??
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Footloose
Trad climber
Lake Tahoe
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One of my favorite threads.
Here's my setup:
(1) Just my boots are usually enough to serve as a counter weight. (2) Always use a backup knot above ledges and every 20' or so. (3) I recheck engagements and links regularly as I climb. (4) At least in my book, the redundancy is absolutely necessary.
Once upon a time I almost started climbing without the bottom biner attached to my belay loop or harness loops. It was such a startle and eye-opener it's never been close to happening again since.
Thanks for the posts and the many heads-up.
Happy climbing!
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Bargainhunter
climber
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Has anyone had ANY problems yet with the lighter microtraxions? The new design helps eliminate the possibility of it accidentally locking the cam off the puley.
I see no problem having two microtraxions in tandem.
I think Petzl is being a bit conservative in requiring two different devices that function in different ways to prevent the extremely rare event of two similar devices failing simultaneously, in addition to suggesting using TWO ropes, one per device.
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Johnny K.
climber
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^^ It's just top roping,why take chances with one type of device? I personally think Petzls suggestions are safe redundant back ups "just in case" something does fail.
The above options posted from petzl is for using 2 devices and only 1 rope.I personally use the this method and have no issues or complaints. Everyone has their own preference but the basic setup should always have safety redundancy of some sort.
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Tommy D
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, Ca
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I find that the perfect set-up is a Pro-Traxion on top, and a Mini on the bottom. I use a 24" sling over my neck (I'm 5'10") with a small sling tied through the primary clip-in of the Pro to keep it lifted and lined up. The Pro can be opened without having to remove the locking carabiner, so once you have your sling attachment adjusted, you can leave it on for the rest of the session. For extra safety, use a small carabiner through the secondary clip-in point on the Pro to prevent the plates from being forced open from cross-loading.
Change-overs require removing only one device (the Mini) from its' locking carabiner, and are really smooth and fast. The system follows you effortlessly. Final safety note: always check your rigging by loading your set-up before leaving the ground and/ or unclipping your daisy at an intermediate belay. I have gotten in the habit of pushing down on both devices (separately) before I climb, and even while climbing, to verify that the cams are engaged (I ounce climbed with only one unit engaged because the top one held held when I load checked it).
Mini Traxion top-roping is one of the greatest gear/ training advancements of the last 10 years! So fun and efficient.
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