Reviews written by Nick Araya

I LOVE the work Rock Exotica does, but for whatever reason this carabiner drives me bonkers. Like many climbers, I have a LOT of carabiners (Petzl ball locks, DMM Ovals, ISC Gator, ISC Mighty Mouse to name a few). After just a little bit of use, they all open instinctually for me. The pirate eludes me, however!

This might not be a fault of the Pirate. All the other carabiners mentioned opened by turning and pushing the gate. The Pirate is turned and PULLED. So the others I don't even have to think about. This one I have to look at, mentally register that it is different, then proceed. Otherwise I fumble with it. I don't like any fumbling when I'm 60' up!

Other than that, I LOVE this carabiner. It is VERY well built, has smooth action, a secure locking mechanism, and is ORANGE! Not only that, and I'm not sure how to describe it, but the gate doesn't hinge straight in to open it. It hinges off to the side which opens up the gate just a tiny more making it easier to clip onto wide things (like the front SRT loop on my treeflex harness)

If your brain can handle a little changeup, I think you'll like this thing.

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nick

I have had mine for 5 or 6 months now and have been surprised by it. For whatever reason, New Tribe harnesses sometimes ride up on me so that they aren't reallly holding my hips/waist. This one stays put! It compresses down to a remarkably small size in your pack. It is extremely quiet with the only metal parts being the delta and the rectangle buckles on the leg straps. (and those rec buckles can be quieted easily with leather silencers!)

I could go on for a while about this harness, but it might be better if you just check out the review I did for it: http://youtu.be/C67tnraY9jM

Just get the harness. Chances are, you'll love it.

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nick

Great carabiner! The I-beam construction maintains strength while shaving of a tiny bit of weight.

The action on the gate is super fast and smooth.

Some other locking ovals are slightly fatter at the top, but this one has the same shape at the top and bottom.

I do have one tiny gripe with this carabiner. By feel it is hard tell what is the "top" of the carabiner. It is common for me to fumble with opening it because it's up side down in my hand. I think I'm going to paint one half of the gate just so that at a quick glance I can see which way is up.

Another GREAT product by DMM.

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nick

I bought these about 4 years ago and use them when climbing big trees. They are more robust than other brands that are made of stamped aluminum sheets (like the Petzls). This gives peace of mind when a hundred feet up in the air. You can tell by looking at these things that they can take some abuse.

I like the large molded hand grips. They are easy to hold on to.

Because there are two clip-in holes at the bottom of the ascender, you don't have to girth hitch webbing to the handle itself. Your carabiners and webbing go where they belong and your hands go where they belong.

For a while I ran these with the GLeasy bars. I had to use a piece of PVC cut off as a washer so they would fit perfectly (they are designed for the CMI ascenders) but they worked for about 2 years perfectly with the GLeasy Bars.

Because the frame of the ascender is so thick, I can splice lanyards/tethers directly to the ascender without worrying about chafe wearing through the webbing or rope.

All the great things about this ascender are also their only downfall. They are significantly heavier than many other smaller-framed ascenders on the market.

If you don't mind carrying around a few more grams, you'll love these ascenders!

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nick

The classic split tail! Typically made of 16 strand climbing lines like New England Ropes Hi-Vee (shown in the picture), Samson's ArborMaster, or Yale Cordages XTC. If you are looking for a way to make a drastic improvement to your traditional climbing system, but you don't want to make a bunch of changes or buy a ton of new gear, switching to a split tail climbing system is THE WAY to start.



Adding this split tail and only one more carabiner, you will no longer have to retie your hitch while switching pitches or going around branches in the canopy. Just lanyard in, unclip the split tail/climbing line, go around the obstacle, then clip back in. It takes about as long to read as it does to actually do it!



If you buy a split tail as shown here, you will have to use a girth hitch to connect to the carabiner. The large eye shown will allow the carabiner to flop around, potentially leading to a cross loading of the carabiner. If you girth hitch the split tail to the carabiner, the girth will "grab on" to the carabiner preventing the cross loading.



However, why switch to a spliced sling, then incorporate a knot (the girth hitch) into the system anyway. Have your sling made with small eye just big enough to get the carabiner into (I call that a "carabiner eye"). The eye itself will grab onto the carabiner. You will have a cleaner system than with the girth hitch method described above.



In my beginning splicing classes, I teach how to make these slings because they are really simple (with proper guidance) to make.



When inspecting, look for wear on the part where the climbing hitch is tied. Verify that the lock stitching is in tact. Make sure there isn't wear in the eye from the carabiner.



After climbing on this, you'll never go back! It is EXTREMELY rare for someone to try the split tail system, then go BACK to traditional climbing.

This cord is made with TOUGH fibers in the core. The cover...the part that touches your climbing line when you are climbing...the part responsible for holding you is made out of polyester, which doesn't have a high melting point compared to the core.



A rapid descent can quickly melt the thin cover fibers (that are only designed by the manufacturer to protect the core). Some may use this cord thinking that the technora core (the fibers the rope were named after) will be there to protect them if things go bad. However, there isn't a way for you to tie your friction hitch of choice, and know if the CORE only will hold you if you do damage/melt through the cover.



With newer ropes like HRC, Beeline, and Icetail out there, there is no longer a reason to continue using Ultra-tech and hitch cord. If you do use it, only apply it to low heat applications like lanyard adjusters.



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nick

This rope is made with 3 fibers. The gold on the cover is high heat resistant Technora fibers. The black on the cover is polyester. The gold core is made of vectran, which is strong and has a higher heat resistance than polyester.



Great for the myriad of advanced friction hitches available to us. I recommend starting with a tied version of this eye-eye sling before you move to the expensive spliced version. When tied, you quickly can make the sling longer or shorter as you play around with it. After fine tuning the hitch to you, you'll know EXACTLY how long you want yours to be. Then you can have your sling spliced as you'd like.



The eye should be dipped in a coating to protect the loosely woven core fibers that become exposed when doing this "naked eye" splice for this rope. Make sure that the splicer put locking brummells in both eyes, as recommended by the manufacturer.



The high heat resistance of this rope will allow you to descend quickly without rapid wear to the sling. Caution should still be taken, however. It is not unheard of for a person to descend SO quickly with this cord that the main climbing line suffered damage!



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nick

Polyester eye-eye slings like this one or made of another polyester single braid (hollow braid) line can be quite convenient. However, they should be used with caution. If you like to burn out of a tree, you'll quickly ruin a polyester hitch cord.



Take your time if you are using this for your climbing hitch.



Polyester hitch cords make GREAT lanyard adjusters where they don't have to deal with the heat we subject climbing hitches to. It would also be good as the adjuster on an adjustable friction saver.



Make sure that both eyes have locking brummells. Some splicers like to do a locking brummell on one side, then a regular, non-locked brummell on the other eye.



Make sure the splice is lock stitched and that the stitching stays in tact.



Typically these slings are made of dyed rope, which is sort of out of the ordinary for recreational climbers, or to rock climbers moving to the trees. If you are concerned about what seems to be premature wear, make sure it's not just the "paint" wearing off. The color is a urethane coating that helps to prevent damage from the sun, dirt, etc.



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nick

I've searched high and low and I've yet to find a better throwline management system. With the Faltheimer, theres no spooling and unspooling the line before and after each throw. The entire line can be flaked into the cube quickly...like in 1 minute. Then collapse the cube and store it for next time. When you're ready, just open up the cube and you're ready to throw.



The cube has 2 pockets on the inside. I keep a heavy weight (for me 12 ouncer) on the tail end of the line. The throw weight goes into one of the pockets, then I flake in the rest of the line. I have a 8 ounce weight attached to the throwing end of the line and that goes into the other pocket. Having the 2 ends isolated (in the pockets) prevents most tangling.



Support the innovators and get the real deal.



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nick

This tool is slightly better than a figure 8. There are several ways you can put the rope on the tool, which allow you more or less friction. That part is good.



The downsides are: It twists the rope (like an 8 would) and you HAVE to use a Petzl carabiner (the hole on the left isn't big enough to fit most 'biners).



If you are considering getting this tool, I recommend a rap rack instead. There is practically NO twist in the rope while descending with a rack. Some models also allow you to adjust the friction.



love

nick