Foot loops on DbRT?

I have a set of New Tribe foot loops and I'm having trouble setting them up for use on a DbRT...I was hoping to have a self tending system using a Gibbs ascender that I have and bungee cord to advance it up the rope when I take my weight off the footloops...any ideas out there ?

I hate to write this but believe me I have tried the same thing many ways and can get no joy. The bungee gets in the way, the down rope will not feed easy and anything that works some is too finicky. I find making your friction hitch self-advancing more rewarding.

The trouble with foot loops is that the down rope always needs to be held in place somehow either by weight, hand or tied to the ground. The use of any kind of ascender with very little friction is demanded but how you handle the down rope is a real hassle since with each foot of altitude gained there is two feet of down rope to wrestle with.

The price of a Gibbs exceeds my cost/benefit ratio and is a waste of a lift support rated device. You can tie many wrapped/twisted friction hitches using accessory cord for almost no cost and they will work as well. I use a Michoacán Hitch made from a loop of cord that the two ends are melted together to form a loop.

I instruct our climbers that the simplest way to advance the foot loops is to grab the hitch/ascender/device and while they raise their foot bring your fist to your chest. Then with the other hand pull the down rope thru and away from you. Getting them to raise their foot at the same time as they bring their fist up seems to register in their minds since they can feel no motion if they load the loop.

The best off the rack self-tending foot system is a Pantin, the second best is the single foot footlock. Combine a Pantin and a single foot footlock and you have side-by-side self-tending foot power. After that I favor a handled ascender with footloops attached, of course not self-tending.

Here's Gerry Beranek's DdRT rope walker, an even more advanced system for DdRT foot power:



At 8:32 into this video you can see me using a Pantin combined with the single foot footlock technique. First two or three pulls I have to wiggle my left foot to get the rope to drop through, after that it's self-tending. When I have close contact with the trunk I put one foot on the tree and the other in the Pantin. It's difficult to climb against the trunk with both feet engaged in footloops or ropewalker etc., best to keep one foot free in that situation.



-AJ

Thanks for the candid replys everyone.I spent 36 years aloft as a telephone installer in BC Canada and am excited to be rec tree climbing...being aloft is the only thing I miss since retiring last year at 55.I've learned lots from the few books and dvds available on knots and techniques but the wealth of info on You Tube and forums like this is excellent.I really like the rope walking techniques so I'll head down to Wespur Bellingham USA and buy a Petzl Pantin...then go low and slow to get comfortable with the system.I'm climbing mostly 175' Pondarosa Pines via DbRT with a split tail lanyard at my cabin in Tulameen BC
www.tulameenbc.com
Rec tree climbing is addicting...not like hiking telephone poles...being on a living tree inside a curtain of branches with views of the Otter Lake(& creek)and Tulameen River is got to be the best of times.

Andrew thats a nice addition to the end of your rope for attaching to your throw line...how did you tie that? Also is the stipped down pantin on the left foot the same Petzl as on the right foot ( only disassembled)I see CMI has a pantin that sells for $59 compared to Petzl's at $79 any opinion on the CMI http://www.wesspur.com/Ascenders/hand-foot-ascenders.html

Neil S. wrote:

Andrew thats a nice addition to the end of your rope for attaching to your throw line...how did you tie that?

Here's some notes on the loop:
Hunabku loop



I've taken out 3" of the core of the rope, stuffed a loop of 2.2mm ZingIt (threaded through the stripped cover of 6mm NE Ropes Tech Cord) into the sheath of the main climbing rope, then wrapped with more ZingIt to pin the loop inside the rope sheath, wrap is further secured with super glue, it is NOT life support, it's a convenience for installing rope in a tree.
-AJ

Neil S. wrote:

...is the stipped down pantin on the left foot the same Petzl as on the right foot ( only disassembled)I see CMI has a pantin that sells for $59 compared to Petzl's at $79 any opinion on the CMI http://www.wesspur.com/Ascenders/hand-foot-ascenders.html

There is no ascender or hardware on my left foot, I'm using what's called a "single foot footlock" for my left foot. I f you're referring to Beranek's setup, it coul be a stripped down Pantin, climbers will use any smallish toothed ascender for the left foot (Petzl Basic for example)

I don't like the CMI foot ascender, it's very bulky compared to the Pantin and the attachment strap is not well designed.

Here's info on the single foot footlock example is for the right foot, reverse for the left foot, in the video it was on my left foot