Gear Reviews!

[Stuart]

Time for some vertical discussion!

Crystal and I have been fortunate enough to try out some new vertical gear recently courtesy of Gold Rush Expeditions. I just wanted to post some of my initial impressions and solicit some reviews from others who have used the same gear. I'm going to keep this short and simple.

My new favorite rope bag; http://www.metoliusclimbing.com/rope_ranger.html
This bag made by Metolious is definitely worth every penny, it loads very quickly, the rope comes out clean, and it comes with a great built in 5' pad to keep the rope clean on rough edges. I especially like that it has lots of straps and handles to clip beaners and webbing into. We have been using this bag for about six months and its been on dozens of trips with no visible wear at all.

I just barely got a new harness and it has hardly even been broken in: http://www.petzl.com/en/outdoor/moun...nesses-0/corax
Its very comfortable and has lots of room for gear on the sides. The only downside I can see is that the front "clip in zone" around the belay loop is small and doesn't have adequate space for a frog setup without using a Freino carabiner to eliminate need for a breaking beaner. I can't wait to try it out on some long drops. Does anyone else have any experience with this harness?

The last thing for this round of reviews is this book: http://www.amazon.com/Rope-American-.../dp/1879961059
Anyone who does anything on rope should have this book handy. It is the ultimate rope work bible and I recommend everyone who is currently involved in vertical mine exploring or wants to become involved in vertical mine exploring read it at-least once every six months.

Bring on the feedback!

[Joanne]

Stuart,

Good thread you started.

I have the Metolius Dirt Bag for my rope and I'm not especially happy with it. I have 200' of PMI Pit Rope and the rope is just too stiff to pack into my bag. The quality of construction is good, but it just doesn't work well with my rope. I think if my rope was softer it would be acceptable. http://www.metoliusclimbing.com/dirt_bag_rope_bag.html
It looks like bag you have would have been a much better choice for me.

I have a copy of the "On Rope" book sitting next to my bed. I fully understand that I'm boring, but the book gave me a great introduction into the vertical techniques that we need underground. I had some climbing background, but this book covers the caving techniques that I have been using in mines for the last couple of years.

I would suggest that anyone who wants to learn vertical technique to pick up this book and read it carefully before you go out to start your vertical training. The information in the book will not teach you everything you need to know to go vertical safely, but it will give you the background information to better understand what your vertical instructor is showing you. Learn and practice the techniques topside before heading underground.

Joanne

[Stuart]

Joanne,

PMI Pit rope is definitely the best rope out there for stresses of dirt and mine exploration, but it is definitely harder to work with because of its stiffness. I'm not sure that the rope ranger would be any better, but it does seem to offer a good deal of flexibility on how you stuff it.

I honestly don't find "On Rope" to be that boring in small sittings, it has some rather humorous parts if you find them.

[Therrin]

Review on the Petzl RIG Descender:

I picked up a Petzl RIG a few months ago during a sale on KS. Had been looking at the I'D for a while, but it was too bulky/heavy.
Enter the RIG. Lighter, more compact, and doesn't have any "additional safety features" that allows the I'D to keep from killing people who shouldn't be using it anyway.
("For expert users only")

I'm still amazed at how light it is. I had borrowed and tried the stop and Grigri a few times, but I never really cared for the way that the Stop tends to "creep", unless you use special biners with it. The RIG is simple to learn to use, and relatively easy to put on the rope.
When the handle is "locked" in place, it is situated in a downward pointing direction. Anything that falls and hits it will not unlock it, but will instead slide off of it.

At first I found the control lever "touchy", but then I realized I just tend to have a heavy hand, and with less force can accomplish varying degrees of descent rate.

Probably the best example of the usefulness of this device; I was rappelling down a pure vertical haulage shaft in Randsburg which is either 750 or 810ft deep (or possibly 1100?) On the way down I had to stop a dozen or so times to clear timbers and other debris from blocking the shaft.
With the RIG it was fast, and easy. I could simply flip the handle over, hang in place and clear the obstructions, flip it back and descend to the next plug, flip it over and so forth. Very fast, very efficient.
When you flip the handle it LOCKS the cam in place and allows no movement of the rope. Very positive holding, no slip at all, EVEN on 3/8" rope! (I was skeptical, but it worked very well, to my surprise)

When traveling super-light I'll still use an atc, or for short drops, but for everything else I really love the RIG. It's a breeze to operate, and it's locking feature gives me peace of mind.