Just compared two climbing systems on a big oak in Portland

Everyone swears by the new mechanical systems. Used one on a 60 foot oak last week. Switched back to my old double rope setup halfway up. The mechanical gear got stuck twice in tight crotches. The rope just slid right through. Felt way faster and safer for me. Anyone else find the simpler gear works better on certain trees?

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3 Comments

kai4635mo ago

Man, my climbing gear looks like a yard sale and I'm about as smooth as a bag of hammers, so maybe I'm not the best judge. But seth_martinez21 has a point about the mechanical advantage, it's real. I just find on those gnarly, tight-limbed trees, less stuff to get caught is a bigger win for me. My old rope system feels like an extension of my hands sometimes, where I can just feel what it's doing. The fancy gear is cool, but it has its own learning curve and fussy moments for sure.

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seth_martinez215mo ago

But you lose all that smooth mechanical advantage.

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quinnbailey3mo ago

I read something once about how old-school climbers actually preferred the feel over pure mechanical advantage, which makes sense, @seth_martinez21.

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