UKC

As the topic title really... Which ropeman (mk1 or mk2) is kindest to the rope?

I've heard that the mk2 is supposed to be less likely to damage it, but those little teeth look so sharp to me that it feels like they'll shred the outer. Am I worrying unnecessarily?

On a related note, the mk1 is only rated for 10mm ropes and above. Has anyone used them on small diameter ropes? If so were there any issues?

Cheers in advance for any help / advice.

In reply to Phil Anderson:

what's the application? I was slightly concerned using tiblocs on a practicing prissik exercise and they shredded through the sheaf on a 10mm rope.

I carry both a tibloc and. a micro traction for crevasse rescue for improvised stuff in UK I just use well worn prussics.

are both ropeman still available? their was a problem with one variation...

In reply to Phil Anderson:
I heard from somebody working in the CragX climbing shop in The Foundry when it first opened that the Mk1 was ment to be more aggressive on ropes than the later one with the pointy teeth.

How Ropemen Mk 2's compare to other products to do with that, I've no idea...

In reply to Timmd:

Thanks. I've heard the same but wanted to check.

In reply to alasdair19:

As far as I know they are both still available. The application is really just as a useful piece of kit that can be used in various self-rescue / dogging purposes on long multipitch routes.

In reply to Phil Anderson:

There was a "3" which was recalled. 1&2 still available.

In reply to Phil Anderson:

You probably are worrying unnecessarily. Those little pointy teeth would certainly shred the sheath if they moved against it (like a poorly seated Tibloc), but the point of having them is to prevent the rope from slipping by engaging in the sheath initially and pulling the cam in. Once the cam starts to squeeze the rope it's that squeezing that holds it in place, not the teeth.

What you heard about the Mk1 being more aggressive probably comes from a report concerning various bits of roped access kit and wotnot produced for the HSE by Lyon Equipment a good few years ago now. The Mk1 Ropeman was one of the devices tested (the Mk2 hadn't come out yet) and in some of the tests it didn't just damage the sheath, it severed the rope completely!

That report is a bit out of date in many ways now, but still contains much good info. Worth a read:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/crr_pdf/2001/crr01364.pdf

In reply to Phil Anderson:


The theory is that the teeth will nestle between the fibres of the rope, whereas on the mk1 the ridges press across the fibres.

As Deepsoup says, if the ropeman is moving it could easily shred the sheath, but they should 'bite' in and stop any movement.

In reply to deepsoup:

That's just the sort of thing I was after - Thanks deepsoup,