Picked a rope wrench over a mechanical lever belt and never looked back

I was stuck deciding between a Rope Wrench and an Akimbo for SRT climbing. Ended up going with the RW because it's simpler and I can field strip it easy. After using it on 30+ big removals in Portland last summer, I can't see myself switching. Has anyone else tried both and stuck with one over the other?

2 comments

2 Comments

lisaf386d ago

That 30 removals in Portland thing caught my eye though... you were using the RW with a standard hitch cord setup right? Because if you were running it with just a basic friction hitch, you might have missed the biggest reason some guys switch over to mechanicals in the first place. The RW is great for sure, but the real advantage of something like the Akimbo is how it handles when you're working with a lot of different rope diameters or really dirty ropes from grinding stumps all day. I know a few climbers who swore by the RW until they tried a mechanical lever on a wet Oregon fir and realized how much smoother the descent felt... not saying you made the wrong call, just that the gap is wider than most people think when you're actually in the tree.

the_adam6d ago

Wonder if the rope diameter thing really matters that much for most of us though.