Was looking at KarstSports site today and saw some new products!

Petzl has a new croll out.

http://www.karstsp...etzlcroll2013.html

Has a stainless steel cam and wear passage, and is lighter than the old model. Sounds pretty amazing right?

So coming from another (minimalist) direction and only using Ropemans', I've always wondered about the handle-less Croll. So the idea with it is being rigged to a chest harness, and its design (over something more minimal) is so that it keeps itself oriented in such a way that it takes little effort to feed rope through, right?

Posted by dtewsacrificial So coming from another (minimalist) direction and only using Ropemans', I've always wondered about the handle-less Croll. So the idea with it is being rigged to a chest harness, and its design (over something more minimal) is so that it keeps itself oriented in such a way that it takes little effort to feed rope through, right?

yes!

You would probably find that using a chest ascender with a handled ascender (or ropeman, or whatever) is a much more efficient and less-tiring system.

In the mines while doing super deep trips with lot of vertical work we've spent 8 to 12 hrs underground at a time, and several hours on rope. The weight is negligible especially when it makes the ascending super simple.

Okay so I know this picture is kinda creepy, but it's the ONLY pic I can find of my pre-full-body harness days that shows how the croll sits. The most "minimalist" style I used. Now I have it integrated into my full-body harness.

Magnetron RockLock

87 grams
24 kilonewtons
7 kilonewtons open gate and minor axis.

good solid auto locker.

works great either left or right handed.

each side locks individually and will hold the gate shut by itself.

a bit pricey at $25 but it's it's slick as hell if you ask me.

easier then a screw gate or Triact-Lock/Ball-Lock for one handed use.

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SD

^^ also has major functional issues, and is very expensive.

One of these biners completely locked up solid on one of the UER members I went out canyoneering with a couple weeks ago. He had to smash it repeatedly with a hammer to get it to finally pop back open so he could get it free from his piece of gear. We were finally going to cut it with boltcutters when he finally hit it hard enough to make it come loose.

Easier, yes.

Reliable? ....

I've found that all biners work great right or left handed, some of us are just more used to one hand than the other.

And while I agree that it's better for a biner to lock-shut than locking open, when you can't get a biner off of a piece of gear that is connected to the rope you're currently on, it can cause problems of its own.

Here is a review from mountainproject.com

Yeah, we got one to fail about 15 minutes after getting them in the shop. Basically, jam simulated rocks and dirt into the underside of the hinges and you'll find yourself unable to open them. We think a paper-clip should come standard with them to clean out the underside of the hinges. Not sure that's going to happen? Just don't use them ice climbing, mountaineering, or any sort of application where you'll be offwidth/chimney climbing. Otherwise, they're great for gym use! Can you say, "Most expensive carabiner ever?" I dig the tech, but there's no way I'm gonna drop $25+ for a single biner.

The others go on to point out how any of their gear that is magnetic attracts all kinds of grit in the dirt that it comes across.

I've never had a biner freeze shut on me, and I've put mine through all kinds of nasty crap in-use. I have screwed a screw-locker tight too-hard, but that was my fault, and have had some sticky ones that needed cleaning, but never had to resort to hammers/bolt cutters.

I was also concerned about the same potential issue when it was first announced, and wondered aloud on blog feedback to this very effect. Iron shavings already build up on my Nalgene hydration bladder hose rest, and that doesn't even get dragged over stuff (it's on my pack cross-strap). The last thing I want is to increase the likelihood for a biner gate to jam open or closed, no matter how neat or what minor convenience I might gain from such a mechanism. There are things I would not rather be on the bleeding-edge of, literally.

Sorry about that Secretdestroyers. I get suspicious when someone tries to re-invent the wheel.

They are fun to sit there and click back and forth =)

I just realized I for some reason had his in my truck, so I'm sitting here playing with it now. The magnets are filthy, covered in grit.

Posted by Therrin Sorry about that Secretdestroyers.

no worries, glad this issue was brought to my attention before I took it out of the gym.

SD