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Appreciation post: That rope technique an old climber showed me actually worked

Bob from the local ISA chapter told me to use a Blake's hitch with a 3-wrap finish on my climb line instead of the standard 2-wrap. Tried it on a big red oak yesterday and my ascending felt way smoother with less slippage. Has anyone else tweaked their hitch like that?
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2 Comments
simon_wood72
Read an article in Arborist News a few months back where a guy from the PNW was swearing by a 3-wrap Blake's for smoother ascents on thicker ropes. Said the extra wrap spreads the friction out over more rope, which keeps things from biting down too hard all at once. Tried it on a 12-strand line that was always grabby for me, and it did feel more controlled, almost like a mechanical ascender. Bet it depends on your rope though, a thinner line probably wouldn't like that extra wrap as much.
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ivanlewis
ivanlewis1mo ago
Not sure I’d call that smoother, felt more grabby to me.
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