Why would this be improper specifically for vertical caving? The figure 8 will twist any rope. The only reason I can think of that any caver would think it "improper" is because you can't lock it off. But you can lock off a rescue figure 8... You also lock off Petzl's "Pirana", which is very similar.
Figure 8: http://s7ondemand1.scene7.com/is/image/MoosejawMB/10085396x1014941_zm?$product150$ Rescue 8: http://wesspur.com/images/product/300800-500.gif Pirana: http://wesspur.com/images/product/d05-500.gif Any thoughts? -B On Thu, Jun 11, 2009 at 8:24 AM, Fofo<[email protected]> wrote: > Hey, Lyndon. > > It sounds like he is talking about the descender, not the knot. > > The problem with the figure 8 descender is that it twists the rope. Since > caving rope is a bunch of parallel fibers encased in a sheath, going through > the figure 8 will impart a twist on these and in the end (after repeated use > with a figure of 8) you end up with a rope that kinks by itself. > > It is a compact and lightweight descender, convenient for nuisance drops, on > short pieces of rope for which you don't care much. > > - Fofo > > Lyndon Tiu wrote, on 11/6/09 6:12: >> >> On Wed, 10 Jun 2009 11:04:44 -0500 [email protected] wrote: >>> >>> Everybody else appeared to use a rock-climbers tiny Figure-8. ( I >>> think most caver's would agree that this >>> type of Figure-8 is not proper vertical equipment for caving. ) >> >> >> Can someone on this list knowledgeable with vertical caving please explain >> to me why so? >> >> Thanks. >> >> -- >> Lyndon Tiu >> >> --------------------------------------------------------------------- >> Visit our website: http://texascavers.com >> To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected] >> For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected] >> >> >> > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > Visit our website: http://texascavers.com > To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected] > For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected] > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected] For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected]
