RRC Archives

Rap Hangers are designed specifically for rappeling. The only time you should be lowering from them are if quickdraws, quicklinks, or biners are attached.

Jerry! I diddn't know you were lurking here!
We need to go climbing and make some more pine tea.

An ATC will kink the rope if you brake/lower with tension/wrapping the rope around the long side of the oblong slots of the device. This side friction will spiral the rope as it feeds through the device. If you wrap the rope around the side toward you it will clockwise spiral and if you wrap the rope around the side away from you it will counter-clockwise spiral. If you brake/hold the rope parallel to the oblong slots and in the middle of the radius portion of the ATC it will not spiral/kink the rope. Same with the gri-gri. If you use the portion of the gri-gri design to wrap the rope around it will kink up. If you you the pin portion at the end it won't. Try it for yourself.

The best way to get twists and kinks out of ropes is to let them hang from a high set of anchors and untwist for a bit before you pull it after every climb. Also, if you lower down, don't pull the short end through the anchors, pull the whole rope through. It doesn't usually take too much longer (unless its a really short climb) and it will do great things to your rope. Also, always flake a rope before and after climbing on it. Especially if you have had it coilled.

I store most of my ropes in a mountaineer coil, but flake them every time onto a tarp. I almost never have trouble with my ropes being twisty and I have owned many, many ropes. I can usually predict when it will happen too. Its usually a funky anchors setup or someone with a strange belay/rappel device that's climbing with me.

It gets to be even worse when you are rapping with two ropes and they knot and twist.