RRC Archives

I'm thinking about getting a Petzl Shunt. Does anyone have experience using one and what do you think of its performance? Any opinion or advice is welcome.

-shoes

It is an excellent device... The only use I've found for it is setting up for taking pictures. If your a photographer, this can make for a quick and easy set-up. I'm sure there are other uses but I will probably never get around to needing them.

What are your plans for the device?

I use it to Rap down while cleaning/bolting routes. It works very well.

I'm planning to use it as a backup device for rappelling. It also sounds like a good method for stopping and checking out the view hands free, picture-taking etc. I'm getting back into climbing after a couple of months in which I've been pursuing ultra-light backpacking. As far as rappelling...I also feel that I haven't been getting enough friction. I'm going to try "double wrapping" the figure eight next time. Is this a good/safe method?

For more friction, ditch the figure 8 and buy an ATC. ATCs offer a more controlled decent. I used to use a figure 8 and now it sits in my closet collecting dust... I don't even know why I bought the damn thing? As far as using the shunt for backing up your rappels... that is one use it was invented for, so it would be extra handy. However, it is alot pricier then using a pruzik.

a figure 8 just coils the hell out of your rope on rappel. It sucks. An ATC is the way to go, and if you want a hands free hold then put a Klymeheist on your legloop/ rappel line. It works best.
I put one on often when I rappel just for safety, especially if I have my pack and am extra heavy or am rapping over a series of roofs or into an unknown gully. anal retentive...I know.....but it has saved my ass before too

ATC-XP. And you can just wrap the rope around your legs a couple times if you want to stop and hang out for a few minutes with both hands free.

Wes

Ohh... somebody went and forked over the coin for the ATC-XP, what a pimp! It kind of scares me... it is like the Big Bertha driver compared to other drivers (in golf).

"Are you a manly man
or are you a girly man?"

Reckon I'll get the an ATC (XP maybe) and then the shunt, and then more gear, and some more stuff, and then there'll be something I just can't live without... But what about if I don't get the goods right away and I'm stuck with the old figure eight for a while longer? Has anybody heard of or tried the "double wrap"?

yeah, i used a double wrap in a rescue course. it is safe. and it definitely adds friction. it was a bit tough getting the rope to feed at the top, with just my weight (140lbs). but i picked a 200lb "victim" off the wall, and the added weight and added friction balanced perfectly - it was just like rapping off by myself.
that was on a single line, though. double wrapping when you're going on a double line probably fills ups your 8 really fast, unless you've got one of the big rescue 8's.
i was told that the advantage of an 8 over an atc, is that the 8 does a much better job of dissipating heat (b/c of the larger volume of metal and more surface area), so there's less chance of melting the rope, especially on several consecutive long rappels off multi-pitch climbs. i've never really tested that theory, though.