Microcender or Ropeman?

I'm looking for a second, less expensive device to back up (or other way around) my microtraxion for top-rope soloing. Tying back up knots is not an option and I'd prefer not use a chest sling either.

I'm mostly interested in how well these devices slide up a thicker static rope like those fixed in Yosemite in the winter, but any info on them is welcome. Also interested to hear the differences between the ropeman mk1 and ropeman mk2. Thanks.

My preference is the Microcender. Moves easily and cams securely.

^^^ This.

No sharp teeth in the mechanism to worry about.

No on/off switch.

Slides easily.

Can disconnect from rope by pulling pin.

Compact and light.

It works for me.

another for microcender. I like it as a backup when I'm going to be jugging a lot of fixed lines. No teeth is a huge plus. Plus, it's made to slip a little when it engaged to allow some of the force to dampen.

Micrrocender

It worked on my fuzzy 10mm+ rope just fine today

Less moving parts, no teeth, and they have been tested in FF2 situations ... Not tht you are going to do that

Toothed ascenders consistently strip the rope ~4-5 KN

;)

I use the ropeman as well, it works fantastic

I use a microcender. It feeds smoothly and engages well since you clip into the the cam directly. It's design with the lack of teeth allow you to scoot back down a couple feet relatively easily if you need slack without having to mess with sharp teeth that are engaged into your sheath fibers (seems like with toothed devices you really have to totally unweight the device and go back up a bit if that makes sense). For TR solo, I also really like how easy it is to disassemble (just pull the pin) without having to de-rig completely from the device and as such there's no risk of dropping. Allows you to switch over to rap mode and run laps, etc. pretty easily.

I actually use the microcender as my primary with a chest harness and the minitraxion as the backup because of the potentially destructive teeth the minitrax sports.

Hope this helps and safe climbing-

Dan

I use a pair of ropeman 1 (ropemen?) for TR soloing. I went for the 1 because it doesn't have the rope shredder teeth of the minitraxion, and I use it a lot for jugging while route-setting at the rec center, because of that.
It takes some practice to figure out how to rig it such that removing it doesn't risk dropping any worse than the same risk for an ATC (and ultimately, you use the same basic technique to avoid dropping it). It does not really like fat, fuzzy ropes. Finally, like any backup/micro-ascender, it jugs poorly, about as well as prussik knots in terms of user-friendliness. It works fantastically on skinny ropes though, and gives a pretty positive catch.

Thanks for all the helpful responses! Sounds like the microcender might be the way to go. I'm actually kind of surprised that I only see mini and microtraxions in use with all of the benefits of the microcender...

Brandon R. wrote:Thanks for all the helpful responses! Sounds like the microcender might be the way to go. I'm actually kind of surprised that I only see mini and microtraxions in use with all of the benefits of the microcender...

Probably because the mini and microtraxion can also work as a hauling pulley whereas the microcender is more of a one-trick pony that does its trick very well.

Microcender = $65
Minitraxion & Microtraxion ~ $100 new (microtraxion ~ $70 used)

caughtinside wrote: Rope man $35

$5



;)

HSE report

A backup on a tether can mean possible shock loading on a static rope especially as you approach the anchors

On a dynamic rope its less of a concern IMO ... On a static rope the forces and consequence of slack in the system (from the rope or a trailing tether) would be higher

Petzl says basically the same thing about toothed ascenders, they strip the rope around 4-5 KN

;)

kevin deweese wrote: $5 ;)

That's only for the ropeman 2. The Ropeman 1 uses only a cam. It works more like a Shunt, although without the big rope guide/control handle that the shunt has.

A toothed ascender works fine if its connected to yr belay loop and there no slack in the system

The problem comes when using it as a trailing backup on a tether, especially on static ropes its possible near the anchors to have a high factor fall on it, possibly stripping the rope

Petzl recommends the toothed as he primary and microcender as the backup for this reason

Toothed ascenders can also

- jam up against the knots as you hit the anchor, requiring you untie the knot

- be harder to take off the rope as you need to give it a bit of slack ... Theres been at least one case where an MPer has had issues self rescuing because of it

mountainproject.com/v/topro…

- it can be harder on the ropes, if you arent careful taking it off with a bit of slack (moving the ascender upwards) youll hear a slight "rip" of it fuzzying up the sheath ... Not a concern with olds ropes, but i wouldnt want to do it to a fancy new dry treated one if you use that

- on the plus side they work on dirty and icy ropes

Petzl

Personally im not too worried on a dynamic rope, but its something to keep in mind especially if you are dealing with static ropes

;)

Does anyone us a system which uses two different devices that are both toothless? I have a setup like the one below in mind.

I'm wondering how well it would work with a microcender (as pictured) and some other kind of toothless device. Maybe a ropeman I or something similar?

Brian Krupitzer wrote:Does anyone us a system which uses two different devices that are both toothless?

I use a system similar to this, using an Ushba (a camming device) as primary and a Microcender as the backup:

redundant self belay

I use the Rescuecender and Microcender together. Microcender is the backup.

Don't forget the Kong Duck!

OK, this is not what you asked for, so feel free to send me to hell.
But still, maybe you didn't think about it and it could come handy to you (or someone else).

I do use a gri-gri as my backup device for solo TR. If you already own one, you could perhaps consider it. Surely you have to pull the rope into it from time to time, because it won't flow freely into it, but considering it's a backup, not the main belay device, I find it OK. Advantages:

• it allows for a quick rappel without any hassle if you want to do the same pitch again. Just unlock the main unit (the microtraxion in your case), pull the lever and get down
• you already own it :)

I've tried many different setups and currently use a Microcender with a Climbing Technolgy RollNLock as the backup. Previously I used a microtrax as the backup--also tried the ropeman. RollNLock has no teeth and also functions as a pulley.

http://www.climbingtechnology.com/en-US/climbing/use-rope/rollnlock1096.html