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Singing Rock Red Block

Original Post
bbecker · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Sep 2014 · Points: 0

I came across the singing rock red block at a local store on clearance, and thought it might not be a bad piece of hardware to have while top roping. I understand that shear reduction devices eliminate rope wear because of the increased radius on which the rope rides, however, is it significant enough of a difference as opposed to using 3 carabiniers at the masterpoint in terms of rope wear?

Ken Noyce · · Layton, UT · Joined Aug 2010 · Points: 2,648
bbecker wrote:I came across the singing rock red block at a local store on clearance, and thought it might not be a bad piece of hardware to have while top roping. I understand that shear reduction devices eliminate rope wear because of the increased radius on which the rope rides, however, is it significant enough of a difference as opposed to using 3 carabiniers at the masterpoint in terms of rope wear?
How much are you toproping? My guess is that like 99.9999% of ropes are going to wear out due to abrasion from the rock long before they wear out due to the wear of running over any type of TR anchor. This device seems like an answer looking for a problem and a major waste of money.
bbecker · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Sep 2014 · Points: 0

I top rope every weekend for around 6 hours.

I would agree with the rope wear from rubbing on the rocks versus the wear from the carabiner statement. If rope wear were an issue, you would probably see climbing books endorsing a device like this.

David Gibbs · · Ottawa, ON · Joined Aug 2010 · Points: 2

Solution in search of a problem.

20 kN · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Feb 2009 · Points: 1,346
David Gibbs wrote:Solution in search of a problem.
Agreed. I wouldent buy it regardless of price.
John Burkhart · · Morgantown, WV · Joined Nov 2010 · Points: 0

This device is more suited for climbing gyms whose rope lines will receive thousands of hours of use in a year.

Jim Titt · · Germany · Joined Nov 2009 · Points: 490
bbecker wrote: I came across the singing rock red block at a local store on clearance, and thought it might not be a bad piece of hardware to have while top roping. I understand that shear reduction devices eliminate rope wear because of the increased radius on which the rope rides, however, is it significant enough of a difference as opposed to using 3 carabiniers at the masterpoint in terms of rope wear?

It´s unlikely using 3 karabiners reduces rope wear, since it increases the friction it should be increasing the wear in the rope. As the friction has to be in the system somewhere anyway you only move it from the top point to the belay device so just wear somewhere else.

Matt Himmelstein · · Orange, CA · Joined Jun 2014 · Points: 194
  • device which extends the life of the rope when top-roping 
  • ideal partner for adventure parks and gyms 
  • allows to be installed in two different ways 
  • for use with static and dynamic ropes 
  • unique production number for better traceability and inspection recording

The key here is adventure parks and gyms.

Keith Oliver · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jul 2018 · Points: 0
bbecker wrote: I came across the singing rock red block at a local store on clearance, and thought it might not be a bad piece of hardware to have while top roping. I understand that shear reduction devices eliminate rope wear because of the increased radius on which the rope rides, however, is it significant enough of a difference as opposed to using 3 carabiniers at the masterpoint in terms of rope wear?

The reduction in sheer is due to the change in radius.  The red block is slightly larger than the three carabiner set up you have been using so the benefit will be slight over the three carabiners.    

Keith Oliver · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jul 2018 · Points: 0
Ken Noyce wrote: I came across the singing rock red block at a local store on clearance, and thought it might not be a bad piece of hardware to have while top roping. I understand that shear reduction devices eliminate rope wear because of the increased radius on which the rope rides, however, is it significant enough of a difference as opposed to using 3 carabiniers at the masterpoint in terms of rope wear? How much are you toproping? My guess is that like 99.9999% of ropes are going to wear out due to abrasion from the rock long before they wear out due to the wear of running over any type of TR anchor. This device seems like an answer looking for a problem and a major waste of money.

Sheer forces are a significant source of wear. If you set your top rope so that the rope runs free then rock wear should be minimum.  If you are running loaded ropes across a lot of rocks then you need a new anchor technique or a new place to climb.

Ken Noyce · · Layton, UT · Joined Aug 2010 · Points: 2,648
Keith Oliver wrote:

Sheer forces are a significant source of wear. If you set your top rope so that the rope runs free then rock wear should be minimum.  If you are running loaded ropes across a lot of rocks then you need a new anchor technique or a new place to climb.

Well, just to start things off, I rarely ever toprope, so not an issue for me, however, most people who do a lot of toproping tend to do it on easy routes which tend to be slabby with anchors in a less slabby area at the top causing the rope to rub on the rock.  It is pretty obvious to anyone with any climbing experience that outdoor topropes typically wear out due to fuzzy sheath syndrome long before shear forces from the anchor would ever render the rope unusable.   Data shows that ropes have many thousands of toprope cycles before they become a safety concern due to shear forces at the anchor, personal experience certainly shows that ropes will wear out much more quickly than that due to the frictional forces on the sheath.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

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