Top Rope Solo Rope Advice

Have a hard time deciding what kind of rope to use for a top rope solo setup, Static or Dynamic.

I feel like static will last longer with a toothed device and will be more burly.

I don't really care for dynamically absorbing falls, as I will be on top rope anyway.

My set up:

Two Ropes
1 main rope - something in the 10.5mm range running a Petzl Micro-Traxion.
2nd rope as backup - a Dynamic rope which I will either run another device on as back up or tie in bights every 5 or so feet and clip into them (and unclip as I am going up).

Self belay will be for Top Rope Solo, Aid solo, maybe an ice route or two.

Should I run Static or Dynamic main line? Obviously the backup rope (f I go with back up knots) will by dynamic.

I could get static sold by a foot from REI like 11mm or maybe a dynamic 10.5 short rope under a 100 feet.

Any advice is welcome.

Thanks.

An old rope that lost its elasticity works the best - less stretch. I personally wouldn't buy a static rope for just rope soloing. Doesn't make sense to buy and lug another rope, if you're only getting <100 feet of it, you can get two lines out of a single 60m rope by fixing it in the middle.

I buy a new lead rope every two or three years and then use the old lead rope for top rope soloing.

The older rope for top rope soloing then gets retired.

.

You don't want to have to carry two ropes every time. You are "solo" so it would get heavy.

Most of my top rope solo set ups are with a single static rope. I double the rope, and as mentioned above, the climbs are less than 90 feet. There are differences in static ropes, I use one that is about 4 to 5 % stretch. I really like this setup because if I need to "hang dog", I am not stretching several feet below the area that I am working on. The static rope holds you right there.
I use the Micro Traxion and tie it directly to my harness with 8 mm cord, this makes for and immediate lockup. As a backup, I use a Petzl micro ascender setup with a chest harness. In addition I bring two long slings and two prusiks for getting the hell out of there if I'm totally out of my league.

Thanks for the advice everyone

Roman

I find falling towards the top of a climb on dynamic line to be quite jolting I can't imagine static would be comfortable. My rescucender is plainly attached to my belay loop though so there is a foot or so fall before its tentioned though.

Dan Cottle wrote:I find falling towards the top of a climb on dynamic line to be quite jolting I can't imagine static would be comfortable. My rescucender is plainly attached to my belay loop though so there is a foot or so fall before its tentioned though.

One way to reduce the fall or slack is to add a secondary attachment to the rescucender. It has two small holes that you can thread some thin accessory cord thru and then attach to a chest harness. This basically keeps it in a more upright position.

Note it is also still attached to the belay loop as the primary attachment.

I sometimes use a 48 inch runner for the chest harness when I get on harder routes where I'll probably be doing some hanging.

I think my buddy has a static that he uses, but I've been pretty surprised with my Micro Traxions on TR solo. They're not hard on the rope at all; at first I only used my old backup rope with them, but now I don't even really care if I'm using my main lead line. They don't put much wear on my rope.

Well, I don't ever fall, Locker, so I wouldn't have that problem... Ha!

But regular TR "falls,", where you just relax onto the rope, don't seem too bad. At first those teeth terrified me, and I wanted them nowhere near my rope!

I use the same rope for almost everything....so I top rope solo on a Mammut Infinity 9.5 with the wren soloist, never slipped, no abrasion etc

Does anyone have experience with the Kong Duck or the Kong 802 backup?

I am looking for something without teeth, but maybe I am being overly cautious. I would also like the device to go up and down freely without having to pull rope. In a perfect world, it would also descend but that is probably asking too much.

any suggestions?

DMM Buddy
Petzl Rescucender
Kong - duck and or 802
Camp - Something

ropes: i think semi-static, or even better low elongation ropes with durable sheath as designed for gym top-rope use work super well, add safety, and hold up.

devices: ( no-teeth/ easy up easy down) rock exotica unicender.

Ken Carrara wrote:Does anyone have experience with the Kong Duck or the Kong 802 backup? I am looking for something without teeth, but maybe I am being overly cautious. I would also like the device to go up and down freely without having to pull rope. In a perfect world, it would also descend but that is probably asking too much. any suggestions? DMM Buddy Petzl Rescucender Kong - duck and or 802 Camp - Something

I personally use the tried-and-true Petzl Microcender on top with a Petzl Microtraxion on bottom.

When I fall, the Microcender takes the catch: the traxion doesn't even bite down unless the Microcender were to catastrophically fail. I too am uncomfortable with wearing through my rope with the teeth, which is why I prefer the Microcender as the main device.

To descend, I switch out the Microtraxion for a GriGri. You'll have to do some shuffling to weight and unweight the devices to get set up. As long as you know how to ascend a rope you should be alright.

Make sure you practice your toprope solo setup in a safe controlled environment, like the gym!

I find it interesting that Top Rope soloing has become so popular.

I have a lot of time off that my climbing partners don't. For me, TR solo is more of a last resort that I will probably utilize 5-10 time a season.

Ken Carrara wrote: I would also like the device to go up and down freely without having to pull rope.

__camp goblin__ will ascend and descend freely and always locks up reliably. It's a bit more expensive but to me it was worth the cost.

mike gibson wrote: __camp goblin__ will ascend and descend freely and always locks up reliably. It's a bit more expensive but to me it was worth the cost.

Thnx for the link !

Edit:
If you click on Arborist links the result will be a non stop flow of banner adds from those sites, instead of, say, From Black Dimond or Whatever.
Just a warning it has been going on like that for me for 2yrs now , I'm not switching from using a Grigri or two, yet but like to see what is new out there.

Stealthy mentioned the uniscender above, there is also the Bulldog Bone, Akimbo and Rope Runner multiscenders that are being used in treeclimbing. There is also two devices that assist in managing friction when used with a friction hitch, the Rope Wrench and the Hitch Hiker. You are able to descend on all of them. The forum TreeBuzz has lengthy discussions about them. Some you can buy from arborist retailers like Treestuff others you have to get directly from the inventors.

I am looking at getting myself a TR solo setup. It is interesting how many different options there are out there. I have the same concern about the teeth on my rope, as I do plan on falling.

I know this is not out yet but what are thoughts on the Wild Country Revo? wildcountry.com/revo/

With something like the Revo what would you use as your back up?

C Ross wrote:I am looking at getting myself a TR solo setup. It is interesting how many different options there are out there. I have the same concern about the teeth on my rope, as I do plan on falling. I know this is not out yet but what are thoughts on the Wild Country Revo? wildcountry.com/revo/ With something like the Revo what would you use as your back up?

I am planning on using the wild country revo with a Petzl rescucender as a backup, it does not have teeth so it should hopefully reduce rope wear.

I'm also debating over using one or two ropes. Petzl recommends two lines, one static and one dynamic. What about putting an eight at the center of my rope and sending both strands down. The revo would be on one strand and the backup on the other. Thoughts?

Ken Carrara wrote: What about putting an eight at the center of my rope and sending both strands down.

I think that's what most folks do if the route is <30m.