Wild Country Revo for short fixing?

I was playing around with a Revo in the backyard and doing some drop tests to see how fast it engages and all that sort of stuff.

It got me thinking about it's potential for a shortfixing device.

Ex: climber gets to the top of a pitch, pulls up rope and fixes followers end to a point with a hitch/knot, attached the revo to another point on the anchor with behind the lead line. It feeds out smoothly and should a sudden fall happen, the device engages and catches faster than taking a whip on the whole pile of rope.

Thoughts?

I use the Revo for rope soloing. I'm planning on using it for a solo ascent of El Cap when the park opens.

I have soloed two walls and part of el cap with a revo. It does not get the credit it deserves. There are haters out there, but it’s worked awesome for me.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=8YF_3…

Yes it works fine. Many people (myself included) use the Revo for roped soloing which is basically what shortfixing is.

BUT unless you're planning on freeclimbing into the next pitch, using your grigri will work just as well for aid and is a more practical device overall for bigwall systems. It's also lighter. Because the Revo does not shine for other aspects of bigwalls (like rapping, lowering the bags onto the docking cord from the hauling device, etc) bringing a Revo along in addition to a grigri (or similar device) would not add any advantages (unless one is freeclimbing while shortfixing, which the grigri kinda sucks for)

Death March Dylan wrote: m.youtube.com/watch?v=8YF_3…

Breathe joe breathe! Also a good sound track video for creepy prank calls.

Kevin's just a hater man.. ;)

But yeah those are the negative sides of it. It only works as the solo devices and not the other 10 things you would use a grigri for and its heavy and bulkier as well. Those things add up on your harness fast..

However, I never got the grigri to feed as half as good as the revo and for me the extra weight is worth it. But in terms of the OPs idea, you'll already have a grigri on the wall anyway so you might as well use it instead of the revo. 

A Non wrote:

Breathe joe breathe! Also a good sound track video for creepy prank calls.

I always wonder how long he had been yarding under that table to get all worked up like that 

Chase Bowman wrote: Kevin's just a hater man.. ;)

But yeah those are the negative sides of it. It only works as the solo devices and not the other 10 things you would use a grigri for and its heavy and bulkier as well. Those things add up on your harness fast..

However, I never got the grigri to feed as half as good as the revo and for me the extra weight is worth it. But in terms of the OPs idea, you'll already have a grigri on the wall anyway so you might as well use it instead of the revo. 

If you're going to solo a wall then you'll want a Revo or a silent partner. For shortfixing, it's not worth it. 

regarding using the revo to rope solo, i've seen videos in which the climber takes a short fall (few feet above protection) and the revo jams on the rope.  in order to free the device, the climber has to completely unweight the rope and then use a good deal of elbow grease.  some of those who shot the videos said the revo in catching the fall noticeably damaged the rope.

anyone seen or heard of similar issues?

randy baum wrote: regarding using the revo to rope solo, i've seen videos in which the climber takes a short fall (few feet above protection) and the revo jams on the rope.  in order to free the device, the climber has to completely unweight the rope and then use a good deal of elbow grease.  some of those who shot the videos said the revo in catching the fall noticeably damaged the rope.

anyone seen or heard of similar issues?

Could you possibly post a link to those videos? 

randy baum wrote: regarding using the revo to rope solo, i've seen videos in which the climber takes a short fall (few feet above protection) and the revo jams on the rope.  in order to free the device, the climber has to completely unweight the rope and then use a good deal of elbow grease.  some of those who shot the videos said the revo in catching the fall noticeably damaged the rope.

anyone seen or heard of similar issues?

I've seen these videos that showed rope damage but they were not done with a climber but with a solid weight which places more force on the rope than a squishier human body will allow. In terms of the completely unweight the rope to free the device, every unmanaged device that's used without modification (of which there's the Silent Partner and the Revo and that's it, every other method require modification or management of the device/rope) requires you to unweight to rope once it's caught a fall. 

Here's a posting with pics from a guys FB post (gone now) showing the rope damage aspect  https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/116575988/revo-3?page=6

Kevin DeWeese wrote:

I've seen these videos that showed rope damage but they were not done with a climber but with a solid weight which places more force on the rope than a squishier human body will allow. In terms of the completely unweight the rope to free the device, every unmanaged device that's used without modification (of which there's the Silent Partner and the Revo and that's it, every other method require modification or management of the device/rope) requires you to unweight to rope once it's caught a fall. 

Here's a posting with pics from a guys FB post (gone now) showing the rope damage aspect  https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/116575988/revo-3?page=6

thanks for passing on that info!

Death March Dylan wrote: m.youtube.com/watch?v=8YF_3…

Ah yes, the classic vice grip anchor station.

Butt Cracks wrote: I was playing around with a Revo in the backyard and doing some drop tests to see how fast it engages and all that sort of stuff.

It got me thinking about it's potential for a shortfixing device.

Ex: climber gets to the top of a pitch, pulls up rope and fixes followers end to a point with a hitch/knot, attached the revo to another point on the anchor with behind the lead line. It feeds out smoothly and should a sudden fall happen, the device engages and catches faster than taking a whip on the whole pile of rope.

Thoughts?

If I read this right the Revo is attached to an anchor point not you?   This in theory would work but what happens when you fall?   You essentially have to wait for your partner to arrive to release it. 

Kevin DeWeese wrote:

I've seen these videos that showed rope damage but they were not done with a climber but with a solid weight which places more force on the rope than a squishier human body will allow. In terms of the completely unweight the rope to free the device, every unmanaged device that's used without modification (of which there's the Silent Partner and the Revo and that's it, every other method require modification or management of the device/rope) requires you to unweight to rope once it's caught a fall. 

Here's a posting with pics from a guys FB post (gone now) showing the rope damage aspect  https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/116575988/revo-3?page=6

What about Soloist? It’s my most used and trusted device. I always know what it is going to do. Does this fall into the category of management of device  IF you use a chest harness? 

Kevin Mokracek wrote:

If I read this right the Revo is attached to an anchor point not you?   This in theory would work but what happens when you fall?   You essentially have to wait for your partner to arrive to release it. 

Holy crap I completely misread the OP's post. Why would you leave the device at the anchor when it works better when it's on your person? Doing this would be ridiculous and offers no advantages in exchange for increased issues. 

Troll in the Dungeon ! wrote:

Ah yes, the classic vice grip anchor station.

Yes I totally get it... but I think when I’m 40’ out from my last solid protection I am happy to have a bomb proof device attaching me to the rope. 

Death March Dylan wrote:

What about Soloist? It’s my most used and trusted device. I always know what it is going to do. Does this fall into the category of management of device  IF you use a chest harness? 

The Soloist does not catch an inverted fall. That alone invalidates it in my opinion as a lead soloing device and I would be weary of placing trust in it since one can not always mitigate the variables that can lead to an inverted fall. I've used one before in the past and did not find it to be worth the failure mode considering there's devices that do not have such a failure mode and work just as well if not better. 

from The Soloist Manual: (link: https://www.mtntools.com/cat/rclimb/belayrap/images/soloistmanual.pdf)

The Soloist relies on the direction of rope pull to lock it. The critical angle is the angle that the rope comes out of the Soloist. It will not lock if you fall headfirst. In a free fall beneath your pro, even if you are leaning far back, the Soloist should lock. But if your last piece of protection angles sharply away from you (for instance, on a low angle slab), and you fall leaning far backwards, the Soloist may not lock. (For the same reason, do not lean far back after a catch on a low angle slab). 

edited for clarity

Kevin DeWeese wrote:

the Soloist does not catch an inverted fall. That alone invalidates it in my opinion as a lead soloing device. I've used one before in the past and did not find it to be worth the failure mode considering there's devices that do not have such a failure mode and work just as well if not better. 

from The Soloist Manual: (link: https://www.mtntools.com/cat/rclimb/belayrap/images/soloistmanual.pdf)

That wouldn't work for me, when I fall I really like to go for it.

Kevin DeWeese wrote:

The Soloist does not catch an inverted fall. That alone invalidates it in my opinion as a lead soloing device and I would be weary of placing trust in it since one can not always mitigate the variables that can lead to an inverted fall. I've used one before in the past and did not find it to be worth the failure mode considering there's devices that do not have such a failure mode and work just as well if not better. 

from The Soloist Manual: (link: https://www.mtntools.com/cat/rclimb/belayrap/images/soloistmanual.pdf)edited for clarity

I am aware of these limitations and have climbed plenty of committing routes with said device. You can remove it from your chest harness while aid climbing and it catches an inverted fall. I climb with back up knots and have extended my chest harness contact point so you can lean all the way back and it still engages. I’ve also heard several accounts of silent partners that have quit working with no previous signs. One that quit working was sent to the manufacturer and they responded that a paint chip caused the malfunction. A Grigris handle can catch and open the device as well. Everything has a point of failure....

Edit: but it really doesn’t matter. You have your opinions and set ups and I have mine. I hear and understand your concerns. This is more or less why I try not to comment on much.