Wild Country Revo testing and suitability for lead rope solo

Because of the lack of actual rope solo devices many climbers including myself have tryed using a Wild Country Revo as a "replacement" for the well known and trusted Silent Partner. Its speed activated locking wheel and the resulting beautiful feeding of the device are the main reasons. But some forum users have complained that the attachment points may be too week or the breaking ribs of the locking wheel may demmage or cut the ropes sheath. To test this I have done some own tests. Test setup: a 66kg or 145.5lbs concrete weight was lifted 1.5 meters above the anchor with no slack in the rope thus creating a factor two fall. The fixed end of the rope was tied to the anchor(consisting of two thick tree branches equalised with a sling) with a clove hitch. The Revo was connected with the rope and the weight. To ensure a free fall the micro traxion used to lift up and hold the weight was connected with a quick release shackle, so pulling on the shackle would let the weight and the hauling setup drop down. The position of the rope was marked with a clothespin. The rope had a diameter of 9.8mm. Tests: the Revo was tested twice on each side. Note that one side was spring modified(but it did not make a difference in the "catching lengh"). The weight fell exactly 3meters before the Revo started grabbing. The catching distance was ALWAYS around 20cm. The rope was pinched rather hard and the device opened a little whis was no problem. The rope was a litle roughened up but nothing serious. It also showed no signs of a cut sheath or flat spots. The attachment points seamed to be in perfect condition and showed no (radiating) stress or cracks. Overall the device was in usual shape and condition. It is important to mention that all the results looked identical. Some photos are included. Conclusion(personal opinion): I think that the Revo (especially modified) is very well suited for lead rope solo climbing. The attachment points seam to be solid and the locking wheel does not cut or heavily demmage the rope. I still do not take any responsibility for your actions. ALWAYS tie a CAT knot(backup knot)! What do you think? 

EDIT: 1. After reading some more posts and articles saying that a revo will cut the rope in a hard fall i have decided to make a second test series with a slightly different setup. For the anchor I just used a sling wrapped around a thick tree branch. the weight was lifted up 1.5 meters above the anchor this time creating a 3m FF2 fall. The "rope" consisted of a 120cm sling clipped to the anchor and a tail of rope tied to the other end of it. The revo was connected to this part of rope. This time there was not only the yellow rope which was allready tested but also a blue rope that is similar in diameter but has a lowe percentage of sheath. The starting point was marked with a pice of tape. This very static system was not designed to test "real" situations but rather to maximise the force. The results were very interesting: on the yellow rope the revo took around 20cm to grab and then slid around 40cm down the rope causing roughening and extensive glazing. On the blue rope the revo cut the sheath and exposed 40cm of core leaving the core undamaged. If you do the math these tests should have generated a force of roughly 18kn(requiring the revo to block of conpletely!). Because of the the sheath breaking and absorbing energy as well as the crazy shaking and creaking of the tree(old and very big/strong cherry) I would guess the force to be at around 10kn. The revo was undemaged and ony had a bit more play. It still works without any prolbems.

2. Further thinking let me come to the conclusion that I have to redo the first test with the blue rope as well. To test this  I basically copied the setup above with the exeption that no slings but only the blue rope was used. The results were the same as with the very first test: The rope was only slightly roughened and a little bit glazed. The revo was undemaged.

3. Looking at the way these devices are tested (en15151-1) these results are not surprising. 1. A 80kg weight is droped from 1m above the anchor on which the device is hanging creating a 2m FF2 Fall. Physically it should not make a difference if the device is hanging on the anchor or on the weight. 2. It needs to hold a force of 8kn for 60 seconds.

Conclusion: These further tests have shown that that the revo is super good enough and well suited for lead rope solo climbing. BUT these devices have not been made for this kind of abuse and should only be used with a backup knot! (note that this is only my personal opinion)

There is one known FF2 that happened in the real world where a Revo cut the sheath of a rope. In my opinion the Revo is an outstanding LRS device however it has one large caveat: it is critical that you do not FF2 onto it. Fortunately this is usually trivial to mitigate against with a few easy tricks up your sleeve. 

Above: Keith Leary's cut sheath from a FF2 on a Revo. Join the LRS FB group for more info. Several people have done tests similar to yours, sometimes with different results. All that info is in the FB group if you want to check it out. 

Thanks for that info! Do you know the diameter of the rope used? I personally use a Kong kisa a the belay to mitigate that risk. Also I am thinking (just a thought) that it might not be too bad if the sheath rips at around 6kn and works as a last resort shock absorber so the force will not go up further breaking your back.

Check out Lead Rope Soloing Facebook group. Lots of good info and exchanges of ideas.

In the LRS group the Kisa has been evaluated, and one member has invented a better way of softening the catch using bungee cords(!) - Check it out!

(I use the Revo for LRS as well)

Stefan Jacobsen wrote:

In the LRS group the Kisa has been evaluated, and one member has invented a better way of softening the catch using bungee cords(!) - Check it out!

(I use the Revo for LRS as well)

Bungee isn't necessary if you use high dynamic elongation ropes such as Beal ropes. Don't really understand the obsession some have with bungee draws. Just buy a Beal rope. 

Ricky Harline wrote:

Bungee isn't necessary if you use high dynamic elongation ropes such as Beal ropes. Don't really understand the obsession some have with bungee draws. Just buy a Beal rope. 

I agree. My comment was just for information for those outside the LRS group. I understand why som like these contraptions though. Because I have experienced how unpleasantly hard the catches are when just a couple of meters are in play in ff1 falls. 

What sort of backup are you using?

Do you think continuous falling on the revo will cause material fatigue and the revo to fail (after some time of course)?

Depending on the circumstances, I either don’t use backup, or I use overhand on a bight knots on quick-draws on a gear loop that is connected to the tie in point with a sling. There’s always a stopper knot at the end of the rope.

There are some small components inside the Revo that I keep an eye on. But, as I don’t project routes, I don’t fall much, so wear is not an issue for me. 

Lennard Braun wrote:

What sort of backup are you using?

Do you think continuous falling on the revo will cause material fatigue and the revo to fail (after some time of course)?

I have probably 20 lead falls on my Revo, and it's in like new condition. Repeated high factor falls can damage it, but this is pretty abnormal in the real world. 

I used trailing stopper knots as my backup. I used a quicklink on the Revo so that it was impossible for a crossload failure where the Revo could come off the rope.  

I now primarily use a different LRS system where the Revo is just a backup but I'll still use just my Revo as described above on heavily traversing pitches as the Taz doesn't like those. 

I think that having a backup and being connected to it is mandatory. I like the running clove hitch as a backup for easy routs because of its simlicity and security but resetting it takes too long on hard routs. I will try something like this (just with a revo instead of the grigri in the future: https://www.brentbarghahn.com/climbing-blog/redpoint-rope-soloing-2021 

Lennard Braun wrote:

I think that having a backup and being connected to it is mandatory. I like the running clove hitch as a backup for easy routs because of its simlicity and security but resetting it takes too long on hard routs. I will try something like this (just with a revo instead of the grigri in the future: https://www.brentbarghahn.com/climbing-blog/redpoint-rope-soloing-2021 

Brent's system is undoubtedly slick and the easiest system to use that uses real backup knots. But why are you not sold on the quicklink on one device with just trailing stopper knots as a backup? I'm curious. 

I agree that your system is super good enough in normal situations and that it is virtually impossible to break the device or its attachement point in a normal situation especially if the rope breaks before. In my pov a seperate connection gives a higher degree of safety for the however unlikely event of the main device in this case the revo completely failing. There are also many stories of these knots getting caught in cracks but this is not the main reason. It justs feels better to know that you are not relying on just one thing ;)

I also have a rock exotica soloist which I like because it is quite indestructible and friendly to your rope but not really consider because it wont catch inverted falls. Does anybody have any ideas to make it reliable in upside down falls but still maintaining its reliablility to feed freely. I am thinking of using a revo as a backup but cant figure out how I could do that.

Lennard Braun wrote:

I also have a rock exotica soloist which I like because it is quite indestructible and friendly to your rope but not really consider because it wont catch inverted falls. Does anybody have any ideas to make it reliable in upside down falls but still maintaining its reliablility to feed freely. I am thinking of using a revo as a backup but cant figure out how I could do that.

That would work very well, that's my setup with my Taz Lov. 

https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/124141572/the-taz-lov-revo-lead-rope-solo-thread

Thanks for that info! In theory this system should work really well but I have just tried it and sadly there is just a lot of friction throu both devices making it really hard to feed rope. This is because the soloist provides a little friction due to a slight curve in the rope which is then increased by the drag throu the revo making it hard to feed rope. There is actually one position where it feeds ok but the revo is at chin level which has obvious drawbacks... It looked so promising...

Lennard Braun wrote:

I think that having a backup and being connected to it is mandatory. I like the running clove hitch as a backup for easy routs because of its simlicity and security but resetting it takes too long on hard routs. I will try something like this (just with a revo instead of the grigri in the future: https://www.brentbarghahn.com/climbing-blog/redpoint-rope-soloing-2021 

It’s basically Brent’s backup system I use, just with qd’s in stead of free biners. That way I save a bit of weight. 

How long are your loops?

@ Lennard Braun

You have already a Soloist. I would get a Yomi and it will catch inverted falls (according Manuel Laros, with a smile I haven't tried it).

Lennard Braun wrote:

Thanks for that info! In theory this system should work really well but I have just tried it and sadly there is just a lot of friction throu both devices making it really hard to feed rope. This is because the soloist provides a little friction due to a slight curve in the rope which is then increased by the drag throu the revo making it hard to feed rope. There is actually one position where it feeds ok but the revo is at chin level which has obvious drawbacks... It looked so promising...

If friction is an issue you can take out one of the toothed sides to lessen the loop, it doesn't require both sides for the device to function and lock.