About Me
- Pyro
- I am who I am. Don't try to change me, It won't work! Like me, love me, or get the hell out of my way! I have been described as an opinionated asshole in the past. Mostly by people that didn't like hearing what I had to say. I have also been decrribed as a very good friend to have when your butt's in the fire. If you are still reading this then maybe one day you will see that side of me, as you have passed the first test, you have listened.
Just some comments based on my own experiences with a wide range of devices, from the old "belay-thru-the-small-end-of-the-8" to the counterintuitive Gri-gri, in a wide range of situations- snow and frozen ropes, sandy southeastern belays, and searing desert temps with sharp rock.
ReplyDeleteFirst point- have they gone back to a coated, flexible clip-in loop? If so, scratch one point. The fixed metal clip-in was one of the main attractions of the old Reverso after years of burning the coating and twisting up the cables of Trangos and ATCs while either belaying or rappelling.
Second point- and this is just me being anal, but what about redundancy? Why is the climber clipping into just a sewn loop- too cheap to back it up with a biner? I know all about the strength of the belay loop... but I also know just how abrasive limestone, granite and dacite can be.
Third- potential versus practicality. I have never belayed two climbers at the same time and am pretty sure you really can't do so without sacrificing at least 50% of your efficiency and safety. Simply managing two ropes at a time is chllenge enough when they both lead to the same climber. Belaying two following clmibes is just asking for trouble and potentially-fatal rope crossing, dynamic loading, etc.
Fourth- why does the climber rapping on double ropes need to add a daisy chain into the set-up between the harness and the Reverso? You have simply added one more link that can fail.
Fifth- switching leads. When the following climber arrives at the belay, the belayer is show completely relaxing belay BEFORE THE SECOND CLIPS INTO ANYTHING! Unsafe techniques and practices are unforgiveable in a demo vid that has been extensively reviewed by the company prior to release. There is actually a point where the second climber is JUST STANDING THERE, clipped in to NOTHING, as the belayer takes the Reverso completely out of the loop and switches over to lead belay. If she had fallen at this point, there would be no way humanly possible to stop her.
Sixth- self-braking. Are you kidding me? Are we really promoting a technique that has one rope sliding over another? The Shunt has this beaten hands-down... no competition at all.
Seventh and final- so to "release the second", we actually pry on the nose of a biner to create leverage and change the angle of the device? and this, a principle as old as Archimedes and one NOT endorsed by ANY carabiner manufacturer, this is innovation?
All in all, I liked the original Reverso much better... and I liked Petzl much better when they hjust stuck to those lovely little cards with death's heads over any improper technique. of course, since that logo would be plastered across about three-fifths of this video, I can see why they've abandoned it.
Again, this is just my take on what I'm seeing. I'm sure there ar many satisfied Reverso3 owners who would argue the points I've made into the dust. To each their own.
I loved the comments Brother. I was wondering if anyone would see the faults that I saw. I knew that the Punisher would see it. That no one else saw it (or never reads my blog) is amazing to me. To everyone out there, if you’re reading this please comment. I didn't pick up on all that you found but what I saw was interesting enough that I put it here. I went through a lot of their video for their product when I was looking for a place to ask them about wholesale opportunities. It’s funny that I know what right looks like but I can't just point it and say this is what wrong is. But then I don't have the experience of my maestro either who has a life time of experience in the vertical realm.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to this coming weekend brother; however the cards fall weather wise it will be a good time spent with two of my favorite people.