# Zignex Climbing System, DdRT and SRT, cost $1.95



## smokey01 (Jan 12, 2013)

Zignex Climbing System, DdRT and SRT, cost $1.95 excluding carabiner and pulley
Experimental concept. Interested to see what you think.


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## KenJax Tree (Jan 12, 2013)

You have more climbing gadgets than anyone i know!


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## Zale (Jan 12, 2013)

I wouldn't like anything going around my neck.


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## flushcut (Jan 13, 2013)

You sure do have a lot of crap hanging off you saddle.
I have to ask are you a rec climber or a tree man?


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## KenJax Tree (Jan 13, 2013)

flushcut said:


> You sure do have a lot of crap hanging off you saddle.
> I have to ask are you a rec climber or a tree man?



He climbs up a pole with a chair on it and sits in it(no joke)

He has to sound lkke Santa's sleigh jingling with all that stuff on his saddle.


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## flushcut (Jan 13, 2013)

KenJax Tree said:


> He climbs up a pole with a chair on it and sits in it(no joke)
> 
> He has to sound lkke Santa's sleigh jingling with all that stuff on his saddle.



I have read some of his more infamous threads.


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## KenJax Tree (Jan 13, 2013)

flushcut said:


> I have read some of his more infamous threads.



Quite a character huh?


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## flushcut (Jan 13, 2013)

He is, but I have to give the guy credit for his enthusiasm for climbing.


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## 2treeornot2tree (Jan 14, 2013)

Thats quite the thought there, but i wouldnt trust it.

You have a rope wearing on the inside of its strands, which it wasnt designed for. It might work for a while, but it might not also!


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## Pelorus (Jan 14, 2013)

Smokey - have you got a relative that goes by the name"Jomoco"?
He comes up with some wild stuff too that I have seen, like homemade spring loaded gaffs ("Innoculators"), and flower pots hanging from branches in order to strengthen them.
(Some folks think his ideas are inspired by hallucinogens). Not that there is anything wrong with that.......


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## smokey01 (Jan 14, 2013)

2treeornot2tree said:


> Thats quite the thought there, but i wouldnt trust it.
> You have a rope wearing on the inside of its strands, which it wasnt designed for. It might work for a while, but it might not also!


That is some good feed back there, thanks and I sure agree that it was not designed for this. 
At this point it is more like a back up climbing system you could put with 15' of seat belt webbing as described on page 100 of the book On Rope and have basically a whole climbing system. (for emergency field use) 
It would be interesting to see what the Samson rope people think. The Tenex is a braided cord so I'm not sure if I understand _inside _strands as with the braid, the same strands outside are also on the inside. One of the reasons this seemed to work so well is that it is like having a VT that is braided hundreds of times smoothly and evenly spreading the friction over a wide area allowing it to work SRT which a normal hitch will not do. 
I have not used Tenex for an e2e split tail friction hitch but I have been told that it glazes easily on rapid descents which would be a drawback for this system but so far for a slow, field type use back up, it seems pretty good for all of $1.95. I have been told of another type of cordage that may work better than the Tenex but I have not tried it yet.
Thanks again sir for your thought on this.


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## 2treeornot2tree (Jan 14, 2013)

one of the major problems is you can not inspect the system for wear cause your using the inside of the tennex.


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## smokey01 (Jan 14, 2013)

2treeornot2tree said:


> one of the major problems is you can not inspect the system for wear cause your using the inside of the tennex.



That also is a good point. I'll have to do some more "low and slow" and see what I can see. Sincerely, I appreciate your experienced feed back.


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## B_Turner (Jan 14, 2013)

I do like the enthusiasm, it's refreshing.

I'm repping of the joy factor, not because I'd climb on that system.....


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## smokey01 (Jan 14, 2013)

B_Turner said:


> I do like the enthusiasm, it's refreshing.
> I'm repping of the joy factor, not because I'd climb on that system.....



I am not making a comparison to the likes of Kevin Bingham or any of the rest of you guys with your experience but watch some of Kevin's stuff.

Kevin Bingham - YouTube

Can you imagine what it was like for him to carve a climbing system out of a tree branch, use it and then successfully implement it into one of the most popular used climbing tools today? That little stick of wood went from free and no intended use, to 125 bucks, attorneys fees, manufacturing, marketing, user manual with intended use and everything else.............and worth every cent of 125 bucks or more I might add. 
SRT has so much invention behind it but yet I think it is just getting started. "think outside the box"


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## climb4fun (Jan 14, 2013)

i had came up with the exact same idea about 6 months ago and came up with the same key refuting point 2treeornot2tree said, too difficult to inspect for damage, as well as the fact that it cannot be installed midline.


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## smokey01 (Jan 14, 2013)

climb4fun said:


> i had came up with the exact same idea about 6 months ago and came up with the same key refuting point 2treeornot2tree said, too difficult to inspect for damage, as well as the fact that it cannot be installed midline.



Yep, that too is the killer for me, it cannot be attached mid-line. I do find after using it for a while (slow) that there is not much wear and I can move all the strands around quite well with that Tenex and see everything inside. I was amazed to see how smooth it was and how well it worked. Probably put it in the bucket for some kind of back up. 
So even if a better, glaze resistant cord was used, it would still not be attachable mid-line. To me that would put it in about the same place as the ZigZag that looks like it will cost about 275.00. BTW, I suspect that came from somebody playing with bit of #100 roller chain and thinking.............what if I thread my rope thru this and attach a carabiner to it. 
So, the basic concept here is using the Chinese Finger trap as a climbing system. (at least that is what woke me up one night) 
Next step, in the quest for a smooth, all mechanical, SRT and DdRT, mid-line attachable climbing system?

What about a design that has two partial circle rings, such that a climbing line can be placed inside of the rings or perhaps two half circles that can be connected. One on the top and another on the bottom, say about 8" inches apart. These rings could have key-ways in them where a 1/16 inch cable is fitted such as the choker cables. 12 small cables, 6 braided a few times one direction and 6 braided the other. Just like the finger trap, the weight of the climber squeezes the rope and provides friction. Pushing down on the top ring spreads the cables releasing the friction.


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## newsawtooth (Jan 15, 2013)

smokey01 said:


> Zignex Climbing System, DdRT and SRT, cost $1.95 excluding carabiner and pulley
> Experimental concept. Interested to see what you think.




That is pretty cool, Smokey. I had been kicking around a similar idea, sort of like chinese finger cuffs for a climbing line. (Just read the whole thread, I thought of it in similar terms, with the top and bottom rings as well and maybe a seam that opens to accept the line like zippering up a coat) Your solution is elegant and not being midline attachable isn't a deal breaker. My rope wrench stays on the line most of the time anyway, that is the beauty of devices that ascend, descend and work position well. There should be a fiber out there that will have better characteristics for long term use, not sure what it is though, maybe a kevlar weave. The Tenex seems to work well though. It would be interesting to see the results of some drop tests. I look forward to seeing how it develops.


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## smokey01 (Jan 15, 2013)

newsawtooth said:


> ............... not being midline attachable isn't a deal breaker. My rope wrench stays on the line most of the time anyway, that is the beauty of devices that ascend, descend and work position well. There should be a fiber out there that will have better characteristics for long term use, not sure what it is though, maybe a kevlar weave. The Tenex seems to work well though. It would be interesting to see the results of some drop tests. I look forward to seeing how it develops.




There is, don't have any and have not tried it yet. See below.
Problem is it will just about triple the cost of the entire system......maybe around 6 bucks now. 

Vectrus™ is a single-braided rope of 100% Vectran (LCP, Liquid Crystal Polymer) with a Maxijacket coating to enhance abrasion resistance. LCP is more tolerant of tighter bending radii in terminations than other high-modulus fibers. Vectran LCP thrives at high loads and carries a four-to-one load rating. Vectrus is normally coated with clear Maxijacket urethane, enhancing its ultraviolet resistance, abrasion life, and snag resistance.







And some amazing strength.


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## smokey01 (Jan 17, 2013)

Zale said:


> I wouldn't like anything going around my neck.


I hear your concern. 
Actually you don't need to with this system, I found that it tends quite nicely without the neck lanyard so it really was not needed. 
The neck lanyard could be another interesting thread as they are often used to tend the Rope Wrench, Hitch Hiker and Petzl CROLL or as an alternate to the neck elastic lanyard, the lanyard over the shoulder technique, the Petzl Voltige chest harness or something like the Petzl chest ascender.


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