@stevenlcotney5577 I found it to be much smoother. Moves quite freely through especially for 10mm like I demo in this series. I was thinking of doing a more in depth breakdown of the build and its features. Perhaps I will highlight this more.

I used to have it tethered as well like you mentioned and early on I would tie in the figure 8 for rappel in some interesting ways to work around that tethering. When I found out the manuals call out acceptable vs unacceptable ways for the figure 8, I started looking at other options. The munter friction hitch is an easy option for its simplicity. I recently found the hydrobot to be a really slick device to create a footloop/rappel device all in one. Nonetheless, you're ensuring the device is attached to you at all times which is a +1 for combating Murphy's law. Well done!

I have preferred the Saddle Hunter's hitch as I feel it does a better job holding its cinch against the tree. More friction against the rope with its design contributes to that. Both will get the job done though!

I've looked at the idea of using a pole but ultimately never had a motivation to get one. I can see the appeal but I tend to do a lot of prep work in the off season to mitigate the need to do this before a planned hunt. Even in the cases of going run and gun, I then just ground hunt and bring my gear to set some presets if I feel I found a good tree to return too. I'm not against the use of one by any means, I just haven't seen a need for myself personally to tinker around with such a device. Especially considering that I do sometimes set crotches that are a good 30'+ up and would be potentially limiting my reach with a 20' pole. Along with the awkwardness of maneuvering such a long device which would only get more shaky the longer it gets. You mention the handiness in cutting limbs with this idea as well. I personally carry a handsaw with me when doing some prep work where I then climb and prune if I feel it's ABSOLUTELY necessary. Typically I leave mother nature alone as it serves as more cover so this is a rare occurrence for me for a hunting setup.

Love it! You can definitely find yourself carrying more than necessary and I plan to put a video together showing everything I carry for a saddle hunt. I'll pencil down an SRT approach using the Oka but I also have another surprise to go with that video idea so stay tuned!

The throw line is more slick and holds up to being pulled over tree bark much better over time than simply using paracord. You can certainly do it though if you're cutting a piece of paracord for that tree to leave. Should be just fine. I don't use a cube. I find it unnecessary personally for how often I use it and what I use it for. I just coil my throw line and use only a 75' piece of it with my throwball. No need to carry 100s of feet of line if not trying to hit anything more than a single crotch for hunting applications IMO.

Thanks for sharing! Now I know for next time!

NVM, I saw that you used it in your DSRT video: a clip on a JRB loop. I guess I am a fan of using the double bull or double clove like John, but I am on old guy playing around with SRT with mechanical devices. Enjoy your content thus far.

Not a problem! Glad you're enjoying everything so far! I have been using cheap keychain hooks on my end loops to make it quick to hook into the preset. Certainly don't need that though and could tie a highway man's hitch from the preset cord onto the end loop as well just like the way I do for pulling the preset cord up over the crotch with the throw line. Previously I didn't use an end loop on the climbing rope end and just did a clove hitch to pull up and over without issue. I'm pushing myself now to try other options to see where I can gain more efficiency for when hunting season rolls around.

I can see how it could get mangled. They do provide a spare boot with the product which means they know of this case IMO. At the very least, we can ensure it's always attached to us so we don't drop it. In a hunting scenario, the boot or something that could equally silence the rattle is key. I've been thinking about an alternative way to silence in such cases so I'll be sure to share if I come up with anything.

If I'm following you here, essentially the throw line and paracord create a large loop so you can rotate the entire assembly over the crotch until just the paracord portion is over the crotch, correct? You then remove the throw line, join the paracord ends for another large loop and just attach the rope to the loop and rotate it up over the limb, leaving the paracord loop in tact at all times? If I'm following you here, that's a neat way of doing it. If I'm misunderstanding though, please share where I'm missing the mark.

You got me correctly

As you get closer to the crotch a single hitch would suffer in performance with the 2 strands trying to pull it apart. Independent hitches on each strands gives a better bite on the rope at all points in the climb and creates a more reliable hold. The weight is then distributed across both equally. Also, I know you used "prusik" as your reference but these are longhorn agile hitches, not prusiks. I wouldn't ever try to use a simple prusik as my hitch for climbing as they can become unreliable. I would only ever consider that for a hitch to hold gear of that but not for holding me.

I'm there with you when it comes to grabbing new gadgets to try! I feel it makes us better climbers knowing firsthand but can be hard for others to do so. Us sharing these experiences makes it all the better for the rest reading and watching! I'm glad to hear you calling out its versatility as I was blown away when testing the Oka. I also now ordered another Kong device thanks to another comment on this video. All the best with your testing and climbing!

It's wonderful how accessible it is to shop on but it's so easy to overlook details for products. Especially ones for life and safety, it's best to go to more reputable vendors in this case or do the homework on the Amazon listing to ensure it's legit first.

Had mine saved as a "purchase for later" item as well and eventually pulled the trigger after not being able to decide. Glad I did and glad I could put some content together in case it helps the next enthusiast. Happy climbing!

I really appreciate you sharing that! That is music to my ears with how you found a way to achieve a device that could be used with the Garda as well. I'll definitely be checking that one out! I was trying to look at a way to use the Oka in a similar fashion or at least attached while operating the Garda but haven't figured out a way quite yet. If I could keep it attached always, that would be an extra win there! Always ready to climb or descend then.

Yeah, same here. I was also looking for a way to leave the device permanently attached. That's what led me to the hydrobot. I still like the Garda hitch. But I also like testing different devices and methods. (Note: In my experience using it. It seems to work best in ascend mode with thicker rope and sheath that's not so slippery. I have 9.5 RNA Ghille rope, Monster 10.5, and Samson predator 11.5. It seems to work best in ascend mode with the monster and Samson. It slips a little with the Ghille. The Ghille rope also has a smoother or slippery sheath compared to the predator and monster that do not. Hope this helps!!

Glad to see another fellow tinkerer like myself! All with safety first as the goal that is. Just looked up the product and looking to purchase. I'll be sure to share some thoughts once I've had some testing under my belt!

Hey @lukes6084 not sure what you mean by your comment here.

Thank you and no problem! Excited to get more content out in this format. Soon!

Thanks! I keep expanding my list of ideas for this concept so I'm glad to hear it's proving valuable!

No problem! Other items are in the works for the same concept so stay tuned!

Yeah, it seems like a boy scouts lesson with how simple and general it is. Many parts of the process can be this simple. Lots can be extracted into other topics as well.

I appreciate that! If there's anything you wish I would cover in the topic or future topics of the series, feel free to share and I'll keep it in mind.

It's been a while since I bought my first one and it never came with a manual but it does look similar to the $8 one I showed very early on in the video. Nonetheless, regardless of weather and first starting out while looking to rappel, I recommend (for hunting scenarios) starting with a munter friction hitch if you don't need to have a lockable approach to rappel. I say this since you don't need a device other than a pear shaped carabiner and if you're climbing on friction hitches already, you effectively back up the device by doing so. You could start there and if that's not enough friction (I'll cover this more in my upcoming video on finding that ideal amount) then you can try a super munter friction hitch as the additional wrap adds more friction to slow your descent. This will come down to your weight profile ultimately. If after testing that you end up wanting something with more versatility, like I ended up doing, you could look at the Kong Oka which is becoming my preferred rappel device at this time. Just keep in mind the kind of carabiner you'll need as I touch on that towards the last third of this video. I would look at a device like the Kong Oka if you need a rappel approach that needs a reliable means of locking it off but I don't like to depend solely on that detail. Always have a backup and redundancy to whatever direction you choose for rappel is the bottom line. Even if you do something like a madrock safeguard, you should have a backup implemented for safe redundancy. No excuses there. Test all and any adjustments to your climbing setup with boots on the ground. It's easy to load a device to do a short and slow descent from a safe position in that scenario. All the best!

@@MyClimbNHunt thanks for the detailed information. This is the first time I have had someone reply with 1 or 2 sentences. Thanks again and I will keep following your utube page.

Not a problem, glad I could help! As the channel fills in, my hope is that most questions like this get answered more easily. Thanks for the support!

Glad to hear it's helping there, Steve! Being able to do so with the non-dominant hand is important to be more versatile. Great point to ensure we practice with both.

Love it! That's exactly what I was hoping to provide viewers with doing this series. Thank you for the support!

I call it KZbin academy

Thank you for the support! I have lots of ideas for different topics within this theme. I'm excited to get them together!

No problem, Steve! Same to you!

Steve, you bet!

It seems silly but it really makes all the difference I've found. As you mentioned with many sports it's sometimes an overlooked detail!

Thank you Steve! The channel is beginning to take on more life!

Thanks Steve! I hope to answer more of those questions for you in future videos when we begin to break each step down. In this video, I'm using Resc Tech as my climbing rope with Sterling TRC as my hitch cord. I have a few ropes on hand that I'll elaborate on my thoughts when selecting later as well. As for rappel, a more in depth look at how I use the figure 8 tool is right around the corner. Stay tuned!

@@MyClimbNHunt Thank you, Mike. Subscribed and looking foward to more! Steve

HA! I appreciate that! If a knot can't be tied with a glove on, then I look for other options but I'll be sure to elaborate more on my rappel preference in a future video. Stay tuned!