Ron,

I climb on Arborplex sometimes. Not my favorite kind of line (I usually climb on New England Ropes Safety Blue - heavy but comfy and well-behaved), but for a while A-plex has been my only spare when climbing with others.

Even after A-plex breaks in it still squares off under load (like most other 12 strand ropes), and stays a bit stiff and squirrelly. However, I find that a 5/3 Blake's pretty much solves the slipping problem, and the stuff seems to be plenty strong enough.

I know I'm repeating what others have already said here, but I've never had a problem washing daisy chained ropes in my top loading washer. A little bit of mild soap (woolite is good) and it's like having a new rope again. Very easy!

For pitch or sticky sap (e.g. banyan) I've had luck massaging veggie oil into the affected parts and then washing in the machine like usual. I have heard experienced west coast climbers endorse some of the citrus solvents for removing pitch, as well.

CMI rescue gear make a rope washer that you can hook up to your garden hose or laundry room taps. Works VERY well for rinsing the rope.

http://www.cmi-gear.com/catalog/ropes/washer.asp



also most new ropes,(esp Kermantles) come with a factory applied lubricant , that is permeated thru the rope to lubricate the individual fibers. This is a leftover from the braiding process. After a wash or two this lubricant goes away on the surface, making for a non slippery rope.

Wow! I got behind on this. But, here's what I've found:

The Blake's hitch didn't perform so well in ArborPlex or my Velocity rope.

I have since switched to a Helical hitch and all slipping and sticking problems have gone away.

The Helical holds securely and slides freely when unloaded in both ArborPlex and Velocity. I use if for DRT tail and as the friction knot for my foot loops.

I was immensely impressed by the increase in performance of the Helical hitch over the Blake's hitch. The Helical breaks completely free when unloaded and pushed upwards from the bottom of the hitch. It's also easier to descend on - it's smoother and takes less effort to get it to break and start descending.

The Helical is my goto hitch now. I doubt there will be any turning back.

I guess this is in order too. I developed my own version of the bowline terminating knot for the Helical hitch that allows it to be tied with only one end of the rope and it can be finished off in a Mountaineer's stopper which orients the tail of the bowline straight down.
Helical hitch
a bit more close up

^ interesting Ron, (re blakes hitchon arborplex), i've had no problems with the blakes on the arborplex.

I wonder if maybe different batches of rope got more or less lubricant during the making proccess?

I have not heard of this Helical hitch.
Can this be used as a full replacement for the Blake’s hitch on DRT ?
Are they becoming popular in REC climbing?


Do I have the correct hitch here?

I would like to hear more about this which Ron had mentioned above.
Thanks for any input on this,
Electrojake