I have a Left...,  Thursday, 08 November 2007 I bought one left Expedition to use as my foot loop rope grab in DRT, and I also use it quite a bit SRT matched with a right Black Diamond nForce ascender. I have never had a problem or issue with the Expedition, though I am a little concerned with the plastic hand grips in that they seem to be the weak link in the design if they were dropped or fell. It seems like the grips could break easily, but that is speculative. I do have to say that back to back, I do like the Black Diamonds better in many regards, but again, that is not knocking the CMI Expeditions in any way ~ they are a very good ascender at a very good price.

 Beautiful simplicity,  Thursday, 08 November 2007 What really sets this sleeve apart from the old school leather ones to me is the fact that they can get rolled up pretty compactly so that I can carry two of them in less space than one of the rigid leather ones would take up. This makes it really easy to carry a second sleeve in a pouch attached to my saddle aloft, or sometimes I stash my second one in the leg pocket of my cargo climbing pants (and sometimes forget that it is there). They do their job well, and seem to hold up very well.

 A Most Satisfying Tool,  Thursday, 08 November 2007 Of all the equipment that I use regularly, the King Grapnel is easily the most satisfying tool I have. For some reason every time I use it successfully it really makes me smile, like I've just accomplished some sort of comic book maneuver. Seriously, I'm obsessed with lateral placement of rope within a canopy and traversing from tree to tree, and I am continually utilizing this nifty little doohickey to manage successful lateral rope placement. It can be very tricky to use, it can get caught up in smaller branches and crotches, and it does take some getting used to the kind of throw necessary to really appreciate its function. But once you get the hang of it, you'll start going out of your way to find ways to use it. I know I do...

 Love it!,  Thursday, 08 November 2007 I love my target line. It's smooth, supple, flows well, stacks well, ties well, unties well, and most importantly for me, is extremely visible at height. It's thicker than some of the other lines (which I like), but it is very easy to handle and use. I would highly recommend always using gloves of some sort with target line because it can be rough on the hands at speed, but it's my favorite throw line period.

 Doable one handed...,  Thursday, 08 November 2007 I had originally intended on purchasing the "balls" in the same shape and was dissuaded from them by my New Tribe sales person because there was apparently some concern at the time regarding the durability of the little green balls (maybe it was just one particular batch of them). So I ended up with these, and have been completely happy with them under many circumstances. It did take quite some getting used to managing the barrel rotation one handed, but it is doable with a little practice. I feel completely comfortable with these, and haven't experienced any of the issues that other users have reported even in some pretty extreme climbs.