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johnhenry
Jul 7, 2004, 4:56 AM
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Registered: Feb 28, 2002
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I wouldn't say I am a coward, but I really do need to know that a solo system is going to catch me every time.
I have used the unmodified gri gri, but I must admit that my comfort level with it is rather low. I really only solo on aid, so the Silent Partner seems like overkill (and over-priced, for my budget). Plus many say that it doesn't really feed that smoothly with fatter ropes like the Stratros.
There is remarkably little information out there on the Solo Aid, but Eric Coomer seems to think it is a good device. It doesn't self-feed, I know, but my grigri doesn't really either.
Does anyone else out there use it?
I am assuming that you would'nt have to anchor your rope off mid-pitch as much with it, as you would the gri gri or Silent Partner. Is this true?
Also, do you actually have to pinch the rope and pull it through, or is it more a matter of lifting the cam?
I appreciate your opinions...
john
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flamer
Jul 7, 2004, 6:35 AM
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In reply to: Plus many say that it doesn't really feed that smoothly with fatter ropes like the Stratros.
I've been using mine with a 10.5mm and it feeds perfectly.
Only device you've mentioned that I haven't used is the solo-aid. I'm curious to hear what people think as well.
josh
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twoliter
Jul 7, 2004, 4:55 PM
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There is a long thread (may 10 aid climbing) "Gri-Grie for solo aid", that is a lengthy discussion on the merits of each device, check it out.
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megableem
Jul 7, 2004, 4:56 PM
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paganmonkeyboy
Jul 7, 2004, 5:02 PM
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In reply to: In reply to: I really do need to know that a solo system is going to catch me every time. Then keep looking. None of the devices is 100% perfect.
how about two locking biners and clove hitches on each ? not nearly as easy to feed the rope, but probably likely to catch you close to 100% of the time...
insert disclaimer here-this post in no way implies I know what I am talking about, and should be taken as a novelty post only :)
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johnhenry
Jul 8, 2004, 12:51 AM
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Thanks for the tips, folks!
Actually, I have run a number of searches. There is alot of discussion about the soloist, the silent partner, and the gri gri, but I have'nt found much on the Solo Aid.
I think I might pick one up.
I use a Ushba basic ascender that you can release under load. I think that may simplify lowering off for Penji's.
Do you guys find that it works significantly better with a chest harness?
Rock on,
john
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johnhenry
Jul 8, 2004, 1:32 AM
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Damn... I am worried about memory loss I know I read some of these threads already.
Anyhow, let me try and put some info in one place. I will try and make this a one stop thread on the subject.
Mike from Orange county Writes on Supertopo:
"If I'm out to fully solo a wall, I'll use the Solo Aid. I don't think I've heard of one soloist using this device on EC, for reasons I don't know (besides the reasonable $80 price tag?). I love that little bugger and I've used it on every wall solo I've done since '91. Like a clove, no "auto-feed". Unlike a clove, one-handed feeding is a snap, with less chance of having gear or fingers end up in a loop during an unexpected fall. Ties to your harn with 9mm perlon (not a biner). Impossible to wear out or drop parts of it. Idiot-proof assembly - includes a debossed diagram (for those reeeely long days) and it cannot be assembled incorrectly. Small, light and unobtrusive as it can be. No chest harness necesssary (optional). No more giant slack loop at the very beginning of free sections. Holds falls (I attest, up to 40'). Always back it up by tying in short."
And this:
"As I reported elsewhere on this forum, I once wondered about the rope's orientation on the "activation" part of the cam[with the solo aid]. Sometimes while climbing I would find the rope slid over to the side of the cam. I wasn't sure if that position would affect the unit's ability to stop a fall. I took a winger once and looked to find the rope in that very position, so I got the answer to my question. Solo Aid: batting 1000... "
And:
"'m surprised the Solo Aid doesn't get better reviews for wall climbing. I've done numerous routes with it and I think it rocks. As yo eluded, it doesn't auto feed, but it is small, inenpensive, reliable and durable. Since it feeds with a single hand, free climbing is possible; I've eeked out up to 10a with it (I'm no free hero either)."
YO says:
"So that's what eventually turned me off to the soloaid...imaginary amputations. Solid piece, though. I went 40+ onto mine and I'm still coherent enough to spray in online forums. "
PTPP wrote this in an email:
"I was just going to comment on your Solo Aid questions. I used one of them for my first solo of El Cap via Iron Hawk. I hated it! I found it EXTREMELY difficult to feed the rope - it requires two hands. It was PARTICULARLY TERRIFYING on the second "5.9" free pitch near the top. [Solid 5.10, dude, utter sandbag] I had this killer runout straight off the belay, potential 40 foot factor 2 fall, having to fricking free climb. You CAN'T feed the thing with one hand, you HAVE to have two. So I remember with great fear and trepidation having to feed out ten feet of slack, and f*ckin' go for it. A Grigri would have been so much better, but at the time [1997] it was not common knowledge that Grigris make such superb solo devices. Unmodified, of course. You only modify them for free climbing.
Chongo put me onto the Grigri in 1998, and I have NEVER looked back. So far as I am concerned, the Solo Aid is a piece of junk. This spring a guy from SuperTopo offered to buy it, so I sold it to him for half of retail price. I told him it was junk [but barely used] yet he still wanted it. {shrug}
I'd say "save your money", dude. The reason not much is written about it is because so few use it!"
Eric Coomer writes:
"'Ive used the gri-gri to solo-aid/free. Don't like it. Too many draw backs that I'm not comfortable with. The only time I still use it is doing walls in a push caterpiller style where I may have to solo-aid a short stretch. Long walls- solo-aid- would use the silent partner if I could afford one. But I've used the solo-aid extensively and it is hands-down better than the gri-gri for aid. It's light, compact and pretty much fool-proof. No chance of cross loading, feeds relatively well once you get the hang of it. I've taken up to a 50' ride on it and no problems catching a fall. You're up there for days, why take the chance on the gri-gri when there are at least three other methods that DON'T have the same kind of draw-backs and possibilities for failure?"
CLIMBING MAG says this (really old):
"Climbing", April/May 1992 issue, pages 127-130
Note: The Solo Aid is now being manufactured by Wren Industries, LTD.
Solo Games by Duane Raleigh
The Rock Exotica Solo Aid ($80) is a mechanical self-belay device that uses a cam to cinch the rope and catch you in a fall. The Solo Aid has a breaking strength of around 6000 pounds (each unit is tested to 2000 pounds at the factory), wont harm or come off the rope, and self-locks.
The Solo Aid is about 2/3 the size of a Jumar ascender, weighs six ounces, works on 10- to11-millimeter ropes, and consists of a frame, cam and safety. The unit is taken apart and reassembled around the rope (a procedure requiring some practice); a locking carabiner clips through the frame to pin the safety in place. The individual parts are joined by perlon cord to prevent dropping them, and cryptic assembly and rope-travel directions are etched on the frame in case you forget how the device works.
The Solo Aid ties to your harness with a short loop of eight-or nine-millimeter rope. To keep the device out of your way and oriented in the proper position, Rock Exotica recommends attaching the Solo Aid to both a sit and chest harness. We used the unit without a chest harness and found that it worked fine as long as the unit was set up properly (we mistakenly put the rope in backwards several times while practicing on the ground).
The Solo Aid locks itself on the rope and lets slack out easily and smoothly when you lift the cam. But giving yourself rope with the Solo Aid still takes one hand, impeding its use for free climbing.
We preferred the Solo Aid over the clove-hitch and figure-8 methods detailed above for free and aid soloing. The device is faster and easier to use than any knot system. Furthermore, the Solo Aid works well for rappelling, and can be used, although with some difficulty, for a toprope self-belay. For serious or frequent aid soloing, the Solo Aid is worth its weight in copperheads.
There you have it.... Yeeahs and nays! Does that make the choice any clearer?
Anyone, else?
john
Edited to Add Pete and Eric's coments.
Edited for the Climbing review
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