Rigging kits

This is my current set up in terms of rigging gear that I take out on my own private jobs. 

I've talked about these petzl bags before, still can't say enough good things about them.

First up in the large (35lt) bag I have 60m of 16mm Sirius Bull rope and a 4m long 16mm dead eye sling with a small ISC cast pulley attached, this kit only comes out on big jobs or if I don't know the job (i.e.  freelancing) then I may chuck it in as well. 

Then in the first small (25lt) bag I have a selection of things; 30m 14mm sirius bull rope, 5 m dead eye, small ISC portawrap, small woopie sling, large woopie sling,  Medium ISC swing cheek lowering pulley with steel dmm crab,  2m split tail, large loopie sling, x2 petzl tandem pulleys, another smaller woopie (orange) , small mallion, small rigging plate,  2m tape sling and crab, 10m length of xtc line, couple of lengths of hitch cord. 

The idea with this bag was to have everything I'd need for small/medium scale lowering, as well as all the other trinkets you occasionally need for complicated lowering jobs. The 30m rope is usually sufficient for most small trees and also comes in handy as a second line if using the bigger rope. 

Then in the other small bag are some other bits that go out with me on almost every job now. From left to right: in the black bag is the Mini MA system, 22m of 12mm sirius bull rope (tag line), 5m multi sling, 4.5m dead eye, rigging gloves, and big shot/trigger set up 

The tag line has come in handy on numerous occasions, especially on those jobs where I've been told there is no rigging to do and then discover that there definitely is!

I'm pretty happy with my current set up, It covers me for a large range of rigging scenarios, the only major thing I need now is a decent bollard, something like the Stein RC3001 that I get to use for my current main employer 

Lanyard setup/Work positioning strop

I've played around with various different lanyard setups over the years, I First started climbing with a big thick 19mm wire core thing with a massive triple action fixed krab on the end, it was about 4m long and adjusted with a prussic, pretty basic and very heavy. I then moved onto a thinner diameter wire core strop, about the same length only with an ISC rope grab and wire eyelets each end. I climbed with this for about 5 years and never really had and reason to complain, I still have it and will use it occasionally for chogging down big stems. 

I then moved on to trying out various rope strops, all of my own making, I went though a couple of different lengths and thickness of ropes/hitches before I came up with what I am currently using.

The rope is actually a 3m replacement rope for the Petzl Grillon, which I chose because I wanted an 11mm rope with a spliced/stitched eye either end and this was actually the most cost effective way (about £30ish) and came with the added bonus of the protective sheath. This is particularly good for keeping rope and hitch clean when working on conifers or dirty trees.  

I chose 3m as with my style of climbing I rarely need anything longer as I'm usually able to get most places in a tree with just my main anchor point and use the lanyard only to attain my final working position. This means I don't have to drag a long lanyard around the tree getting it tangled and caught up on everything, or have to daisy chain it or stuff it into a stuff sack. 

I use a hitch climber as the tending pulley because of the added versatility the additional attachment holes provide, allowing me to use it as a secondary DRT (double rope technique) anchor when needed. Or if I need a little extra length as a SRT (single rope technique) strop (assent/positioning only)

The stitched eyes have a protective plastic covering that holds the DMM ultra O karabina firmly in place making clipping in one handed very easy. (These are my crab of choice at the moment, full review to come)

Having a spliced eye either end negates the use of a stopper knot 

And enables me to clip both ends up out of the way, keeping everything nice and neat as well as not having to drag it along the floor when I walking around on the deck

The hitch cord is 8mm Sirius and works really nicely on a Distle with this rope, it rarely jams and grips every time. 

All in all I love my current set up and would replicate it in a heart beat should any element need replacing at any point. I much prefer the versatility and flexibility of a rope strop over the rigidity and additional safety of a wire core.

 I'm always interested in other climbers setups if anyone wants to share theirs?

New toys - Dmm Pinto and Pinto Rig

Couple of new toys I brought recently, I've had a normal DMM Pinto since they came out, but have wanted the rig version for a while now.

I've used the pinto for redirects, both of the climbing and lowering line, mini haul systems and occasionally speed lines. Having a few at my disposal will just give me a few more options.
I know you shouldn't use personal climbing equipment for lowering and vice versa, but I have done previously in the past. But now I can use the rig, exclusively for rigging and the normal pintos just for climbing.

As a quick redirect or for small scale lowering, the rig will live on a DMM steel oval with a short lyon sling, set up like this it takes up little room on a harness and can be carried on the off chance you may need it, rather than having to wait for the groundy to dig it out of a bag and send it up. I used to do this with the normal sized pinto, which was fine but not ideal for a 16mm lowering rope.

I was also toying with the idea of having a mini 2:1 haul system on 10mm line set up for pretensioning the lowing line and think that they would work well for that, especially as the beckets are rated. Just with 10m of rope or so in a mini stuff stack. Although this would obviously mean I could only then use them for rigging.

Something like this, but ideally I'd want to be able to quickly attach/detach it to the lowering line, anyone know of a 16mm mechanical ascender that would do the job?