excited to see how you enjoy to kong hydro. the ATC pilot has less moving parts, and will lock under load with no hand on the rope (you still might want to run a prusik backup for confidence) . ill use it if im trying to run less weight than my grigri on a set up but it also costs alot less. the petzl tibloc is also worth looking at if you like small ascenders or as a back up, it wont work as a repel device per the teeth but its nice to have for some situations. keep enjoying them trees!
I am interested in evaluating how well this could work for caving applications where drops can be in excess of 100 ft. I would like to know how your experience with wet rope has been? How smoothly is it rappeling on a long 12 mm rope (which would be commonly what you would find in caving applications)?
I use it for canyoning. 100ft drops means it gets real hot. Wet rope is fine as it's designed for that purpose. I assume you mean 12mm single rope, that's on the higher end. I think the standard for big drops are rap rack for heat dissipation
My concern would be making mistakes with it in the dark. I currently use a Madrock and love the ease of it. Would love to find a way to incorporate the Kong bisa into my system tho.
I saw these 6-8 months ago and wondered if they'd work, but haven't picked one up yet. So you're climbing/hanging/rappeling with only the hydrobot and an autoblock, correct?
I just received mine today. It appears from the instructions that its not supposed to have the half hitch. Not sure how this affects it. Ot seems to have more friction going straight thru without the half hitch. Have you tried it like the instructions show? If so what is the advantage of the half hitch?
By putting in the half hitch, its loading the bottom of the bar, pulling up and in it and that creates a bit between the bar and the top of the device.
@@jerrygrose468 ok I run a 5mm rope and its to small to contact the top with the bar all the way up. Did you ever get an answer about the correct rope diameter? Is it rated for 5mm or 6mm?
@@cooterbrown1703 I dropped an email and phone call to have Kong confirm the info on their web page and spec sheet (5mm MIN). Havent received a response just yet.
New to your channel. Thanks for the vid! If there was a way for the Kong Hydrobot to automatically lock up, That would peak my interest. I personally ended up settling on the figure 8 and use it in somewhat an unconventional way. I like it because if i where to loose my braking hand ( Cramping or just bad luck) , it will lock up automatically. Also my decent is very well controlled. I have tried it out and I am sold on the Idea. I also run a prusik in line as a back up. Here is the Vid I watched. ua-cam.com/video/ULftiEcRyCg/v-deo.html
Great video Jerry. It looks like it has some potential. Thanks for posting.
excited to see how you enjoy to kong hydro. the ATC pilot has less moving parts, and will lock under load with no hand on the rope (you still might want to run a prusik backup for confidence) . ill use it if im trying to run less weight than my grigri on a set up but it also costs alot less. the petzl tibloc is also worth looking at if you like small ascenders or as a back up, it wont work as a repel device per the teeth but its nice to have for some situations. keep enjoying them trees!
Thank you! Very useful movie!
Nice review Jerry. Now you've got me checking out new gear . . .
Hey Joe! Hahahaha...aren't we always?
I am interested in evaluating how well this could work for caving applications where drops can be in excess of 100 ft. I would like to know how your experience with wet rope has been? How smoothly is it rappeling on a long 12 mm rope (which would be commonly what you would find in caving applications)?
I use it for canyoning. 100ft drops means it gets real hot. Wet rope is fine as it's designed for that purpose. I assume you mean 12mm single rope, that's on the higher end. I think the standard for big drops are rap rack for heat dissipation
My concern would be making mistakes with it in the dark. I currently use a Madrock and love the ease of it. Would love to find a way to incorporate the Kong bisa into my system tho.
Couldn't agree more. There is an additional step, but with the back up and paying attention, I'm pretty comfortable with it.
That's great!
I use this hydrobot for saddle hunting but totally different
Kinda cool. I like gadgets. But, a regular figure 8 does all of that and has no moving parts. I'm kinda bias, though. It's hard to beat a Safeguard.
Love the safeguard as well, but 8mm rope tends to slip out of the rear retainer. Not a big deal, but makes me nervous sometimes!
@@jerrygrose468 I understand. I use Sterling Oplux. It's also 8mm. Fortunately I haven't had that happen.
I saw these 6-8 months ago and wondered if they'd work, but haven't picked one up yet. So you're climbing/hanging/rappeling with only the hydrobot and an autoblock, correct?
Yes sir.
Are you one sticking with this Jerry?
I'm using the 2 tether climbing system now. If I was still one sticking I would have no problem using this set up though.
❤❤❤❤❤😊
I just received mine today. It appears from the instructions that its not supposed to have the half hitch. Not sure how this affects it. Ot seems to have more friction going straight thru without the half hitch. Have you tried it like the instructions show? If so what is the advantage of the half hitch?
By putting in the half hitch, its loading the bottom of the bar, pulling up and in it and that creates a bit between the bar and the top of the device.
@@jerrygrose468 ok I run a 5mm rope and its to small to contact the top with the bar all the way up. Did you ever get an answer about the correct rope diameter? Is it rated for 5mm or 6mm?
@@cooterbrown1703 I dropped an email and phone call to have Kong confirm the info on their web page and spec sheet (5mm MIN). Havent received a response just yet.
@@cooterbrown1703 Also, the half hitch is what im doing. Im not sure if that is in spec or not.
New to your channel. Thanks for the vid! If there was a way for the Kong Hydrobot to automatically lock up, That would peak my interest. I personally ended up settling on the figure 8 and use it in somewhat an unconventional way. I like it because if i where to loose my braking hand ( Cramping or just bad luck) , it will lock up automatically. Also my decent is very well controlled. I have tried it out and I am sold on the Idea. I also run a prusik in line as a back up. Here is the Vid I watched. ua-cam.com/video/ULftiEcRyCg/v-deo.html
Petzl Stop is what you need or a Singing Rock Double Stop Plus.