howNOTtoHighline

Could you survive this?

PATRONS: This is the 6th of 8 posts for February.  This was technically years in the making because I snuck in a nerdy section about HZ and getting answers to how fast we need our load cell to be, opens up the flood gate of opportunity because I confirmed we can use the LS3 on any drop tests except steel cable and dyneema.  

Falling on static ropes is dangerous they say.  It sounds painful, but how painful?  We tested semi-static nylon rope, a very static polyester r...

Girth hitches, Texora, Cam Crushers and More

PATRONS: This is the 5th of 8 posts for February.  We have a buffet of content and here are some behind the scenes photos of new lab toys.

PHOTOS:

Attached is a CAD drawing of what I'm having 3D printed.  A buddy is doing it for cheap to find the weakest link.  It would be funny if it didn't break.  The files are what we are welding onto the cam crusher plates instead of having the plates knurled which is required to keep the cams from slipping since...

I probably shouldn't make this video

PATRONS: This was fun to make and probably one of my favorite results.  This should be a popular video.  I think the "Send Us Your Stuff" program results in some creative episodes we wouldn't otherwise have.  

TODAY'S POST (4th of 8 for February)

Petzl has SOME holes in their Sm'D and Spirt carabiners so can you drill holes in yours to save weight? Elliott Bernhagen sent me a few carabiners with a LOT of holes in them to see if they were super good enough...

How bad are knots in Dyneema?

PATRONS: I want to do more. Let me explain...

Thank you so much for all your support. You are the backbone of HowNOT2, and make my quest to answer every question about gear possible by being a reliable source of funds to cover the HowNOT2 operating costs (e.g. lab rent and improvements, hard costs of making episodes, etc.).  100% of donations go back into the channel, I don't live on it.  When I signed up for Patreon a few years ago, I opted to go with the ...

These were RECALLED!

Ever get to an old hanger while climbing, clipped it, and wonder how strong it is? Bobby got his hands on recalled hangers, death hangers, niche hangers, discontinued hangers and we broke them all.  A total of 27 tests.  Some were old hangers that have never that had been installed and others that have been on the wall for 44 years.  These include SMC Death hangers and recalled Leeper Hangers because they were so susceptible to SCC (stress crack corrosion) and could break under...

What shreds a climbing rope first?

We tested some other devices on ropes after putting out https://youtu.be/4GaZgJ-RLXA a few days ago about micro traxions and having requests for other devices.  This data and video will be added to the micro traxion blog at https://www.hownot2.com/post/petzl-micro-traxion 

Subscribe to the clips channel 2023-02-04 14:01:00 +0000 UTC View Post

Petzl said to NEVER do this

PATRONS: This is one of those gold episodes I've spent 6 months working on.  We did the human testing while filming the big wall series.  We did the lab stuff before the weather turned.  And I narrated in the new lab.  I've been practicing how to get more data in less time and we got 19 lab tests and a bunch of human testing plus a buying guide in under 20 minutes.  I'm working on episodes you'll see in 6+ months that will have data sets of 200+ that will feel this en...

You have 10 of these, one could kill you

PATRONS: This was going to be saturday's video but I decided to add another group of tests and the buying guide as an experiment.  A lot of new climbers may be watching and I want to answer as much as possible in one video and keep it a reasonable length.  By doing this video more thoroughly and not posting last weekend, I was able to get a LOT more lab infrastructure stuff done and really think about how to make full value episodes AND answer every question under the sun.  I g...

Who would do this???

PATRONS: Finally I got one out a full day early for you.  Lab is getting better every day and I may even film a full episode in it shortly.  This turned out better than I thought, the results super interesting, edited tight AF but kept all the info in it, and a found a great thumbnail.  Blogs are getting more thorough and less of a pita to make too.

Climbing hangers feel sharp and seem obvious they would be bad for a rope, but for some reason, some people have done this. ...

Do this instead: Intro to Ice Climbing

PATRONS: This was a labor of love and I didn't think this would be good as multiple episodes so it's a long one, but that allows us to get more normal awesome videos out that we filmed at the drop tower over the next few weeks.  I hope this helps people who are considering getting into ice climbing.  The thumbnail is an experiment fyi.

We have 4 glacier guides in Iceland introducing you to Ice Climbing.  This was going to be 3 episodes of Gear, Anchors, and Technique but ...

If you do this, DON'T do it wrong!

PATRONS: Bobby and I are experimenting doing videos together even with me living further from him.  He is still going to come up here occasionally but this was a good chance to test this style.  Let me know what you think.

You are mid-slab and it starts pouring -- time to bail! You look down and there is nothing on your harness. You have is a sewn runner over your shoulder. How do you get down? We've got a clever solution for you, the Texas Rope Trick! It is a great technique ...

How much is too much?

PATRONS: I have a feeling this one will be popular.  I'm actually surprised last wednesday's RB video was the channels record for views in 24 and 48 hours by quite a bit.  Forgive the title and thumbnail experiments we are doing.  I don't want to do click bait but throttling the line is getting A LOT more engagement.  "5 Mussy Hooks and 2 Ram Horns Tested" is just not as clickable.  How youtuby is this thumbnail?  So cliche but it will probably work... lets see.....

Why are these marketed to rock climbers???

PATRONS: We broke 50 things in limestone last June but the big wall course took 110% of my attention after that.  This is the first one out.  I am currently editing the ice climbing course which is a 50-80 hour edit so I picked this one to be a quick and dirty for this wednesday.  I ended up having to do a ton of research and it took two days to edit it, but I think it was worth it and it came out pretty good enough.  Hopefully I don't piss off climbtech too much :).  ...

This Arborist Rope Scared The S#!% Out Of Me

PATRONS: Been spending about 3 hours each morning editing trying to keep up with episodes and the rest of the day on the new lab.  It's beautiful and I'm already breaking some stuff to see what would make for the best next episode.  I have about a dozen videos from the drop tower I'm editing so that's exciting to put those out over the next few months.  Got to get the ice climbing course out before summer :).  You guys make this possible.  🙏 

Tenex Tec i...

This gear is changing big wall climbing

We tested tons (or grams) of big wall gear from Skot's Wall Gear.  Alfifi hook, rivet hangers, personal anchor systems, and a bivy belt.  All our results are in this blog: https://www.hownot2.com/post/skots-wall-gear 

https://www.skotswallgear.com/ 

2022-12-28 07:10:04 +0000 UTC View Post

History of HowNOT2 on Climbing Majority Podcast

PATRONS: Kyle hit me up 6 months ago and I said I was busy: surprise! He hit me up again mid move and he happened to be in my path of going from Moab to CA to move my lab so I did it in person.  This is a great video to point to for the history of the channel and it helps support an aspiring climbing podcast by making half of our conversation available in video form with links to the rest of it in the description.  It also doesn't make sense to put longer than 45 minutes on youtube ...

Animated Knots was wrong

PATRONS: This was 7-9 months in the making from when Jake first hit me up.  This is a perfect example of why the new lab is going to be a game changer.  I could have broken these samples within a few hours of them arriving and edited the episode within a week after that with my new set up.  I just spent the last few days setting up the machine and adding panels to the walls.  I should be super operational enough in a day or two.  Of course it takes months to dial in a...

How Peru is Building a Community

When your favorite slackline and highline spots are getting shut down by the cops, what are you going to do?  When Miraflores in Lima was closed to slacklining and La Molina outside of Lima began prohibiting highlining, Hugo Flores and his friends decided to talk with the authorities.  What they found was that the authorities were willing to negotiate, but only with a recognized organization, not with a few random people.  So Hugo and his friends got to work.  Read more on...

This rappel ring could kill someone

PATRONS: This is a full value tight edit.  I experimented with more text on screen to see if it helps the audience follow along with either MBS or the results or which test we are on.  Let me know what you think.

How strong are rappel rings?  It only needs to be about 2x more than your weight to hold you during a rappel (in case you don't rappel smooth).  Add a little safety ratio for good measure and it's super good enough.  The problem is if it wears down. &nb...

Everything in the lab is gone!

I made a new slow pull machine and am moving my lab INSIDE my house.  I can have a lab 1000 miles away if I'm just trying to make videos 1x or 2x a week.  But I'm trying to answer every question about gear at a super good enough level, and having the slow pull machine where I live and if it is INSIDE with a temperature, sound and light controlled environment, it can take my turn around time from months to hours.  This move and new machine is going to be a game changer for HowNO...

Big Walling - full example start to finish

PATRONS: Here is the last "official course video".  Thank you for being a huge reason this can be available to everyone.  I do have a few big wall specific break test videos filmed and need editing.  I got a big hug massive announcement that is the cause of me not writing the blogs and comes out this monday.  Stay tuned :).

Big Wall #14 of 14 

Here is one pitch OUTSIDE of everything from aid climb leading, to hauling, to cleaning.  Find a place where ...

I rode a portaledge like a magic carpet

PATRONS: There's a LOT behind the scenes on this and a LOT of planning which is going to be more revealed in the rope jump course in the spring.  But after much debate, this is a really good 1 minute video rather than milking it or making it a "funny intro" to the actual review of the G7 POD.  They are great videos by themselves and will appeal to different audiences.  So enjoy a short video this weekend with custom music I made with my friends.  

I always wondered w...

Aid climbing roofs is harder than you think

Big Wall #13 of 14 

Here is a real-ish life example of the hardest part people struggle with, including people struggling so you may be convinced to go practice this before having to do this for real on a wall.  There is no blog this week as I am doing a big move and updating everyone soon but I have to drive a 1000 miles before the weather shuts the roads down.  Blog write up coming soon.  

Big Wall Bible is at 2022-11-30 14:01:02 +0000 UTC View Post

Ropes vs ice - which one breaks first in a V thread?

How strong are V threads?  The rope in a loop is going to be strong enough to catch any whipper and be a 10:1 safety ratio to rappel on.  The real question is more about how strong is the ice.  We did 5 tests in this video and found the 6mm and 7mm ropes break when installing them with 21cm screws but the ice kept breaking at 14kN and 15kN with our 10mm rope until we put it in a giant v thread and found out we couldn't pull it to failure.    

See our write ...

Getting down from Big Walls is dangerous

Video #12 of 14 

Patron Early Access Link To All Videos https://www.hownot2.com/post/big-wall-bible-early-access

Leading may appear to be the riskiest part of climbing and give you the most adrenaline but rappelling potentially causes many more deaths.  In mountaineering, how many times have you heard of people summiting only to die on the way down.  When you get to the ...

I nailed a climbing ROPE to WOOD

Here is a funsies video of something I found on instagram.  I didn't milk it, i nailed it! Do you like short and sweet fun videos?  

Patrons, I'd love your feedback on short fun videos since I put out looooong stuff sometimes for A-Z courses but mainly 10-20 minutes for breaking videos.  I think this is a great way for people who like the style but don't want to microwave popcorn just to watch the show.  What do you think?

Ascending Up Big Walls

Big Wall #11 of 14 

Patron Early Access Link To All Videos https://www.hownot2.com/post/big-wall-bible-early-access

"Following" up after our leading episode, we show you from your partner yelling "off belay", releasing the bag, cleaning up the anchor and ascending the rope with a few easy lower out examples when the gear isn't plumb below the anchor.  You get two demonstratio...

Hauling Giant Big Wall Bags up El Capitan

Big Wall #10 of 14 

Patron Early Access Link To All Videos https://www.hownot2.com/post/big-wall-bible-early-access

Hauling can be a nightmare, or just a chore depending how you do it and if you stay organized.  Keep it simple applies here as well.  Jumping straight to a 2:1 or worse a 3:1 (which needs a redirect) may not give you much advantage but add 2x or 3x the amou...

Monday Update Nov 7, 2022

Never a charge to Patrons for monday updates.  

Just wanted to connect with you guys.  Stoke is high, special surprise should be out within a month.

How do women pee and manage periods while climbing?

PATRONS: Trying to make useful information fun.  Always working on edutainment and this topic is probably pretty difficult to find online if you are a woman just starting to climb.  I really appreciate my gf for doing this video!

A woman emailed me and asked how women pee and manage periods while climbing.  Since I'm not an expert at that, I found a volunteer.  We tried to make this video fun but also helpful.  Enjoy learning more about pee funnels than you prob...