CRITR rappel device demo

[harness man]

First view of the CRITR prototype in use.
Production units soon at http://canyonwerks.com
and yeah... I am a Go pro newbie

[deagol]

Nice, lots of friction options. I hope this works out...

[Sandstone Addiction]

Hole looks pretty small...will this work double strand or is it only designed for single?

[harness man]

Good question Sandstone--the CRITR top hole is smaller than the Pirana but a little larger than the ATS. Double rope rappels run great!
Also the CRITR has larger edge radius than the ATS so double rope rappels are smoother on CRITR.

[Kuya]

I was just going to make my own comparison with pics like that! Glad to see that you beat me to it! :)

So exactly what can the CRITR do that the ATS can't?

[harness man]

Hey Kuya!

What the CRITR CAN do that the the ATS and Pirana CAN'T:

SAVE YOUR HINEY! when you are a big person and/or choose the wrong (too low) a friction setting and step off the edge of the big drop.
Many of us (most of us?) have had this happen at some point- we get surprised by that shiny new skinny rope or didn't realize the rap is overhung... and it AIN'T PRETTY!
with the CRITR you can add variable friction on the fly- safely- without betting control of the rappel (and your life) trying to hook the rope around tiny fish hooks, or 'hyper-nubbs'
The CRITR does not twist the rope
The CRITR is symmetrical / reversible so wears much longer

[Kuya]

Hey Kuya!

What the CRITR CAN do that the the ATS and Pirana CAN'T:

SAVE YOUR HINEY! when you are a big person and/or choose the wrong (too low) a friction setting and step off the edge of the big drop.
Many of us (most of us?) have had this happen at some point- we get surprised by that shiny new skinny rope or didn't realize the rap is overhung... and it AIN'T PRETTY!
with the CRITR you can add variable friction on the fly- safely- without betting control of the rappel (and your life) trying to hook the rope around tiny fish hooks, or 'hyper-nubbs'
The CRITR does not twist the rope
The CRITR is symmetrical / reversible so wears much longer

Interesting. I don't own either a Piranha or a ATS, so I don't have much bias. But when I look at the ATS and the Criter the only thing that I see that is significantly different is the number of slots. The ATS has 2 and the CRITR has 1. I guess the CRITR does have a better ability to weave a rope around the horns, but other than that, im not seeing much of a seperation.

i will agree though, it is super nice being able to add friction by wrapping the rope around a horn that is located at the bottom of the device. my Totem can't do that, A few weeks ago, on a 100' free hanging rap, i was really wishing for that!

[harness man]

Arrgghhh..I flubbed the audio? Any way- this is a demo of the CRITR on the LOWEST initial friction setting with 2 wraps thrown on "after the fact" and rappelling with me (150 lbs)
plus 200 lbs of lead shot in weight bags hung from the device also.
Yupp, that's 350 lbs.
Try THAT on the lowest setting for the ATS and a brand new single line Imlay Canyon Fire 8.3mm (shown in video)

[Brian in SLC]

Good lookin' device.

Bet it works like a champ.

How can I acquire one?

[peakbaggers]

Hey Kuya!

What the CRITR CAN do that the the ATS and Pirana CAN'T:

SAVE YOUR HINEY! when you are a big person and/or choose the wrong (too low) a friction setting and step off the edge of the big drop.
Many of us (most of us?) have had this happen at some point- we get surprised by that shiny new skinny rope or didn't realize the rap is overhung... and it AIN'T PRETTY!
with the CRITR you can add variable friction on the fly- safely- without betting control of the rappel (and your life) trying to hook the rope around tiny fish hooks, or 'hyper-nubbs'
The CRITR does not twist the rope
The CRITR is symmetrical / reversible so wears much longer

You answered one of my questions here about rope twist, but those "horns" are rather pronounced. I would think there could be problems in certain scenarios where the sharp horns could hang you up on a protrusion or small ledge while beginning a rappel. Has there been any field testing that has indicated a problem?
I do like the ease with which friction can be added and you can completely tie yourself off.

[harness man]

Thank you very much for your interest!
we will be anodizing the new CRITRs, lazer marking them, then selling them thru select shops and online at canyonwerks.com in about 3-4 weeks
Good question about the arms and legs-
We have used the CRITR on numerous awkward starts and pot hole lips and it seems to perform well! (with at least as much grace as other devices). The 'add friction' modes are very stable while weighted and the initial friction will never skip off because of the pronounced legs.
When bushwhacking it is a good idea to clip the CRITR to the side gear loop of your harness to help keep from snagging, again, same story as for other devices of similair size.
The little paws on the ends of the arms help a bit (thanks Hank!)
Two years in the making, I designed the CRITR to keep my Wife safe on rappel: now, with proper training with the CRITR, everyone can use modern, light weight, skinny ropes with complete control.
If you check out the video clip you will see that two wraps on the CRITR was almost too much friction for the weight of 350 lbs!
I had to goose it a little to get started- and that is on one of the faster skinny ropes: the imlay canyon fire 8.3mm (love that rope!)
Todd

[oldno7]

How many have you test broke and what was the average kn at break?

What will you be rating these at, kn wise?

[deagol]

The CRITR does not twist the rope
The CRITR is symmetrical / reversible so wears much longer

This is great ^^^^^^^^,
any plans for stainless steel in the future ?

[deagol]

....... it is super nice being able to add friction by wrapping the rope around a horn that is located at the bottom of the device. my Totem can't do that, A few weeks ago, on a 100' free hanging rap, i was really wishing for that!

I've been in that same situation and agree with you 100%. It can be scary to bring the rope up out of that friction setting in order to add more, that's for sure. Although with some practice, I've gotten better with it. I think that situation would have been a lot less scary with something like the CRITR. Also great to eliminate rope twist..

[Bo_Beck]

How many have you test broke and what was the average kn at break?

What will you be rating these at, kn wise?

Correct me if wrong? By virtue of the way an ATS, Pirana and Critr are rigged, the majority of force should be seen on the spine of the carabiner? I have yet to see a "kn" rating on an ATS or Pirana? Still would be nice to see where the resultant force on the device shows a weak point?

[harness man]

Thanks for questions and comments.
YES: let the CRITR testing begin!
We are planning to use the UIAA protocol and place a static load (of 7 kn) on the rigged CRITR in all the different friction modes. Probably repeating the whole test with 2 different rope diameters (maybe 8mm bluewater and 10mm Imlay Canyoneero).
After that we'll all be bored so DESTRUCTIVE TESTING will begin.
When pulling the CRITR to failure in the UIAA set up (and lock-off mode) what breaks first: Biner, Rope, or CRITR? And a what level of force applied (kn)?
We will post results!
Bo is right of course- most of the load with a CRITR style device is carried by the carabiner, BUT we still want to know!!! (and see parts flying thru the air)
Did a bunch of fiddling with stainless as a material but there are issues:
Weight. Weight. Weight. Price. Price. Price
Shrinking the stainless part to save weight reduces all the radius's and messes with the rope path.
By the time you shave stainless steel thicknesses to a reasonable weight, the longevity of the part (in sandy canyons) is not that much better than aluminum.
To help offset the wear issue the CRITR is reversible (and beefed up in in wear areas) to try to double the life-span over other devices.

[taatmk]

Good question Sandstone--the CRITR top hole is smaller than the Pirana but a little larger than the ATS. Double rope rappels run great!
Also the CRITR has larger edge radius than the ATS so double rope rappels are smoother on CRITR.

I've used the two on the left before; be interesting to see how the Critr compares.

[townsend]

Thanks for questions and comments.
YES: let the CRITR testing begin!
We are planning to use the UIAA protocol and place a static load (of 7 kn) on the rigged CRITR in all the different friction modes. Probably repeating the whole test with 2 different rope diameters (maybe 8mm bluewater and 10mm Imlay Canyoneero).
After that we'll all be bored so DESTRUCTIVE TESTING will begin.
When pulling the CRITR to failure in the UIAA set up (and lock-off mode) what breaks first: Biner, Rope, or CRITR? And a what level of force applied (kn)?
We will post results!
Bo is right of course- most of the load with a CRITR style device is carried by the carabiner, BUT we still want to know!!! (and see parts flying thru the air)
Did a bunch of fiddling with stainless as a material but there are issues:
Weight. Weight. Weight. Price. Price. Price
Shrinking the stainless part to save weight reduces all the radius's and messes with the rope path.
By the time you shave stainless steel thicknesses to a reasonable weight, the longevity of the part (in sandy canyons) is not that much better than aluminum.
To help offset the wear issue the CRITR is reversible (and beefed up in in wear areas) to try to double the life-span over other devices.

Imlay Canyonero is 9.2mm, rather than 10mm. Nonetheless, an interesting new rappel device. Looking forward to it.

[harness man]

Thank you for the correction!
The Canyonero is a popular, sturdy canyon rope and I happen to have an unused new piece so it seemed like test subject material.

[oldno7]

cool idea, looking forward to your further testing and use.

I think a lot can be learned about a prototype by breaking them in various configurations,

such as what is the weakest link in the system, where will a CRITR fail when stressed beyond reasonable application,

what is the strongest aluminum for this device,etc.

Most likely to break far in excess of it's intended use but as a user, it would be comforting to know this information prior to use.

We like knowing "all" our gear, far exceeds any real world punishment we can dish out.

If it was mine--I would do a test using 200lbs+/- and see how long it takes to wear through a "leg" in various friction reducing scenarios,

since it would appear that large frame(us fat) canyoneers are a part of your target group.