Recent content by Mike Hopley

Sure, but by how much? You could make the same argument about anything. Even a single use of a rope will make it weaker, therefore replace all your ropes after every trip. Also replace your harness. My cowstails are pretty tight even when new, because I want secure knots, and I don't want them...

Yes, if the dynamic took a heavy shock-load. Much of the "cushioning" comes from the knots tightening, rather than the rope stretching over such a short length (compared to the length of the fall). To be clear, a shock-loaded dynamic rope would be much better as a climbing rope than a new...

There will be a huge difference between knot tightness following a severe fall, and just during normal use. If you take a really heavy fall onto your cowstails, the safest thing to do is probably cutting new ones from any spare rope you have (like the end of the pitch rope). Failing that, you...

This advice seems highly impractical if you do much SRT, especially if you're using 9mm rope for your cowstails. I also don't think it's supported by the evidence. Those oft-referenced lanyard tests found acceptable peak forces in heavily-used cowstails, provided they were made from knotted...

If the rope should not be used for climbing, then it should not be used for cowstails either. Aging of ropes is a debatable subject, but the manufacturers' recommendations are clear. Nowadays they typically state a maximum lifespan of 10 years, starting from the first use. That assumes the rope...

That might actually be a real thing. Some American ropewalker systems suspend the caver upside-down from their feet, if the chest-roller fails. Obviously that's due to bad practice, as they should be using a third safety jammer -- but it's something their books warn about. I can clearly see...

Musing on Badlad's thoughts a bit: I have a caving mate who started out as an urbexer. He ended up joining a local club because that gave him access into mines that were "controlled" and gated by the club. Then he got into caving and particularly SRT. Before joining the club, he was...

How exactly do you think rudeness on a forum is helping, though? What does it achieve? You're tarring reasonable people with the same broad brush. You're not hitting your targets, who are different people who don't care about your opinions at all. It's easy to be angry and strut on a forum...

When someone has a different opinion, you should be capable of disagreeing without telling them to f*** off. Holding a strong opinion is a bad (and childish) excuse for rudeness. It's self-indulgent obnoxiousness disguised as "strong principles" and "speaking truth fearlessly". I'd like to...

Actually yes, now that I've gotten comfortable with them I'd rather just use BOTB for all my single-hang needs, even in thick rope. I like making life easy. :)

Okay, serious answer: Time taken for the same person to untie the knot. Repeat across different knots, and different rope diameters, and multiple people. Average results from all different people to get time for a given knot, at a given diameter. Probably standardise the knot tightening, say...

I suggest measuring it in swear words per minute per fresher. ...Is that a laden or unladen fresher?

I'm happy with my Petzl Sirocco, which is as light as you can get. The original version looked too bashable, but the current one is more robust. One issue with this type of helmet is mounting a light. I don't think it's a good idea to drill holes in the softer materials like polystyrene or...

Worth bearing in mind that the vast majority of hypothermia is "mild", at which point the digestive system should be working okay. If you have a profoundly hypothermic patient, then yes, they need to be handled delicately and I expect giving pills is a bad idea. Drugs are very useful to have...

Diccan Pot, last rebelay is a single anchor. Failure of that at the wrong time leads to a very dangerous fall. Same for Long Kin East, Juniper Gulf, Meregill... (In Diccan I tried using a dodgy spit for backup, which was silly and futile, but also a little fun.) There are also cases of...