Left Footed Pantin

B

Brockers

New member
Hi,
Just bought a Left footed Pantin. Reading the blurb that comes with it, it seems to be suggesting that the left footed pantin 'isn't recommended' for SRT use because of the difficulty in passing rebelays.
Personally I cannot for the life of me think why the left footed pantin would be any worse than the right footed one...
Has anyone got any experience of the new left pantin?

Brockers
 
Les W

Les W

Active member
Brockers said:
Reading the blurb that comes with it, it seems to be suggesting that the left footed pantin 'isn't recommended' for SRT use
Click to expand...

I struggle to think of a use for a Pantin, left or right foot, if not for SRT.
 
B

Brockers

New member
The blurb seemed to be talking about ''Caving Progression'' - SRT and ''Arboreal Progression'' - Tree surgery (a pantin on each foot)

It described SRT progression using the pantin on the right foot, stating that the left footed pantin wasn't recommended because of ''the difficulty in passing rebelays''.. Why would the left foot pantin be harder to pass a rebelay with than the right???
 
R

robjones

New member
My Pantin is a leftie (by mistake!) but it works fine with a frog system and two seperate footloops. (I like two seperate footloops as its safter when thrutching around in lead mine stopes full of loose rubble).
 
K

khakipuce

New member
Haven't a clue, I've got a left foot pantin and it works fine. Obviously you have to take it off the rope to pass the rebelay anyway  :confused:

 
cap n chris

cap n chris

Well-known member
As a wild guess perhaps it's because rebelays can be rigged left- or right-handed and the majority of the time they are rigged right-handed (possibly because most people are right-handed and it also makes descending towards them less prone to abbing onto the rebelay loop with attendant problems that can create). Passing one on ascent utilising the pantin to pull the rope taut through your croll might result in an increased likelihood of tapesty-weaving, I'm reckoning. I don't have a left-footed Pantin so don't know from personal experience whether this is likely. Would perhaps make an interesting bit of research, though.
 
jarvist

jarvist

New member
cap 'n chris said:
As a wild guess perhaps it's because rebelays can be rigged left- or right-handed
Click to expand...

But can they really? I know I think of rebelays as having a handed-ness (I always imagine the 'up' rope leading off to the right), but I'm not sure if there's any actual difference...
Swapping the handedness would just be a matter of taking the up rope across the knot from one side to the other anyway (same as putting a half-twist in the knot-bolt attachment).

I think the 'handedness' of the rebelay that you perceive, is actually a conceptual method that you brain has in dealing with the genuine chiral nature of passing the rebelay + not tying your safety cord / footloop up.
 
cap n chris

cap n chris

Well-known member
.... alternatively, perhaps it's because rope walking, with dominant right-handers, depends on the sequencing of right hand/left foot and left hand/right foot and, as a result, a left-footed pantin being used by a right-handed person results in rope-walking being a bit of a mare?

I'm still trying to figure the *reason* why a left-footed Pantin is considered duff. My gut feeling is that it should be OK.
 
B

Brockers

New member
Do you think it could be because of the shape of the Chest Jammer?
The cam is on the RHS of the chest jammer (looking downwards) while the body of the jammer is curved to retain the rope on the LHS.
When you push downwards with a right footed pantin it would pull slightly rightwards too, pulling against the cam. Where as when you push downwards with a left footed pantin it would pull slightly leftwards, pulling the rope into the curved Jammer body. May be making it slightly harder to get the rope out of the jammer?

Has anyone experienced this? I know I have experienced difficulties getting the rope out of a chest jammer when the rope has been pulled rightwards..
It wouldn't make them 'duff' but it would make them slightly more awkward under certain circumstances I suppose?

B
 
MarkS

MarkS

Moderator
There's just one blurb for both:

"It is preferable to use the right-foot PANTIN, in conjunction with CROLL and ASCENSION rope clamps.

Tip: fix the footloop to the left leg with elastic loops. When walking, the top end of the footloop is simply clipped to an equipment loop (see drawing). The left-foot PANTIN is not recommended for this configuration, because of the increased complexity of passing rebelays."

Intriguing... :confused:
 
cap n chris

cap n chris

Well-known member
MarkS said:
The left-foot PANTIN is not recommended for this configuration, because of the increased complexity of passing rebelays."
Click to expand...

:)

Was on the right track with me tapesty-weevin', then! Cool!
 
R

robjones

New member
I find the Pantin's main advantage is when ascending straightforward rope; I tend to dispense with it when passing rebelays. Thus the handedness of Pantins is immaterial at rebelays. Prior to the relatively recent introduction of Pantins we coped perfectly fine at rebelays with a Croll and a top jammer - its just a reversion to that situation whilst passing rebelays. As Pantins are so very simple to flick on or off the rope, disconnecting one to pass rebelays is the work of a couple of seconds and when it is disconnected it is one less thing to faff with at the rebelay.
 
R

robjones

New member
Yes - relatively recently (its a matter of perspective  ;)). SRT as a mainstream Uk caving technique extends back 20 years prior to the very earliest Pantin era (when did they become commonplace? 5 to 8 years ago possibly? Or was I unobservant and were they in common use rather further back?  :-\)
 
biff

biff

New member
homemade pantins from cutdown jammers have been floating around for yonks, but I didnt think Petzl did Pantin til very late 90s, though I could be wrong.

Incidently, I had a homemade jobby that was on the left foot. Got seduced into buying a shiney green one in Expe on day, and its taken 10 years to get my head around it on the right foot :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top