Trouble with new Croll L not catching properly

[PAME]

Hi everyone,


I’ve just tried my new Croll L for the first time, and although I’m quite happy with it overall as it runs smoother and is easier to remove than my old Croll S, I had a few scary moments with it.


I’m climbing in a frog setup with a right-foot Pantin. During my last ascent on a 110 m pitch rigged with 9 mm rope, I noticed several times that the Croll didn’t seem to bite for a few centimetres. Basically, I’d start moving up and it felt like the cam just wasn’t locking straight away.


I couldn’t really figure out why it happened sometimes and not others. My current guess is that, since my Pantin is on the right foot, it might be pulling the rope slightly on the cam side, which could prevent the Croll from engaging properly.


It really freaked me out a bit.. I double-checked the Croll afterwards and there’s no issue with the cam engaging properly.


I’m considering switching to the Turbochest, as it looks smoother and more efficient, but I really want to make sure I wouldn’t face the same problem with it before making the change.


The reason I moved away from the Croll S is that it’s not very smooth in muddy conditions and can be a pain to unclip.


Thanks a lot for your advice,

PAME

 

[ChrisB]

I had that with a left foot pantin (and a 20 year old Croll) and found I needed to unweight the Pantin before putting weight on the Croll.

 

[aricooperdavis]

I had that with a left foot pantin (and a 20 year old Croll) and found I needed to unweight the Pantin before putting weight on the Croll.

I've only ever experienced this with a left foot pantin, and it's usually when I'm getting tired and my feet are swinging out rather than being nicely in line with the body. Never tried a right foot pantin, but worth trying a few steps with your feet underneath you vs with your feet drifting out to one side and see if there's a difference.

 

[topcat]

I'm an avid Pantin user , right foot, and haven't experienced this. Now I've said this , the next time out....... Sod's law and all.

 

[Loki]

I've only ever experienced this with a left foot pantin, and it's usually when I'm getting tired and my feet are swinging out rather than being nicely in line with the body. Never tried a right foot pantin, but worth trying a few steps with your feet underneath you vs with your feet drifting out to one side and see if there's a difference.

Agreed. Are you pushing straight down when weighting the pantin? Stand on the floor, anywhere and squat down then stand up, that’s the action you want. I’ve seen people pushing out with their feet while yarding up with their arms . Completely wrong and very tiring. Have you tried rope walking with it? I’m not sure it’s possible to do it wrong and ascend the rope. Works best on pitches where you’re next to the wall while getting used to it.

 

[PAME]

I've only ever experienced this with a left foot pantin, and it's usually when I'm getting tired and my feet are swinging out rather than being nicely in line with the body. Never tried a right foot pantin, but worth trying a few steps with your feet underneath you vs with your feet drifting out to one side and see if there's a difference.

Yes, now that you mention it, it was when I was starting to get tired.
I probably did push outward without realizing it!

Agreed. Are you pushing straight down when weighting the pantin? Stand on the floor, anywhere and squat down then stand up, that’s the action you want. I’ve seen people pushing out with their feet while yarding up with their arms . Completely wrong and very tiring. Have you tried rope walking with it? I’m not sure it’s possible to do it wrong and ascend the rope. Works best on pitches where you’re next to the wall while getting used to it.

When rope walking I don’t have that problem, because I put the Croll on my left knee and I use a microtraxion to rest, but I didn’t have my chest pulleys that day so it was pure frog.

By the way, can I ask why you guys use a left pantin?

 

[ChrisB]

can I ask why you guys use a left pantin?

I broke my right ankle 40 years ago and the twist on the boot from a pantin is uncomfortable. My left ankle is undamaged.

 

[Steve Clark]

I started a discussion about this a while ago. May be some useful comments in there :

Thread 'Petzl Croll L - cam not engaging?'

Jan 31, 2022

[ Caveat : I've not done much SRT, dozen trips / 20 pitches maybe ]

Had a bit of a problem coming out of Lancaster Hole on Sunday. Started prussiking and after 3-4m or so, the Croll L cam stopped engaging on the rope properly. It seemed to be held slightly away from the rope and I just slid back down on to the top jammer link. Happened a few times. It held fine if I put my finger under the cam to get the initial grab. Almost like the spring had failed. Down-prussiking with a thumb was awkward because the cam just stuck in position slightly away from the rope. We did have a bag tied to the...

• Steve Clark
• Replies: 25
• Forum: Equipment

I'm still using the same Croll L. It hasn't done it since. I concluded that my problem was due to a small amount of mud / slime between the cam and flat back of the frame. The spring is very weak and it doesn't take very much at all to stop it working.

 

[andrewmcleod]

By the way, can I ask why you guys use a left pantin?

Most (but not all) people use their hand ascender on the same side as their footloop, and Pantin on the other side i.e. either left footloop/left handed ascender and right Pantin, or right footloop/right handed ascender and left Pantin (or more often just a Basic instead of a handled ascender, but same difference).

Some people are just more comfortable one way than the other; it's good to try both before you buy.

 

[wellyjen]

I've had both. Couldn't get on with a right foot pantin at all, so switched to a left foot one. If you are strongly handed (right for me), then this may affect how comfortable and natural you find it. As far as I can remember, when they first came out, Petzl only made the right foot version. There must have been a demand for a lefty version they didn't initially expect.

 

[Cantclimbtom]

Most (but not all) people ...

Exactly describes me and my choice of right foot loop on a right petzl basic (old style one) with a left pantin.

One thing to contribute is something maybe similar to the slipping Kroll Steve Clark mentioned. At the CNCC GG winch meet just gone, I exited via Bar pot and as I started to jug up the big pitch my basic kept sliding down whenever I tried to step up in the foot loop. I had to poke a finger in it to encourage the teeth/cam to bite each step up, and the cam felt really soft and floppy. I assumed a spring had broken. Oddly it seemed more manageable on the final pitch.

When cleaning to examine the broken spring it was fine, nothing broken, it was muddy but not obvious culprit of excessive mud or stone in a choice location. Seems perfectly fine again.. weird! Must've been a strategically placed bit of grit that shifted on the last pitch?

 

[Cantclimbtom]

"CPC" (not CNCC!!) winch meet, I need stronger coffee