I'm with Jay on this one. I can't stand having anything girth hitched to either the belay loop or the tie in points. Girth hitched shoulder length slings always seem to be just a tad short for comfort, and I'm not about to drop $30+ on a PAS. I also like having as little on my belay loop/tie in points as possible to keep things a bit simpler. I find that it is really not much more difficult to use two trad draws with lockers that I have to clip to my belay loop. This method keeps my belay loop much less clustered than having something girth hitched to it.

I don't understand that under the crotch thing either--especially having only one remaining testicle!!

I'm the same way about clutter on the front of my harness, can't stand it. Nothing stays there that isn't being used.

I use a modified version of a purcell prusik, made of 18ft 5mm cord, doubled so it's fully redundant along it's whole length. It's adjustable from 2 to 5 feet, and the anchor end has 2 ears so I can clip 2 anchor points if I want to. For about $7 worth of cord I have a tether that is better than a PAS.

See, to me, that sounds like a lot of clutter.

Then you're probably not envisioning it correctly. No more clutter than 2 biners and a runner, except the runner has some knots in it.

No it's not that...it's that you are carrying something that is always there and serves no other purpose, unlike the pair of slings/draws I have already carried up to use while climbing. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with your system (or the PAS, or whatever else). You can use whatever you like and it's cool with me. I just have no desire to carry any extraneous equipment for the extra convenience of a personal anchoring system. You obviously feel it is worth the added convenience, and that's ok too.

I am a weight nazi, so I carry nothing I won't need.

1. I carry the minimal slings and pro that I anticipate I will need, so it's not uncommon that I've used all my slings up by the top of the pitch (your 2 slings/draws are just as much extraneous gear as my tether if you didn't use them on the pitch).

2. Adjustability is important to me for those situations where anchor placement doesn't facilitate optimal belay position.

3. It's faster than using the rope (clip, clip, done), especially at hanging belays, and leaves the full length of rope available for those occasional maxed out pitches.

4. It impresses the honeys.

See? You're technique requires just as much extraneous gear as mine, but you get none of the above benefits.

I'm still not sure why people get worked up about this.

Whillans accident?

I don't use slings to anchor when I get to the end of a pitch, I use the rope. So I still can arrive at the belay without slings, and I still have less gear than you do. So argument #1 doesn't mean a lot to me. Adjustability...I use the rope, so I can anchor in as long or short as I like, so argument #2 doesn't mean a whole lot to me either. It may be faster (I doubt it), but not enough that I'm going to worry about it.

The only place I can see some benefit would be while rapping off a route and having a more adjustable tether at rap stations. In this case, it is extraneous gear; you and I would still be carrying the gear we climbed up with, and you would be carrying an extra piece of gear. You find some value in carrying this extra gear. I do not. As far as the honeys...I doubt I'd want any of the girls that'd be impressed with a Purcell Prusik.

I'm still not sure why people get worked up about this. Like I said, I don't care what you or my climbing partners use, as long as it's safe. If y'all want to carry a daisy/sling/Purcell/PAS...whatever...knock yourself out, as long as you are safe and can use your system efficiently.

I am a weight nazi, so I carry nothing I won't need.

Hahahahaha!

That's a good one!

Because yeah, when I'm rappelling, I've used up all my slings on what, exactly?

Don't get me wrong, at least your purcel prussic is better than that POS, I mean PAS so many folks are carrying around. But both are not "needed" whatsoever in multipitch sport or trad.

GO

I rarely use the rope to anchor because most of the time I'm leading in blocks, so that makes the benefits of more value to me than they would be to you.

Who is talking about rappelling?

Anyone who claims to be a weight nazi should be. Aside from rappelling, the tie in rope is always the perfect thing to anchor in with, unless you've invented a weightless purcell prusic?

GO

Why does every gear thread here turn into a pissing match?

DMT

Anyone who claims to be a weight nazi should be. Aside from rappelling, the tie in rope is always the perfect thing to anchor in with, unless you've invented a weightless purcell prusic?

GO

To prevent the wear, I cannibalized a Mammut harness with the little plastic tie in protector thing. The new harness has been used about 120 days and still looks brand new.

I'll transfer that little plastic thingy from one harness to another now that I've got it. Too bad only Mammut harnesses come with it.

Well if you think weight is my only consideration then you didn't read my posts very well. I trade the weight of some gear for the weight of other gear that offers me more benefit. I trade a couple slings for 3 ounces of cord that gives me more benefits than just using the rope does.

Well if you think weight is my only consideration then you didn't read my posts very well. I trade the weight of some gear for the weight of other gear that offers me more benefit. I trade a couple slings for 3 ounces of cord that gives me more benefits than just using the rope does.

???

Sorry, but that makes no sense that I can see. Let's say I'm leading in blocks. My second gets to the anchor, gives me the gear, and puts me on belay. Here's what I have to do to start leading:

1 - Unclip one locking biner from my anchor and pop the clove hitch off it.
2 - Clip the biner to a gear loop.

Wow, that was hard. Do explain how your method saves so much time compared to mine.

GO

I took CSPROUL’s comment as he was using the rope to rig the primary anchor, perhaps he isn’t.

But, I’m not just talking about speed in leaving the belay, but speed and ease in creating the belay, and as I’ve already mentioned, especially at hanging belays.

And, my usual multi-pitch rope is my set of 7.7mm ice twins, because they give me full length rappels for the weight of a single rope. One disadvantage of 2 skinny cords is that they can get tangled easier, and flipping the stack doesn’t always prevent that issue, so it’s not unusual that I will switch ends of the rope.

Another advantage over using the rope is that I can adjust my tether even when I’m out of arm’s length from the anchor because the way I rigged it the prusik always remains 8 inches from my harness.

And don’t forget, I get the honeys.