Your comments are hilarious. Keep them coming! Check out our new store! hownot2.store/

The Beal Escaper is a product I would love to see!

"I don't think I'd actually do this in real life" He says after actually doing it in real life! xD

4:55 "luckily I made bit to the ground" let's just say if the fiddle stick had failed you'd have still made it to the ground!

Subscribed for a while now, 52 years old and haven’t been up on the rock since my late teens. I climb trees to rig them before i bring them down and love learning about how ropes and gear interact. I love learning it’s my lifelong addiction!

That hitch with the fiddlestick is also called a marlinspike hitch. I use it a lot for heaving lashing tight with a spike. We also use a similar setup in tugboat work as a quick release for dropping gear but we use a wood “toggle” that is slightly tapered like a splicing fid.

"It has a lot of great applications for situations you are never going to be in." Of all the nonsensical thing I have heard come out of your mouth, this is my new favorite.

I guess the difference between a rappel and a highline is the highline stays under tension even when you’re not on it. Would need to release some tension before fiddling the stick.

The rope jiggling method sounds like the kamikaze knot: a sheep shank with the middle strand cut. It's solid under tension but comes undone when slack. Not something I'd ever want to need but I'd be interested to see you put it to the test (with a second safety rope or just in your machine).

I feel like Andy's goto line is "so hopefully this doesnt kill me"

Daily uploads are doin it for me. It helps to feel more engaged with the channel and I'd say I've been more likely to watch the videos recently 👍

I would love to see a video where you use random items as fiddle sticks (rocks, small logs, stuff you can find in the wild, etc.) thanks for a great video as usual ❤

These are super common in Canyoning and they do like 200ft rappels on the regular.

I'm impressed with the creative engineering and performance of the fiddlestick. Thanks for testing and filming the device in use! Full length retrievable rappels is to climbers as turning lead into gold was to medieval alchemists - the impossible goal. If it weren't for the Beal Escaper, I would probably be using Fiddlesticks on a regular basis. Fortunately Beal came through for $50 with an amazing, safe solution that requires no extra retrieval cord. I've been making 60 M / 200 ft. length rappels with the Escaper for 3 years with great success. It is only for experienced, fastidious climbers who thoroughly understand it's use and limitations (it provides numerous loops and such to hang up on during retrieval). For this reason, I would not use it for every rappel, but it is a very powerful and oft used tool in my quiver. I have added a $160 Mammut 6mm x 60 Meter 16 KN aramid rappel cord kit that comes with Nano 8 rap plate and micro oval biner. Mammut authorizes only 30 Meter double strand raps, but I go off label and use it single strand. Add a DMM locking biner on my leg loop and a 4mm french prussik/autoblock and I'm capable of repeated 200 ft. rappels for 4.7 lbs/2.1 kg.

Stopper knots!!!!! Good to see you folks stressing the importance!

Hey Man, Looks like you put some real effort into this one. Glad you had fun. Enjoyed it.

Fascinating! I feel this would be great in Moab where pulling long heavy ropes will groove the rock.

I've been using a variation of this design for years and it's bomber (for rappelling, not slack-lining). I've done tests with weight hanging on the rappel strand and had to pull quite hard in order to get the stick to come out. Our variation has additional holes to allow safety carabiners to be inserted so it's impossible for the stick to come out. The knot tightens on the stick with every person that rappels and only the last one down removes those 2 safety carabiners and rappels down after the knot has become very tight- your highline test demonstrates this very well. It's very safe if you do it right, and as you indicated, eliminates the rope dragging over the edge on retrieval, which then eliminates rope groves. Also, the "Fiddlestick" used in the break test looks a lot more like a "Smooth Operator" invented by Luke from Bluu Gnome Gear. The Fiddlestick itself was made by/for Imlay Canyon Gear out of Mt. Carmel Junction, Utah. He's been making these for years bg-gear.com/smooth-operator-v1.html or Fiddlestick www.canyoneeringusa.com/store/imlay-fiddlestick-advanced-anchor FWIW, I use the Variation we came up with called the "Rap-Sure" which is very similar to the Smooth Operator. Between the two marketed versions, I prefer the Smooth Operator over the Fiddlestick and have used both. Another thing you can do is use a tree or similar object as an anchor. If the anchor is abrasive or jagged (like tree bark) you can protect both the tree and your rope by using something like a Spiroll rope protector around the back of the anchor where the rope goes around the tree. If wrapped tight enough on the rope, it will stay in place and come down with your rope when you pull it down. Also, on the slackline pull test, it's not great to use carabiners to connect to the stick unless you don't mind them getting knocked against the rocks when you go to pull. This is more an issue admittedly, when you are pulling the stick down from a rappel, but just a point to make. When the pull cord is tied directly to the stick, there is not a lot of weight and no carabiner to come falling down. The stick itself will often flutter a bit and sometimes you can even catch it if you are lucky. The fluttering effect slows the fall of the stick down a good amount and if there is no carabiner on it, it doesn't hit the ground with much force.

"Two hands is not going to get that out" That is what she said, and what Ryan said for the BPL

About the shirt designs: i really like the "super good enough" slogan. But, as an non-highliner the disign is to highliney. Maybe an idea to add a climber-oriented design using this slogan?

Andy is a skydiving/base jumping legend. Wasn't expecting to see him!

i haven't even climbed in probably 20 years, and i still love this channel. i never really climbed with gear either. i don't know the terms, but i would go up a wall about 10 feet or so, then climb sideways all the way around. a fall would have been painful but not lethal (except for one climb i did across the side of a quarry... why did i do that)

REALLY want to see you pull a Beal Escaper. I think it’ll slip rather than break outright, but I’d love to see what it does.

Fascinating stuff. The problems with pulling it out of the webbing made me think of the skydiving industry - different use case, being a life safety issue if it DOESN'T come out, but the closing pin that secures the main and reserve parachutes are curved so that they release properly from the closing loop. But then I doubt that you want to be on a line that is held by a smooth round curved metal spike!

This implementation of the fiddle stick into the highline seemed sooo sketchy, but I think it shows promise. I definitely don't think you should have the webbing wrapped around the fiddle stick, but maybe you could make a soft shackle with a long tail or strong climbing rope. The problem with the fiddle stick being too difficult to pull could be solved by using a soft release at the tension side. Also you could thread the release cord back through the bolt so after the fiddle stick pops you can gentle lower the line down. I would defo not trust the line you walked but with some modifications and a bunch more testing it could be viable for lines where one anchor is hard to access

The jiggle method can be done with a sheepshank knot at the top as it won’t come loose under load, when tide properly. I’ve also used a Yosemite bowline loop around the rope with some paracord ties to the loop; when you pull the paracord the loop simply is pulled down just like using a double rope. You have to be quite confident and trusting in your pioneering skills to use the sheepshank method. When you tie the sheepshank you cut 1 of the 3 legs after you load the knot; this method does leave a short length of rope at the top which isn’t leave no trace.

The Beal escaper is the expensive option, that is recommended by most guides! The poor option is a sheepshank with the middle stand cut, so that you only leave maybe a meter of rope behind. Apparently the sheepshank will collapse and fail after a certain weight.

Double rings as used in arborist work. and they are strong. Single point anchors is NUTS!

This is one of your best vids!!

I don't highline, I don't slackline. But I subbed because you seem like a nice person trying to help your community and I really like watching you.

OMG! living on the edge! Good job Ryan :-)

Big Fan Here! A bit concerned that you used a 'home made' Toggle, rather than an actual Imlay FiddleStick, or Bluugnome Smooth Operator. The homemade toggle is a rather crude. Also, you should point out that it is polycarbonate rather the the weak acrylic that is easier to find at the hardware store. Happy to send you any ropes or devices you would like to test. (Very concerned that Highlining produces higher loads. Canyoneering is a stupid sport... but highlining?)

So the name of the knot is a marlinspike hitch. It's been used for pulling on line and Twine for about 400 years that we know of probably longer it's a wonderful night very stable.

Yes, I started vertical sports with canyoneering. I’m so stoked you are interested in it. You should break test an Omni sling and a macrame retrievable rope.

KZfaq stop recommending me the funny high liner challenge, I am afraid of heights thank you very much. I'll keep watching these even though I'm never setting foot on a mountain wall :-)

Very cool to see numbers on this. If you get into more canyoneering tests it would be interesting to see failure test for marginal anchors such as cairns, vs and bags, backpacks, etc.

Really great video. I never heard of a fiddle stick before. Props for walking a fiddled line!

inb4 1 million subs, in all honesty this channel is super under rated. great content, always give me anxiety. nice work!

Love the videos! So informative and fun to watch.

1:45..... I agree 100%, pulling out before your done totally sucks.

For the release of the mainline, perhaps a quick detension, or a soft release on the tensioning side would loosen things up enough to pop out that fiddlestick

Loved the slowmo sequence of the rope being thrown, so unexpected and hilarious

Thanks for the great work you do! ☮️❤️🌈 In skydiving we use a "stainless steel curved closing pin" to pass through a "closing loop" (just an eyelet or bite of 2mm braided nylon) that passes through a hole in the "closing flap" of the "main container" that holds your "main canopy". There, now you're ready to skydive. #PoesLaw Seriously though, you could use the same concept in place of a Fiddlestick in your highline webbing. It's like a Marlin Spike that is curved to accommodate the fact that you are pulling it parallel to the load instead of perpendicular. Words are hard. Find some photos. The internet is your friend.

Connect a short length of 10mm static rope to the end of your webbing. Fiddle Stick the static rope instead of the webbing. It'll release easier.

This has been great, confidence building video for friends. Thanks so much guys!

I have to admitt that is a pretty slick highline setup! Seams really light too Nice!

Have become a fan of this channel over the last 10 or so days awesome stuff, im to much of wuss to try any of it but its really cool to see yall do it.

Very cool. Love when Andy is in the videos

You we're talking about the Beal Escaper. The thing you wiggle and it get's loose ;)

I'd be surprised if this was the first time this comment has been made, but I would love to see the "Kamakazi Knot" tested for single sided repelling where you make a sheep shank and then cut the line that connects the two loops, and as long as you keep tension the knot holds itself together but once you get to the bottom you can, supposedly, shake the rope loose and only lose a little bit of rope.

I've wondered about these for so long! I'm so glad you torture tested them!!!

I love that the fiddlestick makes the weirdest freaking bowline/sheet bend you'll ever see

Great stuff! One comment on the "will the fiddlestick come out at the wrong time" question. On a typical canyoneering rappel, with extra rope friction, it seems like the max load the fiddlestick will see is ~50-60% of bodyweight. In that situation I think it is much easier to accidentally knock the stick out by jamming it against a wall or pull it out by snagging the pull cord. I'd be curious to see what the combinations are of forces in the mainline and forces required to pull the stick out. Keep being sketchy so we don't have to!

1/8 Amsteel is far superior to pull cord for pulling a fiddle stick. It’s way stronger and the zero stretch creates less of a projectile hazard.

polished titanium tube with rounded over ends with the rope attachment going through a middle pipe all the way from one end to the other, rounded entry and exit, with a stopper knot on the end. could be 7075 t6 as well to lower the cost

I'm like, "fiddlestick" oh that could be useful for some of my repels. Then Ryan throws it on a Highline and I'm like, F@#& THAT!!! Balls of Steel! Very interesting research for sure. Thanks Ryan!

Come on guys, let´s all subscribe so that our human test dummy (Ryan) doesn´t have to wear the same pair of yellow pants every day!

2:19 “you pull as hard as you can on this one and I will see if I can pull it out.” 😳 Did you realize that if you did succeeded to pull it out that your buddy would have been flying of the rock!

Awesome! Perhaps use a wave bolt as the fiddlestick (break test?), and with a soft release on the tension side!

@IHowNOT2 (or whom ever else actually knows how these "sticks" work :) I might be totally wrong, but my understanding of how the "fiddleStick" is "supposed to work is that while the rope that the "stick" is "jamming" is under tension, the rope is "pinching" the "stick" and preventing it from getting pulled. And if that assumption is correct You would need to "slack of " the webbing in order to pull that last "fiddleStick". Then again I might have totally misunderstood how this works (is supposed to work). How ever I really enjoyed the video, and that is all that matters since I neither climb, rappel or slackline :) Best regards.

Awesome video!

Happy birthday Ryan! Thanks for the videos

Just saw a TV commercial for Ryan’s new Discovery + series. The big quote from the commercial…. “They must live every moment cause they could die any second.” What a dramatic new tag line and T-shirt motto, lol…

Im subscriber for 2 years love the channel

thought this would be just another break test video... but man it was a good one.

Be cool to see some failure tests on typical rigging and anchors used by canyoneers, sandtraps, water traps, and contigency rigging

"I've never dont this before, this is (turns head, sketchy AF sticker shows)" perfect

You can use an alipline butterfly with a locking carabiner to do a single rappell and when you are done you pull on the other end of the rope, you are only rappelling on one side but you need to have both ends touching the ground so you can retrieve the rope from the bottom

This seems safer then the Beal escaper lol..I have one and have tested it about 10 times now on horizontal ground..Haven't had the balls to actually try it on a rappel yet..It does work it just seems slippery when new..I wanna get some friction fuzz on the system before I real world use it

Great video.

The "wiggle" method uses a sheep shank with the unstressed strand cut before you rappel. It works! and sometimes can be detached by shaking (sometimes not 🤨), but I'd love to see it stress tested. And maybe try fiddle sticks made from different materials (I assume yours were Lexan?) try wood, carbon fiber, aluminum, steel, etc. 👍

I broke a smooth operator once on a rappel. While pulling the tag line to retrieve it the tip of the smooth operator broke on either side of the hole the rope went through and my tag line came falling down without the smooth operator. I wasn't even pulling very hard yet. The stick remained in the stone knot. BG was super nice and replaced it for free. Luckily I was able to get back up to my anchor to retrieve my rope.

Toggles are primarily in canyoneering. They help avoid rope groves and deal with rope pull issues. They been used for years in canyoneering and zero issues.

Ryan is to be known as No Backup Ryan from now on!! Seriously doing an experiment on a highline and not having a super solid backup ? Backup and main both had hairpin triggers to pull cords!

Not sure what's scarier rappelling with a piece of plastic supporting my life or rappelling of of only one bolt. I know that one bolt is way good enough to hold me its just years of always making an anchor redundant that makes it scary to trust just one

Donkeys years ago for caving we were using a metal rod inside of a milled piece of Nylon or teflon, can't remember (i guess) in stead of that piece of plastic. i'd be afraid that plastic would break and i'd start flying unintentionally LOL! The milled plastic was thicker at it's ends than in the middle and the stainless rod, impossible to fail. U have balls going on that bit of lucite or whatever plastic it was.

Super cool!

Tests the breaking strength on the highline setup AFTER he goes out and tries it, seemed like that’s what he alluded to at least.

So sketchy doooooood! Can't believe you tested both your line and backup on an unproven setup. Wooooof

love your videos ryan, i can't wait for you to get to 100k subs

Super Good Enogh shirts and caps with graphics related to climbing, or no graphic at all would be nice.

Hi. In contrary, I think pulling it parallel to the rappel line can produce a wrench motion that might release the grip on the fiddlestick.

IDK if you've already seen it before but the Equivocation Hitch a similar single line retrievable anchor technique that using only the rap line. I've used it rapping off bolts, rap rings or simply slung a round a tree.

Beal makes a system, it might be called the Escape, not sure though. hopefully you can find it and test it out because it is something I am interested in buying to use. Now that I am aware of fiddle sticks I may have to find or make one to try out. thanks for the cool content!

I'm part of the twenty%.. It really should be the other way around. 80% subbed.. I mean like its 2021 people come on!

Another Canyoneering anchor I'd love to see tested is the figure 8 contingency anchor that allows someone at the top by the anchor to lower someone on rappel in the event the rope is not long enough or their rap device jams

Some thing with a soft release seems way more appropriate for release under tension. Maybe you use just a few wraps of soft, then a quick release like the fiddlestick to release it. Avoids your main webbing being on the bolt and knotted. You could even extend the softrelease out so it's the only thing that could possibly rub. Still a bad idea.

Wild...I just watched Jinks rappel without redundancy

Is really interesting to see the difference between canyoning in the the States and (my own) Canyon technics over europe Good job! (Sorry for bad english BTW)

Test with rope instead of a fiddle...and that hitch is called a Marlin Spike hitch...as you can guess it's where the Marlin Spike came from.

I think the knot is a Marlin spike hitch? They are used pretty often in smocking

it is good that it does not pull well on the slack line. the intent is for it not to come loose under tension and there is a fair amount of load on that long of an unweighted slack line.

You hang out with Sketchy Andy for one day, one day! Now this...

Guys just fiddleing their sticks. Seems like a nice video.

I'd like to see how much force you would need to pull the fiddlestick out of the knot when the rope is under tension. I feel like that's a more realistic scenario even if it's less entertaining than breaking it.

If you are doing marginal canyoneering anchors you should test the sandtrap and the CEM knot

I don't think I would ever use a fiddle stock on a bolt. There are better methods of descending single strand. I carry my fiddlestick in every canyon but I only use it if I can't go off other anchors

3:05 What about using a friction hitch around the stick that is way to loose and would slip if you pull the cord. Then add another cord that loops through the friction hitch and keeps the hitch on the stick if pulled. So then you have to pull on both cords but at first harder on one of them to tighten the friction hitch and then you have to release one of the cords (maybe partially to keep the hitch tight) and then pull the other cord to pull the stick. The stick could be made a bit more like a half circle to ensure the friction hitch would fall off if accidentally pulled.

I love that idea. I'd be more worked about the plexiglass glass cracking over time of abuse. Possibly an aluminum version? Hmmm.....

I love that rope color, it's either purple or my favorite color Royal Blue.