Top Rope Solo Setup for Climbing

I've tried many different Top Rope Solo configurations, but this is by far the best for me right now. There's a lot of good info spread across MP forums, but figured i'd consolidate and put together an Instructable for anyone else interested in making one themselves.

How it works: Your primary device (the top microtrax bears) the weight of your fall, and the elastic lanyard keeps it separated from your backup (bottom) microtrax. It should be configured to minimize the upward movement of the device if you were to fall, the device doesn't flail around (kind of like how if you were using a jumar and stopped, you just sit onto the jumar)

Disclaimer: The following information is provided based on my experience which is continually evolving. This is not a "how-to" manual. If you use or rely on any of this info, you do so at your own risk. I encourage you to test and retest before committing to a course of action. You may find better set-ups for your own situation (route/rope/experience/degree of risk tolerance). Please let me know of your experiences, and i'll try and update this tutorial.

1. Primary device:
2. Petzl microtraxion (what I currently use)
3. Camp LIFT, (more discussion here)
4. TAZ LOV3 (this is the only device that is both an ascender and descender)
5. Backup device:
6. Petzl microtraxion
7. 2X locking biner (I use grivel plume wirelock)
8. Nylon cord
9. Clip (the kind you get from an ID clip at a conference)
10. Elastic lanyard (I used a sunglasses lanyard)

1. Redundancy: Do not use only one ascender (please!) - see Petzl guidance. Use redundancy with a backup device. The bottom will not bear a load as you fall, so it should feed through smoothly as you ascend.
2. Modify your Microtrax to make it impossible to lock open. Bottom piece: You might want to Dremel the pin off your lower Microtrax to make it impossible to lock open. I was told by someone who specifically uses a Microtrax over a Nanotrax (although the nano is stickier) because top micro has locked itself open half a dozen times in different situations.
3. Ideally, use different devices: There is a risk of 2 identical devices having the same failure mode.
4. Dual rope strands: Many gear manufacturers, including Petzl, reccomend 2 strands of rope. Some people recommend having each device on a seperate strand of rope in case of a rope failure. Sheath degloving from upper device would cause lower device to fail as well. Additionally fixed lines can rub on rock with load cycles especially edges, and cut in ways a normal belay would not. If you're climbing with enough rope to rappel back down you should be able to fix your rope and use both of these.
5. Petzl says not to use a Tibloc as your backup (the TIBLOC's teeth must be manually pressed against the rope, which is impossible to do while climbing)

There are lots of ways to do it, but I vastly prefer using the microtraxion keeper hole discussed here because there's no need to thread through the carabiner hole, and it aligns the device with the rope.

Lanyard: I used an elastic sunglasses lanyard that can be cinched/adjusted at the neck, to manage tension.

I've tried the chest harness shown here, and dislike it due to complexity of setup and discomfort.

I've used all of these, and don't like them as much. You want the tension to pull the microtrax up in a way that it allows the rope to run in parallel.

1. Good: Keychain rings on either side of the biner + elastic cord
2. Okay: Nylon looped cord threads through your grigri and attaches to the lanyard.
3. Worst: Elastic cord with parallel loops, wrapped around your locking biner (this is annoying to put on)

This is a modification from Blake Herrington's tutorial on weighmyrack.com. There's also a design from Steph Davis's blog (though I personally dislike using chest harnesses/slings on my chest)

Static vs. Dynamic rope: I hear that it's ideal to use a static rope to prevent downward stretch if you fall, but i'm personally concerned about the static load on the system and how it might impact your ascenders.. I've personally found it okay on a dynamic rope, as long as you are fully aware of rope stretch.

What's probably best: Double ropes average out the spring constant and get you somewhere between a fixed and a dynamic line.

Wear considerations: Despite what you might hear, I've personally found that a microtraxion does not excessively wear your rope. You could consider a non-toothed ascension device for the top device, such as the Camp Lift.

For my next iteration, I'm personally curious about the combination of TAS LOV3 (or Camp Lift) + ROLLNLOCK or Kong duck backup outlined in this blog: "The holy grail of TRS devices would be a device that allows me to freely climb with no slack build-up; be able to quickly lock-up when needed; and be able to rap whenever I desire without having to switch devices."

However, "some potential issues found by users when using the RollnLock below another device."