I can't see how it can self tend.I just do the same with a prussik and a pulley,tied to the other end of your rope with an old bit of throw line.Much less grabby than a blakes in my opinion.The problem with a VT is that it is tricky to set up correctly.In esscence, any friction hitch will self tend with a pulley behind becuase the pulley is just doing your hands job for you. This knot can be easily advanced up the line by using a micro pulley, swivel snap, and additional carabiner as shown in the system pictured here. thanks. There is less “sit back” with a Hitch Climber system. With three carabiner holes, the Hitch Climber can be the center of many great SRT and DdRT climbing systems. You'll end up using the second one sooner rather than later and not because the first one wore out either.
The best thing to do is to just try it if you have got a split tail kicking about just tie a short blakes hitch and shove a pulley behind it. 44 kN MBS, 8 kN WLL. Made in Wales.“I was also pleased to discover that the Hitch Climber is highly effective at self-tending when foot locking the tail on a DdRT ascent, there is no need to use your hands to advance the friction hitch. It can be used 500,000 different ways (or I'm convinced it can be as I seem to imagine up a new one every week). Using pulleys throughout your climbing system can help reduce overall friction and improve the efficiency of your climbing.The Rigger Pulleys feature a new axle construction with stronger axle/side plate interface for increased longevity.
The Hydra can be used on your rope bridge for a sliding connection point which also eliminates rope twisting, or even as a lanyard adjuster or to tend your friction hitch (though the swivel won't come into play in that setup). Its weird because I wouldn't have thought it would self tend but it seems to. In essence it functions in exactly the same way as a VT except you have the consistency of a blakes hitch: it always grips and very rarely jams and is very easy to tie correctly unlike the VT knots, where if one leg is shorter than the other you will slide down the rope. IMHO the mini-prussic with micro pulley as a slack tender does not get the recognition it deserves.
Rounded anchor holes work great with custom spliced terminations or carabiners.
Available in three sizes. The fixed tail method is also inefficient when ascending on the climbing line because of the difficulty of re-routing the line around branches that are inside the loop. In essence it functions in exactly the same way as a VT except you have the consistency of a blakes hitch: it always grips and very rarely jams and is very easy to tie correctly unlike the VT knots, where if one leg is shorter than the other you will slide down the rope.
it's where you tie a prusik knot on the up rope with the micro pulley attached to the left over slack of the prusik and the micro pulley then goes on the down rope under the blakes hitch. When I've got it perfect I leave it on my rope. The friction hitch (usually either a Tautline or a Blake’s hitch) is then tied back onto the climbing line with another piece of rope called a split tail, which is also connected (preferably indirectly with a carabiner) to the saddle. This opening will accept a wide variety of carabiners, allows multiple connections, and permits the carabiner to self-center to the load. CE, NFPA 1983 (2017) G, EN12278:2007.
They have a number of other uses as well, and are great for making tool straps.
In addition to the climbing line, a split tail and one or two carabiners are also required.The fixed tail climbing method is harder on the climbing line than the split tail method, and will require that the climbing line is shortened periodically as the end wears out.