Cavechat.org

snoboy wrote:Something to be aware of is the potential for the Pro Trax to fail:

http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/threa ... _id=808440

It's not that popular among aid climbers for this reason. Apparently the Mini Trax has a better reputation.

I disagree with your assessment. The accident in your link was caused by human error, not a flaw in the equipment. The mini Traxion is more popular among aid climbers, but this is mostly due to it being half the price and half the weight. I've used the Pro Traxion on many big walls, and it is a superior haul device. The sliding side plate is a great convenience for it's primary function of hauling bags. I'd favor the micro Traxion for cave rescue use since it's efficient, light weight, and doesn't have the rotating side plate.

Extremeophile wrote:I disagree with your assessment. The accident in your link was caused by human error, not a flaw in the equipment.

I agree with Derek. The forum link discussing the accident has some reasonable comments, but there are also a number of people who are really naive in their assumptions. It makes me wonder if they actually read the user guides and really understand how their own gear works and what limitations it has.

Mike, go on line and download the instructions for the Pro Traxion and read them thoroughly.

NZcaver wrote:Mike, go on line and download the instructions for the Pro Traxion and read them thoroughly.

Already done! There's actually more info there than most Petzl Technical Notices.

Extremeophile wrote:I'd favor the micro Traxion for cave rescue use since it's efficient, light weight, and doesn't have the rotating side plate.

I thought the Micro Traxion had a sliding plate as well... how else would you load the rope?

Mike

Yes, it was human error, but I would argue that the design of the device may have contributed to that error. Figured it was a worthwhile incident to bring up in this thread either way.

My comment about the microtrax being preferred came from reading a bunch of hauling threads a few months ago, and seeing a lot of comments about the pro being a POS, and the micro being 'safer'. I probably overstated my interpretation.