by chh » May 6, 2013 1:41 pm
The picture from vertical does work, though less reliably if your bobbins are really worn (not enough bend introduced) you can also stick the rope in between the top bobbin and the upper pin, as it is a smaller space than in between the bobbins if they are worn, and there is more distance for leverage, but you have to be vigilant about torquing the body if you take your weight off. FWIW, I put the bobbin on my short cowstail, or even clip my short cowstail to my half round(I use a locker on the short cowstail termination) and then clip the bobbin into that to keep it close. This gives enough space to run a VT clipped to the half round below the device as a safety. I would never descend a free hanging rope (especially a weighted one) on just a VT, though I have descended rope with just the VT when there was opportunity for some physical downclimbing.
For gearheads who want to buy a piece of gear that would potentially be of use in a loaded rope scenario, check out the Singing Tree Rope Wrench. I've used one at work, and the latest version is midline attachable, which wasn't the case with previous incarnations. This tool works very similarly in concept to using a bobbin and VT to descend a weighted rope.
Your words of caution are no match for my disaster style!