UKC

Hello everyone, 

I was thinking of getting an edelrid ohm to be able to climb with partners heavier than me without having to anchor myself or clip a sand bag.

Has anyone ever used it?

I know it is good for sport routes/ indoor climbing as you are anchored to the wall by each clip but with Trad routes, I wondered if it would work the same way or would they be a chance of pulling gear of the wall with harsh breaking?

I look forward to your comments.

Thanks

The problem with Ohm is that it requires the protection to be multi-directional... like bolts. 

So let's say that you end up gettin' one and start using it. So the leader places a really good nut in a crack that gets narrower as it goes down. Nut sits in firmly with a bunch of tugging towards the ground. Then the leader climbs onwards and places gear... and falls.

As the Ohm is creating friction on a rope that is travelling up through it... it is also putting an upwards force the the nut... maybe the nbut stays put... or maybe it gets lifted out from the placement (like often people when removing nuts... simply jank on the QD upwards and the not comes flying out)... no more friction on the Ohm... since its now only on the rope.

I also recall that Edelrid has specified that Ohm should only be used with bolts, for this simple reason (bolts are after all multi-/omni-directional... they don't care in which direction the pull is, they are about as strong in all pull directions).

That being said, something like a cam in a good placement can be considered multi-directional... the problem would be the constant rope-movement and the Ohm there to make even more movements... so quite likely the cams could walk in the crack... and either get stuck.... or perhaps move in such a position that it is no longer multi-directional... or load bearing...


So no, I would not get and Ohm for trad... unless you could tie it to a tree-trunk at ground level with sling...

I've thought about this when my partner is belaying me on trad. If there is a good horizontal cam placement I don't see why it wouldn't work just fine, if you're conscious of the forces applied on it in the event of a fall.

Personally, the drag from my rubbish ropework is sufficient friction in the system, and I just climb in a 'leader doesn't fall' mindset when with her anyway, so never bothered.

And after the Ohm has pulled out the piece of gear and is no longer working as a brake, it will then slide down the rope and bash the belayer's hand just when you really want them to be concentrating on holding the rope. An Ohm is heavy, and that can hurt!

As has already been said, they're intended to be used with bolts, where they work very well. They're not suitable for trad. Never mind that they might work in some scenarios (eg an ideally-placed cam) you could never be entirely confident that they wouldn't pull out.  There are other ways to cope with a weight difference, and it's better to be properly prepared rather than to rely on something where there's a strong chance it won't work.

Thank you for your very detailed answer it is very helpful.

My partner is 95kg and I am 55kg...I think I need to up my belay technique instead. 

Anchoring myself tot he ground or to the route with my end of the rope is probably my safest alternative. 

The Ohm definitely not a piece of gear I will use for trad. 

Contrary to what the others have said, I do sometimes use the Ohm for trad, but only if I know that I can ensure that the first piece of gear is capable of handling a multi directional pull (2 nuts in great placements equalised either side of a constriction so they pull each other together, or a thread, I wouldn't regard a cam as sufficient in this role).

I would generally prefer to use a ground anchor of some variety to protect my second but the ohm can provide additional options sometimes so it might get popped in the bag if I am climbing somewhere that a ground anchor may be difficult to find with a light partner.

I've been looking at this too as my daughter is catching the climbing bug. I've got the Ohm on order to try out. I've also been reading the article linked below with interest, as it sounds like a direct belay makes it much more likely that a fall will be held. Same issue re positioning gear for an upward pull, but easier to fix this at the belay rather than on the first piece of gear placed. https://www.alpinesavvy.com/blog/belaying-the-leader-with-a-fixed-point-bel... 

fwiw i'd just use a Ohm for Sport. why carry all that extra weight in the hope that you'll get an absolute bomber first placement.  if there's less the 20kg weight difference between you should be able to give a dynamic belay. imho

40kg differential for OP.... I would definitely try my Ohm with that differential. 

www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/123283663/using-the-edelrid-ohm-for-trad

I use the ohm when my nephew belays me. It's an amazing piece of kit. However the number of times I'd have been comfortable leading a trad route using one is very few indeed. I basically always tie him down. But for sport routes it's absolutely invaluable.

I wouldn't fancy using mine for trad. As other have said, it lifts up when activated, so would potentially lift gear out of a placement, then there would be the full force of my/your weight on the bilayer who is less likely to be prepared due to the false confidence given by the ohm.

Granted it'll work on threads and might be fine on some cam placements, but it's pretty heavy by design (to keep it in the inactive position) so wouldn't want to take it on long trad walk ins, only to find non suitable first gear placements.