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		DO NOT CLIMB SOLO! Nothing can make solo climbing safe.

		If you are reading this then you do not have the necessary expertise.

Do not even think about learning anything about anything from an internet web site.

Technical Details

I acquired this Taylor Prusik Comealong from Russell Norton in 2026.

There were at least two sizes of Taylor Prusik Comealongs. This one was made for 9 mm. rope. it is 42 mm. long, 25 mm. wide, 24 mm. high, The central bore is 11.6 m. in diameter. The tapered slot is 8.2 mm. wide at the inner hole and widens to10.3 mm. at the periphery. It weighs 38 g.

There are no markings on my Prusik Comealong.

Comments

The instructions show use the Prusik Comealong placed below a Penberthy Knot connected to a tied seat harness - common back in the day. A shoulder-level carabiner supports/guides the rope above the knot. The rope's fixed end can be below or above the knot as desired.

With the rope below, the Comealong will lift the knot coils as one climbs.

When climbing with the anchor above, one needs to use one hand to remove accumulated slack. This is easily done if the system is tied properly.

It is important to test the system each time it is used. If the Penberthy Knot is loose or has too few coils, it will not hold a fall. If too tight or if there are too many coils, it will jam while climbing.

History

In 2009, Marty Karabin sent me a copy of an ad from an old issue of Summit Magazine (June 1970, p. 32). In the ad, Tommy Taylor of Bessemer Alabama was selling the "Prusik Comealong." This was a simple device for lifting a Prusik Knot, but neither one of us had seen one, and I didn't pursue the matter at the time.

In 2021, Marty acquired an original Prusik Comealong in an estate sale, and he sent me three pictures. It was time for me to do something, and so the next day I went out to the shop and made two for myself. I recognized that it could be integrated into a climbing system; for example, to make a Frog System using knots. For that reason, I classified my Storrick – Taylor Prusik Comealongs as Semimechanical Ascenders and described them as such.

DO NOT CLIMB SOLO! Nothing can make solo climbing safe.