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One solution to carry a MinPro which avoids knee bar damage


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After seeing a message thread here about damage to the knee bar while carrying the MiniPro or picking it up I decided to make a better way to carry it.  When I got my MiniPro 2 days ago I noticed the handle came off a couple times when I picked it up.   That was before I found how to tighten the handle latch bolts.  But after that I was somewhat wary of picking up the MiniPro to carry it up stairs or in other situations.   It also seemed to be prone to putting strain on certain points of the handle and having seen the cracks some have experienced like in this thread :Warning to MiniPro users  I came up with a simple solution.   I'm not sure everyone will want to use this but it works well for me.   All you need is a carabiner (one that can handle the weight of the MiniPro) and some 550 paracord.   I'm a big fan of 550 paracord.   You can easily get a 100 feet of 550 for under $10.   You will only need a few feet for this and I would suggest a mountain climbing carabiner which you can pick up as cheap as $5 or so on eBay.   

I tied a double bight eight loop on each end of the paracord.  You can google those knots or get the excellent android app called Knots 3D which walks you through tying knots with slow motion 3d graphics.   You can use other knots for your end loops but this one is very secure.   After the loops are tied the overall length of my paracord is about 2 feet.   Very compact and easy to carry it in a pocket or backpack.   The carabiner can be clipped to your belt loop or belt when you aren't using it or throw the whole deal in a pocket or backpack.   You put the two end loops onto the carabiner then just flip the midpoint of the hanging paracord over and under the front of the knee bar where it attaches into the base of the MiniPro.  Pick it up with your hand through the carabiner while you put your other hand on the upper part of the bar so it doesn't want to flip over and it's a very easy carry situation.  You could do all this with a loop of paracord alone but it would be a bit harder on your hand.   

If you get the length of the loop just right you can also pick up the MiniPro with one hand this way.  You just need the loop length so that you can put a finer into the bottom of the pads or get part of your hand around the bar.   You can also of course pick it up (from the back side) and allow the pads to rest against your stomach area which is another way of doing a one handed carry.

carabiner550.JPG

550pickup.jpg

loop.jpg

pickup.jpg

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54 minutes ago, segtrix said:

After seeing a message thread here about damage to the knee bar while carrying the MiniPro or picking it up I decided to make a better way to carry it.  When I got my MiniPro 2 days ago I noticed the handle came off a couple times when I picked it up.   That was before I found how to tighten the handle latch bolts.  But after that I was somewhat wary of picking up the MiniPro to carry it up stairs or in other situations.   It also seemed to be prone to putting strain on certain points of the handle and having seen the cracks some have experienced like in this thread :Warning to MiniPro users  I came up with a simple solution.   I'm not sure everyone will want to use this but it works well for me.   All you need is a carabiner (one that can handle the weight of the MiniPro) and some 550 paracord.   I'm a big fan of 550 paracord.   You can easily get a 100 feet of 550 for under $10.   You will only need a few feet for this and I would suggest a mountain climbing carabiner which you can pick up as cheap as $5 or so on eBay.   

I tied a double bight eight loop on each end of the paracord.  You can google those knots or get the excellent android app called Knots 3D which walks you through tying knots with slow motion 3d graphics.   You can use other knots for your end loops but this one is very secure.   After the loops are tied the overall length of my paracord is about 2 feet.   Very compact and easy to carry it in a pocket or backpack.   The carabiner can be clipped to your belt loop or belt when you aren't using it or throw the whole deal in a pocket or backpack.   You put the two end loops onto the carabiner then just flip the midpoint of the hanging paracord over and under the front of the knee bar where it attaches into the base of the MiniPro.  Pick it up with your hand through the carabiner while you put your other hand on the upper part of the bar so it doesn't want to flip over and it's a very easy carry situation.  You could do all this with a loop of paracord alone but it would be a bit harder on your hand.   

If you get the length of the loop just right you can also pick up the MiniPro with one hand this way.  You just need the loop length so that you can put a finer into the bottom of the pads or get part of your hand around the bar.   You can also of course pick it up (from the back side) and allow the pads to rest against your stomach area which is another way of doing a one handed carry.

carabiner550.JPG

550pickup.jpg

loop.jpg

pickup.jpg

Yes, this is a great idea.

It would also combine very well with this discussion:

 

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Thanks - I didn't see that thread before posting this.   I think either way is better than picking it up by the bar.   I also like the idea of a carry bag.   Thanks for your input on the bags.   I will definitely have to get one of those.   :thumbup:

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11 minutes ago, segtrix said:

Thanks - I didn't see that thread before posting this.   I think either way is better than picking it up by the bar.   I also like the idea of a carry bag.   Thanks for your input on the bags.   I will definitely have to get one of those.   :thumbup:

Yes, the traveling bag has come in handy.

Although, a different bag would be needed for the MiniPlus.

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  • 3 months later...

hi just came across this thread and just got a minipro.

i'm interested in more efficient ways to tote it up stairs since i've got quite a few to climb in my apartment building and while I don't find the minipro especially *heavy*, it's almost ridiculously *awkward* to carry up narrow flights of steps.

i'm intrigued by this solution but have a question:

how does one cut paracord? can you just use any old knife or do you need something special? does it fray at the ends after you cut it?

 

thanks.

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On 25/12/2017 at 11:57 AM, JustinCEO said:

how does one cut paracord? can you just use any old knife or do you need something special? does it fray at the ends after you cut it?

It’s nylon cord so easily cut. Like any nylon cord you can stop it fraying by melting the cut ends or, better still, use a hot knife to cut it - that will seal the ends at the same time.

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