In tree care, we do this for money. The gear we buy better helps us earn our living.
Why on earth would you be cheap in choosing otherwise inexpensive personal gear that better allows you to earn your income?
Now cavers, they're a different bunch. Caving is a hobby and a passion, but generally doesn't earn one a living. Usually, like most hopbbies and sports, quite the opposite. I understand cavers keeping the expenses low, but still, they choose high-end gear because their lives are hanging on it.
Treeguys are married to the friction hitch. I understand this, and I understand why. There's nothing wrong with that as long as it's safe, but
is it? I ask this question because I regularly read
Arboricultural Injuries and Fatalities. Tree climbers fall out of trees, and if we're all climbing on friction hitches, there's a chance that the friction hitch is the cause, whether be it from excessive wear, poorly tuned, wrong diameter, wet rope or who knows.
In the last 5 or 6 years on these arborist forums, there have been hundreds of threads on friction hitches. Even after the learning curve, many guys can still not get the footlocking down properly and try to improve their performance with, what? A foot ascender. Even with this modest improvement, the ascent is still 2:1, friction in two places and unavoidable slack in the system.
Even the advanced hitches, still 2:1, but yes, they perform better. You have added a tress cord, micropulley, dog snap and caribiner. Now you're at a cost at or beyond a set of dual ascenders, more complication, more parts, a cord that wears, performs differently on different diameter rope, wet ropes, diameters of limbs and so on.
Just a tress cord alone can cost more than a simple device. I just bought an ATC XP for the next few upcoming posts at $22.50 . Here's an upper-end tress cord, without the micropulley, leash or biner:
