Friction hitches for climbing lines

(WLL) · 5th March 2009, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlashD

I tried a tautline hitch once, just to compare it to the blakes. The rope I was using was arbor-plex which I can't say I'm fond of, but after that experience, I will never tie a tautline to climb on again.
We do use them a lot for adjustable cabling systems though. Work great in that application.

what do you mean? please explain, you tension the cable with it? are you using soft cable or dynamic, maybe both?

FlashD · 5th March 2009, 02:49 PM

We do this on trees with large cracks that the HO's are too cheap or foolish to have removed. Essentailly, we put bolts in the tree, then run a high strength line through the eyes of the bolts. Then we use a set of fiddle blocks and slings set higher in the tree to pull the tree back together as much as possible. With tension on the fiddle blocks, we go back down and tie a tautline hitch in the line we're using to hold the tree together (so basically there is a big adjustable loop from one lead to another), then let the load off the fiddle blocks. Then we bolt together the base where the crack is and wait for the HO to call us to cut the tree off the roof of their house.

So far, we haven't recieved any calls, so they must all be holding up pretty good.

(WLL) · 5th March 2009, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlashD

We do this on trees with large cracks that the HO's are too cheap or foolish to have removed. Essentailly, we put bolts in the tree, then run a high strength line through the eyes of the bolts. Then we use a set of fiddle blocks and slings set higher in the tree to pull the tree back together as much as possible. With tension on the fiddle blocks, we go back down and tie a tautline hitch in the line we're using to hold the tree together (so basically there is a big adjustable loop from one lead to another), then let the load off the fiddle blocks. Then we bolt together the base where the crack is and wait for the HO to call us to cut the tree off the roof of their house.

So far, we haven't recieved any calls, so they must all be holding up pretty good.

(WLL) · 11th March 2009, 05:24 AM

ditch the hitch and get the spider jack 2

FlashD · 11th March 2009, 02:34 PM

I've seen the lockjack used, they're pretty nice.
I think I'll stick with my $3.20 of HRC vs. $300 for a spiderjack.

It's a lot cheaper to replace if the need arises.

newguy18 · 11th March 2009, 03:05 PM

So is my climbline,i need to buy a new one,about 200' long.

jim1nz · 12th March 2009, 05:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by letigre

yeah wll i also played around with the distel. backwards it runs much smoother. we called it the young distel. ie slicker and faster and just generally better

. also did some dead wooding in a big e. saligna today. played around with a few different configs of the vt. varied success. 3 turns and 2 tresses seems to run better than the other configs. twists less. gonna muck around with the length i think. cheers jim. will let you guys know if i find a perfect config.

Took me 3 years to get the right config, hitch has been excellent for the past 2 years, well worth getting it exactly right for me. I have different lengths for 8mm and 10mm but the more time you spend on the VT the better youll better understand how to get it exactly right for your personal style.

MTS247 · 12th March 2009, 07:06 PM

Can anyone tell me, whats the advantage of using the climbing system that uses the pully with 3 attachment points and 2 smaller biners. lots of climbers are using it, i'v tryed it and i just cant find the advantage. am i missing somthing?

Is it just that it holds the pully still

(WLL) · 13th March 2009, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MTS247

Can anyone tell me, whats the advantage of using the climbing system that uses the pully with 3 attachment points and 2 smaller biners. lots of climbers are using it, i'v tryed it and i just cant find the advantage. am i missing somthing?

Is it just that it holds the pully still

IMO its a way to complicate an old simple set-up. i dont see anything but disadvantages, but what the heck do i know.

newguy18 · 13th March 2009, 02:25 PM

I don't even use a friction saver,let alone the rope guide.Just more potential failure points in the system.

letigre · 13th March 2009, 10:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MTS247

Can anyone tell me, whats the advantage of using the climbing system that uses the pully with 3 attachment points and 2 smaller biners. lots of climbers are using it, i'v tryed it and i just cant find the advantage. am i missing somthing?

Is it just that it holds the pully still

i assume your talking about my next purchase, a hitch climber pulley. a dmm product which was developed with strasser himself. apart from the obvious advantage that it is a much tighter compact unit than any other pulley designed for that prussick config (that i am aware of) with a better pulley wheel, the third hole can be used for extendable bridges, aerial rescue purposes, gear storage and numerous other examples i cant think of right now.

damn good piece of climbing hardware. ive got a cmi double eyed 'mouse' pulley and it pales in comparison.

oh and i didnt mention its rigging capabilities

letigre · 13th March 2009, 11:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by letigre

nice martin! steve sillett had a similar grapple for traversing in redwoods. love to give it a go.

apologies. just been informed steve sillett uses a device nothing like a grapple hook. ive been given no clues to what he might use but it cant be a throwline because how would you get it back to yourself? any info would be appreciated. interesting stuff

(WLL) · 14th March 2009, 02:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by letigre

i assume your talking about my next purchase, a hitch climber pulley. a dmm product which was developed with strasser himself. apart from the obvious advantage that it is a much tighter compact unit than any other pulley designed for that prussick config (that i am aware of) with a better pulley wheel, the third hole can be used for extendable bridges, aerial rescue purposes, gear storage and numerous other examples i cant think of right now.

damn good piece of climbing hardware. ive got a cmi double eyed 'mouse' pulley and it pales in comparison.

oh and i didnt mention its rigging capabilities

this is as compact as it gets, Ive been on this fer the past 8 years. rigging and climbing should be kept separate. i agree it has some good rigging capabilities, such as a cradled zip line.there are many things that can be done with the pully. i paid 25 bucks fer mine but it just sits and sits. the hitch climber is not a tool i like to use for my climbing setup but its there if i want ta use it.

jim1nz · 14th March 2009, 07:15 AM

The hitch climber is great, for sure it wont climb the tree for you but it provides options for good climbers to utilize. Its not complicated at all. If you really want to know the advantages then go to the treemagineers website.

rbtree · 15th March 2009, 01:13 PM

I've had my hitch climber for nearly two years. It's great. allows many options. Super for self advancing your hitch with an extendable bridge.

Cary Gibson · 15th August 2009, 11:57 PM

Okay, I climb with a blakes...after I footlock in, I dyna-climb with this system.

How do you guys advance the VT or distel???

you can't advance it from underneath like a spit-tail, so how do you get rid of the slack?

do you guys work with this vt system? or just climb with it then switch to a split tail?

thanks.
Cary

MTS247 · 17th August 2009, 07:13 PM

Both hands as high as they will go then pull down

Then hold your self up with left hand and pull slack through from just below the pully with the right hand.

Once you get high enough the weight of the rope should pull the slack through.

You can also get a groundy to pull the slack through for you.

Most climbers find it dificult to change after using prussic loop. because its a diferent action.

kiwi_tree_steve · 17th August 2009, 09:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by newguy18

I don't even use a friction saver,let alone the rope guide.Just more potential failure points in the system.

Cole · 17th August 2009, 10:12 PM

i use the VT 90% of the time i brought a lock jack but think i will keep it using the VT for Tree Care.
i use blue tounge warped ocean polyester with the DMM hitch climber and petzl swivel i find it works really good with the ART rope guide i use 4 wraps on top then 3 sets of criss cross with ocean polyester, and i use two wraps and one criss cross with 8mm bee-line. i find that the 8mm ocean polyester decends better and "opens" up if you might say faster than 8mm bee-line. use the micrograb and ART positioner for lanyards depending on the lanyard etc. i found that the sometimes on the lock jack, small think branches and leaves etc can set of the toggle and decend without warning, FAST. ive just started using the swivel and so far are quite happy with it. to tie it all of i use two ISC bronco biners using petzl rings on my TM.

Cary Gibson · 17th August 2009, 11:10 PM

so? when up in the canopy, is there more than enuff rope-weight to hand over hand the incoming rope, say on a limbwalk? and how does this compare with sing a Blake's for the same purpose?

Cary

Cole · 17th August 2009, 11:25 PM

not on a VT on the lockjack yes after about 5-6 meters of rope has passed through it will just pass through but the the VT you will always have to have it tendered with a mico pully and yes you will always have to pull it through you can foot lock i guess to pull it through i use the petzl pantin foot acender makes light work of it

(WLL) · 21st August 2009, 12:40 PM

HOWDY ALL

LONG TIME NO POST!!! I like the hitch climber for lowering a saw or even a rescue situation, but after switching to the spiderj2, every hitch climbing tool just sits in the bag and collects dust. i love the spj2 and hope one day they will incorporate a small pulley for doing trix like the hitch climber is capable of

and wish they come-up with a better design then the cheap velcro, when used with the rg hand over hand is a snap

Pat h · 27th September 2009, 03:17 PM

Hi

Once red article where throw weight was sling shot into next tree. Then cross bow with specialised 4pronged tethered arrow is fired to snag throw line which is hanging down vertically thus retrieving sling shot line. second line is pulled threw and transverse is set up.

This was used by a canopy research group.

letigre · 28th September 2009, 01:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pat h

Hi

Once red article where throw weight was sling shot into next tree. Then cross bow with specialised 4pronged tethered arrow is fired to snag throw line which is hanging down vertically thus retrieving sling shot line. second line is pulled threw and transverse is set up.

This was used by a canopy research group.

wow that sounds like itd work can you remember where you saw it? been thinking about getting a branch hook made up for smaller stuff but that sounds like the go for redwoods and such.

TrevMcRev · 28th September 2009, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by letigre

wow that sounds like itd work can you remember where you saw it? been thinking about getting a branch hook made up for smaller stuff but that sounds like the go for redwoods and such.

Hey tiger, wanna retrieve a throwline to set a traverse???

Here's how dude!

YouTube - Tree-to-tree SRT traverse

Pat h · 29th September 2009, 11:11 AM

Awsome

I really like that foot sling shot. Is it your own inovation?

Could you direct me to the supplier of the mini grapple. I would really like to master this line retreavle technique.

Thanks for the video.

Cheers

spidermike · 1st October 2009, 02:50 PM

started useing the blake hitch this week thank u all i love it spidermikes got a new web lol

newguy18 · 3rd October 2009, 04:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kiwi_tree_steve

something wrong with that?

kiwi_tree_steve · 3rd October 2009, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by newguy18

something wrong with that?

Friction saver ...................................also known as Cambium saver!

Cole · 4th October 2009, 08:16 PM

hey kiwi are you serious when you say that you do not use cambium saver or rope guide because you consider it one more thing to fail in your system

5th March 2009, 02:49 PM	#122
FlashD Semi-mature vigorous tree Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Kansas Posts: 213	Re: Friction hitches for climbing lines We do this on trees with large cracks that the HO's are too cheap or foolish to have removed. Essentailly, we put bolts in the tree, then run a high strength line through the eyes of the bolts. Then we use a set of fiddle blocks and slings set higher in the tree to pull the tree back together as much as possible. With tension on the fiddle blocks, we go back down and tie a tautline hitch in the line we're using to hold the tree together (so basically there is a big adjustable loop from one lead to another), then let the load off the fiddle blocks. Then we bolt together the base where the crack is and wait for the HO to call us to cut the tree off the roof of their house. So far, we haven't recieved any calls, so they must all be holding up pretty good.

11th March 2009, 05:24 AM	#124
(WLL) Semi-mature vigorous tree Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: pa Posts: 240	Re: Friction hitches for climbing lines ditch the hitch and get the spider jack 2

11th March 2009, 02:34 PM	#125
FlashD Semi-mature vigorous tree Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Kansas Posts: 213	Re: Friction hitches for climbing lines I've seen the lockjack used, they're pretty nice. I think I'll stick with my $3.20 of HRC vs. $300 for a spiderjack. It's a lot cheaper to replace if the need arises.

11th March 2009, 03:05 PM	#126
newguy18 Part of the Furniture Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: orlando,fl Posts: 4,977	Re: Friction hitches for climbing lines So is my climbline,i need to buy a new one,about 200' long. __________________ Have your say join us today. old schooler

12th March 2009, 07:06 PM	#128
MTS247 Semi-mature vigorous tree Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Australia Posts: 218	Re: Friction hitches for climbing lines Can anyone tell me, whats the advantage of using the climbing system that uses the pully with 3 attachment points and 2 smaller biners. lots of climbers are using it, i'v tryed it and i just cant find the advantage. am i missing somthing? Is it just that it holds the pully still

13th March 2009, 02:25 PM	#130
newguy18 Part of the Furniture Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: orlando,fl Posts: 4,977	Re: Friction hitches for climbing lines I don't even use a friction saver,let alone the rope guide.Just more potential failure points in the system. __________________ Have your say join us today. old schooler

14th March 2009, 07:15 AM	#134
jim1nz Mature tree Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: International, Germany Posts: 476	Re: Friction hitches for climbing lines The hitch climber is great, for sure it wont climb the tree for you but it provides options for good climbers to utilize. Its not complicated at all. If you really want to know the advantages then go to the treemagineers website. __________________ SPEED ALWAYS FOLLOWS TECHNIQUE

15th March 2009, 01:13 PM	#135
rbtree Mature tree Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Seattle, Wa. US of Eh Posts: 408	Re: Friction hitches for climbing lines I've had my hitch climber for nearly two years. It's great. allows many options. Super for self advancing your hitch with an extendable bridge. __________________ http://www.??????.com/photos/rbtree

15th August 2009, 11:57 PM	#136
Cary Gibson Sappling Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 9	Re: Friction hitches for climbing lines Okay, I climb with a blakes...after I footlock in, I dyna-climb with this system. How do you guys advance the VT or distel??? you can't advance it from underneath like a spit-tail, so how do you get rid of the slack? do you guys work with this vt system? or just climb with it then switch to a split tail? thanks. Cary

17th August 2009, 07:13 PM	#137
MTS247 Semi-mature vigorous tree Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Australia Posts: 218	Re: Friction hitches for climbing lines Both hands as high as they will go then pull down Then hold your self up with left hand and pull slack through from just below the pully with the right hand. Once you get high enough the weight of the rope should pull the slack through. You can also get a groundy to pull the slack through for you. Most climbers find it dificult to change after using prussic loop. because its a diferent action.

17th August 2009, 10:12 PM	#139
Cole Semi-mature vigorous tree Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Canberra Posts: 215	Re: Friction hitches for climbing lines i use the VT 90% of the time i brought a lock jack but think i will keep it using the VT for Tree Care. i use blue tounge warped ocean polyester with the DMM hitch climber and petzl swivel i find it works really good with the ART rope guide i use 4 wraps on top then 3 sets of criss cross with ocean polyester, and i use two wraps and one criss cross with 8mm bee-line. i find that the 8mm ocean polyester decends better and "opens" up if you might say faster than 8mm bee-line. use the micrograb and ART positioner for lanyards depending on the lanyard etc. i found that the sometimes on the lock jack, small think branches and leaves etc can set of the toggle and decend without warning, FAST. ive just started using the swivel and so far are quite happy with it. to tie it all of i use two ISC bronco biners using petzl rings on my TM.

17th August 2009, 11:10 PM	#140
Cary Gibson Sappling Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 9	Re: Friction hitches for climbing lines so? when up in the canopy, is there more than enuff rope-weight to hand over hand the incoming rope, say on a limbwalk? and how does this compare with sing a Blake's for the same purpose? Cary

17th August 2009, 11:25 PM	#141
Cole Semi-mature vigorous tree Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Canberra Posts: 215	Re: Friction hitches for climbing lines not on a VT on the lockjack yes after about 5-6 meters of rope has passed through it will just pass through but the the VT you will always have to have it tendered with a mico pully and yes you will always have to pull it through you can foot lock i guess to pull it through i use the petzl pantin foot acender makes light work of it

21st August 2009, 12:40 PM	#142
(WLL) Semi-mature vigorous tree Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: pa Posts: 240	Re: Friction hitches for climbing lines HOWDY ALL LONG TIME NO POST!!! I like the hitch climber for lowering a saw or even a rescue situation, but after switching to the spiderj2, every hitch climbing tool just sits in the bag and collects dust. i love the spj2 and hope one day they will incorporate a small pulley for doing trix like the hitch climber is capable of and wish they come-up with a better design then the cheap velcro, when used with the rg hand over hand is a snap __________________ Harder than theTH, and his pack of goons

27th September 2009, 03:17 PM	#143
Pat h Sappling Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: C.T. U S A Posts: 14	Transversing tree to tree Hi Once red article where throw weight was sling shot into next tree. Then cross bow with specialised 4pronged tethered arrow is fired to snag throw line which is hanging down vertically thus retrieving sling shot line. second line is pulled threw and transverse is set up. This was used by a canopy research group.

29th September 2009, 11:11 AM	#146
Pat h Sappling Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: C.T. U S A Posts: 14	Re: traverse throw line set retreve Awsome I really like that foot sling shot. Is it your own inovation? Could you direct me to the supplier of the mini grapple. I would really like to master this line retreavle technique. Thanks for the video. Cheers

1st October 2009, 02:50 PM	#147
spidermike Sappling Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: indiana Posts: 19	Re: Friction hitches for climbing lines started useing the blake hitch this week thank u all i love it spidermikes got a new web lol

4th October 2009, 08:16 PM	#150
Cole Semi-mature vigorous tree Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Canberra Posts: 215	Re: Friction hitches for climbing lines hey kiwi are you serious when you say that you do not use cambium saver or rope guide because you consider it one more thing to fail in your system

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