what knot is your primary climbing hitch?

treevet

may look slick and work slick but you never hear of the shock load of these instruments. never seen the rating of a lard ass climber slipping off a limb and shock loading one or a mini cender by doubling his weight every foot he falls. you know the old fart taught line ain't going any where or gonna fall apart like a dime store watch with springs bouncing all over the ground.

stirmantrees

i will say that any time we introduce more systems into a configuration i wonder if the potential for a mistake/failure increases. thats not to say a new system doesnt make it safer, or an old system does the same.
i have been using a tautline for 15 years or so and it has not failed me yet.
on the other hand i have been considering changing up a little to possibly inhance the performance as i am strong and limited by my equipment to a point.
my brother still ties straight to his saddle. good climber.
i know others with everything under the sun on there belt and , good climber.

probably will just start using the blake. guess im a young/old fart

treevet

It is just what you are comfortable with that enhances a skilled climber. I like some of the new stuff....used to straight footlock with no safety, then added a prussic cord, then changed to a double minicender, now have a Ascentree and 2 pantins.

As for rigging stuff, I have tried anything new right out of the intro. I love to rig stuff. I may have owned the first bollard and have some antique blocks.

(WLL)

if your are falling more than a foot or 2 your are f-n up. always keep atleast one of the two lines snug. a swing maybe but not a fall. imo if the tightline was a more user frendily hitch you would advance it without thought, the dang knot sucks period! art self tails all by itself, there is one spring on the spider and if it were to fall of it is no big deal. built like a rock, smooth as ice

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Harder than theTH, and his pack of goons

stirmantrees

treevet

A fall is not always planned ....hence fall arrest systems.

One of 2 lines snug????? You only need 2 attachments when making a cut.

Hitch is plenty user friendly if you use it all the time. Dumb asses are always complaining bout the hitch seizing up. If you set (sit it) too tight it is gonna seize up. Along with a mini pulley it can be advanced with one hand easily.

It was a better hitch with manilla line but works fine for the individual with plenty experience using it.

Lots of people think they are better climbers on forums just because they use a newer system. Not true.

spidermike

calm down think i hit a nerve still tie straight to my ds want to get a little faster and safer how do you make the flying spider thing

(WLL)

I DONT THINK THE WHOLE ABOVE STATEMENT IS TRUE, AT ALL.MOST TOP CLIMBERS JUST THINK THEY ARE BETTER THAN THE REST, BUT HAVE HARDLY WORKED WITH ENOUGH CLIMBERS TO EVEN SAY THAT CRAP! 99% OF MY CLIMBS ARE REMOVALS & I WORK FOR MANY DIFFERNT COMPANIES ON A REGULAR BASIS,THEY ALL HAVE FULLTIME GOOD CLIMBERS. MOST ARE ALL OLD SCHOOL(TAUTLINES -N- HALFHITCHES) I HAVE CONVERTED A FEW BUT MOST ARE AFRAID OF CHANGE.
HOPE I DONT RUBOFF AS A YOUNG PUNK TO YA. THE CAPS ARE CAUSE I STINK ON THE COMP. BET YOUR AZZ IM A BETTA CLIMBER THAN YOU WITH A MUCH MORE MODERN SMOOTH TECNIQUE, BUT WHO GIVES A RATS AZZ ABOUT WHO IS BETTA, JUST GET THE JOB DONE SAFE AND EFFICIENT I DO RESPECT YOU TREEVET, AND THE MORE I THINK ABOUT IT I DONT EVEN KNOW WHAT IM GETTIN AT. ILL JUST END IT HERE !

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Harder than theTH, and his pack of goons

(WLL)

the spiderjack is all mechanical. no rope involved, thread in your climbline and go. im prolly in the top worst posters typers computer guys at the world, but others are very good and also use this type of set-up. hopfuly they can finish up what i started, if not i will help you the best that i can

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Harder than theTH, and his pack of goons

Apocalypsse

This one I just tried on my spare prussick/pulley. Seems to work alright but when descending the knot shifts so it doesnt bite on the rope leaving you constantly going down. Gonna have to work it some more.

treevet

Now who is to calm down......and what post did you make that hit a nerve.....and whose nerve????

(WLL)

put another wrap, take one off just keep massn with it. if ya dont like it there is always the good ol blakes

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Harder than theTH, and his pack of goons

treevet

Your part or mine or both?

Why you sayin it then?

Hardly a way to judge a top climber (on spikes).

Why do you keep saying they are "afraid of change"? Obviously they have an opportunity to see your set up and how it works and choose to stay with what they like. I have worked with hundreds of climbers over the years. The taughtline is the predominant hitch but then I rarely have worked with the younger climbers that started with alternatives.

No man, just standing up for change (didn't someone just become pres on that platform?). Change is interesting and sometimes good, bad, or just different. I am going with different here.

stirmantrees

good dialogue. lots of passion. i have a feeling both of you are excellent climbers.

(WLL)

the switch over may stink, but once you get some time on it, it becomes much easier/better. a setup like this will give you more options. options are good, no? A setup like this is also very adjustable so you can set it up exactly how you like.

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Harder than theTH, and his pack of goons

treevet

How bout going up in the tree with a camera and showing us some of the options you feel you have over other systems (no spikes of course)? Still picts would be just fine. I generally strap my camera on my ankle in a holster with elastic strap and connected to boot laces with a mini biner.

(WLL)

ill pass. there is plenty of info on the net showing & explaining lots of trix and techniques when using advanced climbing systems. if the advanced climbing setups were not better and more efficient than why do the best competition climbers not using the old plain jane method. the taut-line works but there are much better options. i used the taut-line with true blue fer many years and had it down pat. I'm not talking about stuff i don't understand. its hard to teach old dogs new trix but it can and has been done before. some of the options i have are foot-locking, adjustable false crotches, srt, adjustable friction savers, the list goes on. im never limited from lack of small equipment. I'm great with a throw ball, pole and hand saw. i understand tree biology and know what trees need. I'm a great pruner but find it very boring. removals are my cake

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Harder than theTH, and his pack of goons

Garry Brockley

i love take downs but i really love to look back at a tree i have pruned and think yeah that looks good its now got the potential to become a great tree instead of an average tree.

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Therrin

Well yeah, they're more of a rush. And inherently more "easy", not speaking of technique, but moreso as you mentioned, in terms of having to know about tree biology and such. I'm pretty certain that most home-taught tree boys start off their careers doing takedowns, then move up as they actually learn what they're supposed to know.

stirmantrees

could you elaborate?

treevet

I think it means he spikes most of the time (99% I think) so no need for hip thrusting.

treevet

Quite humble as well

(WLL)

i started with all prunes and did the occasional removal. i worked for the x Isa. pres. Mr. Al Cherry, as his Foreman for a couple years. the first handful of tree care jobs were all very reputable companies. the focus was the care and preservation of older trees. my first year of climbing my saddle was the old leg choker, lanyard was 3strand pretzel knot tied directly threw the d-ring, and the traditional 3strand climbline wit a long tail bowline on the steel rope snap, completed with a taut-line friction hitch. i was never a self/ home-taught climber. i went in with a open mind wanting to learn. i was not allowed to have a chainsaw fer the first 6 months. spikes were not allowed unless the tree was coming down. i started tree work on the ground at 15 years old for my best friends dads company, working every weekend. Al got me into IPM,PHC, as well as turning me on to lots of other great tree care information. Al is the reason i love trees, he made me want to learn. Ive been learning ever since, with no end in sight Mr Al Cherry is the man! i O him A huge Thanx. i find working fer production hacks pays a lot more than other care based companies. when i go to work its Hammer Time over the years i have developed a fair amount of my own clients. i offer health care only. i do many organic feedings, deadwood, soil amending, aeration, lateral mulching, target spraying, cabling with dynamic & static systems aromatic herb gardens, water gardens, fruit trees, plantings and the list goes on and on. i use bio oils. In time id like to get a bio diesel truck. we are advanced Organic Tree Health Care Co. family owned and operated. this is just part time for us, but when things pick up, working as a subs or an employee becomes part-time for us. the family shares ownership within the company so we all work very hard and are very detail orientated. we always do a thorough complete job. the truck, chipper, & grinder is owned by all 4 of us. everyone does there part taking good care of the things we have.

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Harder than theTH, and his pack of goons

banner

VT 3 or 4 wraps depends on what the rope likes from day to day......wierd, but true hudimity I guess 8mm beeline eye to eye. Never tried the old style stuff. Just figured evolution was a naturaly good thing most of the time. I guess once you get used to a way and it's been tried and true you just stick with it. Kind of like a wife from the way it sounds....lol

tree MDS

Lol! Aint that the truth.

Truth is the new stuff is pretty cool though, just takes some getting used to.

Good thread boys!

WLL! What up man?? its been a while, hows the iroc, lol.

Apocalypsse

Blakes is meh, got 2 ready made prussik loops if things go sideways. Tried this one again today on actual climbing, didnt wanna descend at the start but I must have twisted it somehow and it started working perfectly. Heaps easier ascending with it, saves my shoulders big time.

mikegar

i like to use the VT along with a fairlead pulley i ocasionally switch it up and use the blakes hitch varing up how many wraps i use. ive regularly used only two wraps when ascending to cut down on knot tying time untill i get to my tip then i switch up to three wraps.

(WLL)

how much time do you save on your 2 turn blakes mike? welcome to TReEwOrLD

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Harder than theTH, and his pack of goons

mikegar

well i actually probably only save a second or two. just wanted to sound like i knew what i was talking about and that there was rhyme to my reason. thanks for the welcome.

Martin

Started with the tautline but have since gone with the VT. So far I love it but the only problem is it twists my nice tachyon. I'm thinking about trying out the distel. Any comments?