Notch portawrap or Stein RC1000/ RC2000

[AHPP]

I rigged for years on hairy three strand. Still comes out on most jobs for a tagline, driftline, buttline etc, if not principal rigs. I often use it to flop something down and then pass it onto the main system (usually Hobbs). There are tricks to make friction quick and relatively repeatable up in the tree. I like it.

 

Portawraps are mint (begging the question why I still don't own one - someone sell me a small one please). Mainly like them for pulling/lifting stuff with a truck and being able to let it off. I used one to do a poplar the other day, the base of which was so tightly crammed between sheds that the Hobbs would have been a pain to use. Bollard wouldn't have been any better but would have been heavier to carry from the van and harder to strap.

 

I'd rather have a portawrap than a fixed bollard used by a less skilled rigger. A bloke nearly killed me twice because he couldn't strap a bollard tightly enough and the wraps tipped onto themselves and held a piece that needed to run, twice. You can't balls up a portawrap as easily.

[Dan Maynard]

Just wait a couple of years, they’ll rebrand it as
“Dempsey’s textured, ribbed, friction-inducing all in one lowering facilitator” and charge $500 for it.
Or ‘Thanos’s Bootlace’ so it doesn’t sound like a condom.
The kids will be all over it, with one of these and a modded 200t they’ll be all over Instagram with slo-mo vids and a grime music backing track.
 
You just have to be ahead of the curve.

This was tucked in the back of my mind, if polyprop is good enough for Graham should be good enough for anybody. Not that I've taken this advice myself.

Love the way he pulls out his small saw to cut these branches and it's a 461.

[Mick Dempsey]

2 minutes ago, Dan Maynard said:

This was tucked in the back of my mind, if polyprop is good enough for Graham should be good enough for anybody. Not that I've taken this advice myself.

Love the way he pulls out his small saw to cut these branches and it's a 461.
 

Seen that, very good, but IMO should show more inventiveness with the locking off.

[Pete Mctree]

I melt loads of polyprop every year. Lots of natural crotch rigging, pulling stems over and generally abusing. At approx £85 for 220m of 14mm it is relatively disposable & saves my decent ropes for when I need them.

[john87]

3 hours ago, AHPP said:

I'd rather have a portawrap than a fixed bollard used by a less skilled rigger. A bloke nearly killed me twice because he couldn't strap a bollard tightly enough and the wraps tipped onto themselves and held a piece that needed to run, twice. You can't balls up a portawrap as easily.

That would be me then!!!

Would you go for a "proper" portawrap of one of the Stein versions??

 

john..

[john87]

13 hours ago, IronMike said:

I’ve no experience of it myself, but noticed this little set up when ordering off Chris Forestry yesterday……

 

https://www.chrisforestry.co.uk/store/Tree-Runner-Rigging-Bollard-P-500-Kit-p371965020

That does look like a very nice set, i must say..

 

john..

[AHPP]

12 minutes ago, john87 said:

That would be me then!!!

Would you go for a "proper" portawrap of one of the Stein versions??

 

john..

I personally want a small one that I can use for odds and sods, up a tree etc, more like the Notch. If I was buying one to use as my main rigging device, I'd go for the Stein RC1000/2000 because they have the top hanging point that saves you bending over to thread it.

Edited December 8, 2021 by AHPP

[john87]

7 minutes ago, AHPP said:

I personally want a small one that I can use for odds and sods, up a tree etc, more like the Notch. If I was buying one to use as my main rigging device, I'd go for the Stein RC1000/2000 because they have the top hanging point that saves you bending over to thread it.

Thank you very much indeed for your excellent advice.. I was thinking of getting an RC2000 purely as it is compatible with 16mm rope. Now, i doubt very much that i will do anything that requires such a heavy rope, but figured that the rope etc would be more resistant to my ham fisted foul ups... Having said that, a thicker rope would be more difficult to knot, so could i be going backwards there??

 

john.

[AHPP]

My three strand is 16mm. Compared to thinner stuff, it's easier to grip and more resistant to damage from nicks, abrasion etc (with cross section increasing by pi as diameter increases). Still knots fine and is piss easy to splice if that appeals.

Kernmantle or double braid "nice" rope is stronger and just generally nicer for a given diameter but you don't want to ruin it natural crotching or just being a brute. I'd be amazed if you needed 16mm in nice stuff. I do 95% of my rigging on 12mm double braid. 16mm double braid is heavy chunking rope. You wouldn't be asking for advice if you were doing that.

I don't know your use but if I had to guess, I'd say 16mm three strand would look after you pretty well.

[AHPP]

A big steel biner saves tying knots btw.