Anyone still climbing with knots these days?

[Mark J]

4 hours ago, parkertrees said:

No marketing bull, I find the SJ saves time up a tree. It self tends so well that you can adjust position quickly before a cut using just one hand. 

 

Lots of little time and effort saving benefits add up over the course of a job.

 

I completely agree that a spider jack wont make you the bollocks of a climber, but if you're already the bollocks, I think it only compliments your abilities.

The only very real issue I have with a Spiderjacks is that its mechanism for release is counter intuitive to people who are used to hitches - so it's important to make sure any potential rescuer knows how the climbers system works. I recently had to help a mate who got a chainsaw bite while dealing with a conny hedge, he self rescued to about six foot off the ground inside the tangly bastard of a hedge, it was somewhat disparaging and mildly worrying to discover that sliding the handle down didn't drop him down from there as expected. We both lived to tell the tale but it's something worth bearing in mind. 

 

[Thesnarlingbadger]

I use a SJ3 and have done for the last couple of years now. Wouldn’t change for anything else. I didn’t really use the ZZ but know a few guys who use them and love them. I went from a  VT to a SJ3 and would not have done it if it wasn’t for me getting nightmare tennis elbow pains and thoughts I’d give it a go. My tennis elbow disappeared quite literally over night and I have only had the odd spout of it since when I do a few days of leggy reduction work. If I have a job that really requires a second line then I just put a VT on that and use it as little as possible. But knots do have a place and are still used daily by me when rigging or felling. I absolutely have a boner for a double bowline as a midline knot for pulling trees over. I’ve never had to struggle to undo that knot and am still to this day flabbergasted I haven’t considering I’ve had to put scaff bars on the winch to get so heavy back learners over.