Rope Wrench feedback

[Paul Smith]

FYI, let me start by saying I weigh about 11st, have done since I was 20. What strength and conditioning I do possess comes solely from tree work over 22 years, although my DNA and attitude probably comes into play also. All-in-all I have what I'd consider very good power-to-weight Ratio for tree climbing.

 

Ive been using a RW (for-pruning) for a couple of days now. Felt a little strange at first, the whole SRt thing really, but then I got the feel of things.

 

After the second tree on day one I couldn't think of a single reason to why I'd ever want to go back to DdRT (doubled rope technique)....I still cant believe I'm actually saying this:confused1:

 

I was always put off SRT for tree work after seeing photos of guys with lots of gear (clutter) that I assumed you needed to make the whole thing work. When in reality you really dont need half of that stuff, just your hitch, the wrench, lanyard and a pantin. These guys, while they probably know their stuff paint a quite negative picture in the tradition of tree work, more likely to scare than convert anyone.

 

Re-direct slings are really handy also, with the line being non-moving you can snap them on anywhere along your route that might give you a better line-angle or potential swing reduction

 

For long ascents a basic frog-walker system is easy to compile by adding a grab and a sling for your foot, along with the stuff you already have. Hang it on the back of your harness for when you need it....but even 20-30ft ascents with a sole pantin on the left foot is still way faster and easier the any DdRT frictionless system that I've ever used....although having a pair of gloves does help a lot when raising you foot/pantin each time.

 

The base-anchor technique obviously has the rescue option and non-required limb isolation with your throw-line. You do get a little extra sit-back which can put some wear on the cambium so thats something to consider depending on what your working on. Also, you can judge exactly how much line (tail) to use relative to a particular tree as the base-anchor can be set anywhere along the length of your line....so you've not got 50ft of line hanging below that you dont need.

 

Limb-walking, in or out, just get on with it, there's nothing to it....grab the rope and tend the slack, find your balance.

 

 

The recent DMM/TM pulley-savers and ART stuff, while very well thought-out and engineered to the highest standard are realistically as good as its gonna get for DdRT....while SRT, for me at least is already way faster and yet still in its infancy.

 

Again, I can only speak relative to my own experiences and climbing ability.

 

My wrench was given to me to trial, I didn't pay for it and otherwise would've been happy enough to carry on never knowing. I reluctantly accepted it only because the guy seemed to know how to put its best points forward. Glad I did, and dont regret not having one earlier as I now have it all to look forward to.

 

Taking nothing away from Morgan Thompsons ingenious unicender, but tree-guys generally feel better with a hitch, they know exactly what to expect....and the simplicity of Kevin's rope-wrench offers that feel and familiarity that we all know.

 

I dont have the quick-release pin yet and am not too bothered for now....its not that difficult to work around. I have yet to do any removals but dont foresee too many sticking points there either. Still early days but my feeling so far is that this device and the technique (SRT) it complements is a huge step forward for better efficiency in comercial tree-climbing

 

Welcome to the dark side Reg! Been using my Unicender for some time now and I won't go back to Ddrt! My body thanks me when I go home at night, no more elbow pains and busting arms. I believe it is the way forward in tree work?

[caorann]

Try RW with spiderjack on 11mm static (I use Yale Kernmaster). Best

combo I've tried, better than Unicender and various hichclimber/cord combos imo.

[Ian Flatters]

This might have been posted in another section but i thought as we are talking about feedback it was a good video to add. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFUXXHNzMJ0]SINGING TREE ROPE WRENCH - Safety Concepts - YouTube[/ame] Im seriously thinking about getting one now tho.

[Dan Curtis]

Unicender has CE approval I believe.

 

It does but they haven't got it on the market yet as the paperwork needs sorting. I think...

[Paul Smith]

Try RW with spiderjack on 11mm static (I use Yale Kernmaster). Best

combo I've tried, better than Unicender and various hichclimber/cord combos imo.

 

It is very good but I think the LJ is slightly better as the tether can fasten directly to the LJ. I may even buy a LJ even though I have a SJ:angry:

[Ian Flatters]

Mulled wine and Arbtalk have got the better of me. I ordered one..... Now has anyone got the link for those pins for the midline attachment.

[RC0]

Very nice post, Reg.

 

Dave

 

I was gonna tell ya soon enough Dave, but am still trying to come to terms with it myself:001_smile: Although I cant believe it only took a couple of one-hour trees to convince me.

 

I'll figure the big-fir stands that we spoke of earlier, it'll be worth it....and the crane stuff, well thats not really climbing anyway, more just being dropped at different points in the tree by the crane. If only it always felt this good to be wrong!

[RC0]

Say if your TIP is on one stem and you are working on another stem maybe some distance away, you get into some difficulty for some reason and your TIP gets compromised by something, if you are tied to that point how do you untie that TIP remotely without having a long tail on your TIP knot? Or, if you are tied at the base of the stem it's still a bit of a faff to pull your line through to re-tie your main line TIP, but I am probably missing something?

 

EDIT: I am not slagging off SRT as I find it very useful, especially now with the RW.

 

Has this ever actually happened to you Carl, where your TiP has been compromised and you've had to quickly re-tie elsewhere? I can only envisage my TIP about to collapse to force such a drastic measure in which case I'd just un-clip and let the whole thing go whether SRT or DdRT.

 

Working on adjacent trees is easily achieved Re-directing via natural or false crotch....very straight forward procedure and the static line means there is obviously no compromise in the performance of the components....unlike DdRT. Regardless, on residential tree work where help is generally at hand down below, there's nothing that can't be pre-planned and overcome within reason....ask for a second line if it comes to that.

 

You can throw any amount of unlikely what-ifs at both techniques, but that doesn't always make for a practical argument i.e. I heard of a climbers tail-end getting bogged down in brush when I was working in Sidney many years ago, no big deal until he hit a bees nest and then couldn't get down because his rope wouldn't budge at the bottom, you don’t need to know the rest....but it wouldn't have happened with SRT no matter if even the chipper was parked on his line. How many DdRT lines have been dragged towards and even through a chipper?....but still not really justifications to discard using DdRT either.

 

My personal reasons for going with SRT is because it makes for way faster and easier access up and around the tree with about half the effort....the rescue option is also invaluable. Period!

 

Why in the world would I want to continue pulling all that line through combined friction savers, hitches, micro-pulleys, redirect pulleys to gain just 1 foot for every pull....when I can otherwise stride a yard at a time and simply slip my hitch up the static line as and when I need, regardless what route I decide to take?

 

Why would I want to carry on using my arms to physically hoist the weight at of my body (Ian's avatar) at a rate of 1 foot per pull/thrust when I can just walk up the dam rope in half the time, for any distance at any given moment?

 

When I put such questions to my self I really have no answer!

 

I remember a time when I didn't need a lowering device or rigging blocks either, because we still got the job done and I never really felt we struggled with anything using the methods and skills relative to the equipment we had. But when I did eventually get into rigging-hardware, the options and productivity made the old ways seem incredibly wasteful, foolish even.

 

Listen, it makes no difference to me whether people get the RWrench or not....I know Kevin a little but I have nothing whatsoever to gain by promoting his product. But the fact remains that the man has changed 22 years of previous habit over the course of just 2 hours, and by far for the better....on a chance happening that I was given the device for free. With that said the very least I can do is share my findings with anyone who might have an interest, might even stretch to buying Kevin a beer one day in the future!

 

Big thankyou to Rich Hattier also for kindly supplying the device in the first place:thumbup1:

Edited December 14, 2011 by RC0

[DrewB]

An easy way to retrieve the anchor point single line is like this, you just work on the big ring side but retrieve the cambium saver as normal. Think this idea comes from Kevin himself.

[atree]

It is very good but I think the LJ is slightly better as the tether can fasten directly to the LJ. I may even buy a LJ even though I have a SJ:angry:

 

Did you ever get a pic of that set-up?