Spiderjackery III (plus two new SJ mods from ART)

[Marc]

Marc have you tried a spiderjack iv notice that you seem to knock it alot?

 

No offence, just trying to keep it real have you ever seen me say its rubbish? I think it is a great tool, what i have a problem with is the idea that this is simply the ultimate tool out there.

 

I consider myself fairly progressive as a climber, for a start i've not seen a ladder in many years SRT is my sole means of access, i do not consider myself backwards or afraid to chuck money at kit if I feel it is going to make my life as a climber more productive and effcient.

 

I think it is important to not under estimate just how good a hitch climber is when utilised well the 2 tools HC and SJ side by side there is little between them both have pro's and cons.

 

So do not get me wrong Spiderjacks are great as are Hitchclimbers it just means we as consumers now have a greater choice of eqaully good yet different products to choose from, happy days.

[Paul Smith]

Do you use SRT to access then switch to Ddrt? If hitches are your preference try a Rope Wrench, you can then work the crown or a unicender.

[Marc]

Do you use SRT to access then switch to Ddrt? If hitches are your preference try a Rope Wrench, you can then work the crown or a unicender.

 

I've dabbled with SRT for work positioning but haven't really got it yet, I almost bought a unicender after climbing with softbankshawk.

If I am deadwooding lots of tall skinny pines then i'll use a rads system for ascent and work positioning although thats a pretty poor SRT positioning system it just makes life quicker only having one line to pull out and no pulley saver.

Another reason i've not been to quick up the SRT for all route is I just do not find climbing that difficult on a Ddrt HC, and i'm kinda waiting to see how it progresses with you pioneers first.

 

Also i hear on the rumour mill that another device like the jacks by another company may! come about but that could be a few years.

[Paul Smith]

Blame Softbankshawks he got me into it!

[joe into trees]

No offence, just trying to keep it real have you ever seen me say its rubbish? I think it is a great tool, what i have a problem with is the idea that this is simply the ultimate tool out there.

 

I consider myself fairly progressive as a climber, for a start i've not seen a ladder in many years SRT is my sole means of access, i do not consider myself backwards or afraid to chuck money at kit if I feel it is going to make my life as a climber more productive and effcient.

 

I think it is important to not under estimate just how good a hitch climber is when utilised well the 2 tools HC and SJ side by side there is little between them both have pro's and cons.

 

So do not get me wrong Spiderjacks are great as are Hitchclimbers it just means we as consumers now have a greater choice of eqaully good yet different products to choose from, happy days.

 

Good call Marc. I'm obviously a big SJ fan, but I'd be the last person to say that it's for everyone, or that it's the 'ultimate tool'. When I started climbing with the SJ, everyone was saying that it was clunky and hard to be smooth and fast with it; and that you couldn't make fast descents, and that there was no way to climb 'against the line'. I have found that, with practice, none of these were a problem... but that's not to say that everything is perfect.

 

Biggest problem, in my opinion, is that the combination of a very low hand position and a specific hand action mean that you can't hold any weight on that arm: all your weight is in the harness. With a hitch, particularly one set reasonably high, you can hold some of your weight with the hand that's holding the rope: makes movement and balance slightly easier.

 

On the flip side, I reckon that the SJ really isn't expensive. With the new one, all the wearable parts are replaceable. I give mine an absolute flogging, and honestly, I go through no more than 2 cams a year. Annual price: about 20 quid. Over a five year period I don't think there's any major price difference to using a spliced hitch setup, if you're climbing fast and go through a hitch a year.

 

Earlier this year, Scott Forrest, Jeremie Thomas and I spent about 3,600km sitting in a car together. Predictably enough, the conversation turned to tree climbing. We wrote down a (fairly) detailed comparison between the hitch, the SJ and the LJ, with diagrams etc... turning it into a PDF and getting it online is on my to-do list somewhere.

 

Take care all

[VEG]

get it done there will be lots of interest in it

[kevin bingham]

A hitch a year! Wow, I use a hitch every 6 weeks or so but they splice up easy and are pretty cheap, maybe less now with the rope wrench. That video was very nicely done Joe, I would like to give it a go one of these days. I think the real issue of the cost is that if I don't end up liking it... One of those things that would be nice to really try out for a spell. If one were to buy it they darn well better like it at that price. You make it real tempting I must say.

[Taupotreeman]

Has anybody yet done a direct comparison between the rope wrench and the SJ? I'd love to hear the for and against argument on that thread.

[DrewB]

do you mean sj with wrench or sj dbrt v wrench srt?

[Taupotreeman]

The Latter Drew. Hadn't considered if the former is possible or even worthwhile. I'd noticed there are several threads related to the benefits of the SJ and a couple more regarding the rope wrench and using it on a working line. I'm keen to see how many people have actually used both and how they got on. I can see the benefits of the rope wrench and that it may be the way forward but to an old horse like me who really hasn't done much SRT stuff I'm also keen on learning more about the SJ and if I would get on better with that. I also have to consider that we could work with both options on our crew and swap between the two to see how we both fair with these new gadgets. It would also be interesting to see what opinions two climbers of differing ages and standards would draw from the two devices. Long winded answer I know and still interested to know if anyone has tried them both back to back.