Hobbs or GRCS or other

[bob]

i was in exactly the same situation yes no yes no

bit the bullet and grcs here we go

never looked back would buy another tomorrow has paid for itself but better than that it opens up new ways to do jobs and ends up saving time effort and often leads to safer working practices

if you got a hobbs you would probably regret it and a grcs and a hobbs would be a bigger bill to swallow

you know you want one get one or even 2

[Lee Winger]

i'll get one for the first big TD that requires one, i'm sure any climber working with me will appreciate it.

[Marc]

Aww mate get a GRCS now! Its freakin awesome!

Don't go penny pinching and cheap out on a hobbs i'm sure it is good, but the grcs is better.

 

Tomorrow i'll try to get some of my pics together, most not very impressive, but it will give you an idea of the winching ability and lowering abilities of a grcs.

 

I always thought they were expensive, and that you could use other tools to do the same job, i,e capstans, fiddle blocks and portable winches.

 

I also think that once you are good at utilising tools like fiddle blocks and winches you will just get how good a grcs is, and be able to use it, if that makes sense.

[David Humphries]

This is my non expert opinion, for what its worth.

 

We have had the Hobbs for a couple of years now and have been very impressed.

It's a great tool and is starting to be used here more often than our Capstan, even on smaller stem wood.

 

Recently had the opportunity to have both the Hobbs and GRCS on site to compare.

If you're considering forking out large ammounts of cash, i would recommend the GRCS.

Not wanting to sound crass, but it is truly AWESOME.

Having now compared the two, my main concern with the Hobbs is the diameter of the winch, which is narrower than the GRCS.

Which implies more wraps could be required on the Hobbs.

The GRCS is easier to handle and dress on to the tree, but i feel the Hobbs grip is superior.

It has to be said that i can only base this on limited use of the GRCS and having seen the Volvo drop test.

 

If price is an issue, you would not be dissapointed with the Hobbs though IMO.

[Mike Hill]

I've worked a fair bit with both GRCS and Hobbs.For the rigging of big chunks in a dynamic loading situation the Hobbs is the one for me,the GRCS has better winching capabilities but requires seating into the Tree or will often work loose due to the rubber mounts.

 

The Hobbs will stat put when the load is not directly above the device,somthing the GCRS fails to do.

[Buzz]

For those that are considering one I was in Honey Brothers earlier and enquired on price.

 

Very favourable and worth a call i'd say

[RC0]

The Hobbs will stat put when the load is not directly above the device,somthing the GCRS fails to do.

 

somthing the GCRS fails to do

 

Treebogan

 

What exactly does it do and why do you think that is?

 

You definately have it set up correctly?

 

Thanks

[frans]

sounds like he needs the visor as well as proper mounting tricks & techniques

[Mike Hill]

Treebogan

 

What exactly does it do and why do you think that is?

 

You definately have it set up correctly?

 

Thanks

 

The Hobbs block we used to use had teeth that bit into the Bark.

 

The GCRS does not have teeth and can and does torque on the trunk if the load is not as verticle as possible.

Sure I may not have the "Visor".

If the GCRS had teeth that could be bolted on and off then ok.

Maybe I'm not setting it up correctly.But we will usually cut a block into the trunk to seat the GRCS into and a channel around the Tree for the strap to fit in.

[Marc]

Treebogan, do you not place a pulley above the grcs to ensure the load is always coming from above the device and loading it at the ideal angle?

I can't see how you can torque it round, but I am as yet to try dropping some truly chunky bits on one as yet.

 

Another big plus, is the grcs is self tailing and only requires one groundie to operate the winch, where as i'm led to believe the hobbs requires 2 groundies to operate the winch.