Marc

I agree completely DMC, perhaps my statement was to broad, to be honest I rarely think about it and do whatever I feel comfortable with, although I can't help think that I could do 95% of my cuts with both hands on the saw if I wanted, but I don't I use one hand on the saw an awful lot, I put this down to being simply lazy but I like the way you put it and in actual fact I am being advanced

R Mac I don't think he is ignoring the leg injuries it's just not relevant (well it is as leg injuries are just as much a product of poor saw handling and positioning as the hand injuries) also those stats are from the states? Most user do not wear chainsaw trousers just chaps on occasion and I am sure many do not even wear them. I have met 100's of arborist and cuts to left arm/hand from one handing the saw cut n chuck style seemed to me to be a common injury. I am sure most of us know someone who has cut their arm/hand ?

RMac I believe the picture is of tree work in general most people are right handed or if not still hold the saw in a conventional way meaning most let injuries occur to the left leg that's easy to understand when you look at it like that. But how to explain injuries to the left hand which are very high? Only reasonable assumption is one handed use. I think Mark is spot on for the most part, using a saw one handed is 90% of the time unnecessary and down to laziness I say this because I often one hand myself, not because it's quicker or better it's because I am lazy and not putting myself into a good work position. I also think Reg has valid points, thing is Reg is very competent, in his work videos I rarely see laziness or poor positioning, unlike other videos I have seen posted here where like myself the one handed use is just being lazy and not positioning correctly because it feels quicker which it is not. I am guilty of it and probably will continue to do it but cannot defend myself doing it because I think it's wrong.

Pretty much same as everything else, I'd go for a Timberwolf 230 it's an excellent performer. To be honest though they are all pretty close these days.

Presumably, but that is up for debate as the en standard is not based around tree work, unlike arguably the ansi standard the "other" cougar blue is tested to, and by stretchy it is still essential a static rope and nothing you would want to take a fall on! Personally i think its a crock of **** to call the CE Cougar Blue by that name as it is misleading. Personally you will have to prize the ANSI standard from my cold dead hands, and if someone tries to tell me that its not safe to climb on in this latitude but if I fly across the water then it is safe then so be it. The non CE rope performs how I want it to and is more suited to my application, if rope access can also use no CE rope for climbing then why not our industry?

I have the new DMM shanked Geckos and prefer them over my Carbon Geckos.

The CE stuff is not Cougar Blue only in name and colour. Used Cougar Blue on DdRT and it's just as nice as SRT.

Simple is best, and your rely on kit and knowledge that most have and can implement. Seen some amazingly well thought out rescue ideas recently in pictures either on Instagram or Facebook yet always think that whilst that D4 backed up with a munters and a prussik secured with hand spliced tenex adjustable choker sling with double compound haul system is excellent rope craft and knowledge with an unparraled level of equipment in your kit bag arsenal it is way to complex.

Found this under a Cedar, I don't think it is significant but it would be nice to have an ID

Can't see what could go wrong. https://youtu.be/MJY1kZKN8ts

What you estimate and what I or anyone else would estimate are 2 different things. Don't sell yourself short and price everything with growth in mind, where do you want to be in 5-10-15 years time? No point just scrapping by. I do a lot of my own work on the weekend - friends, family and friends of family in the week i look at it as beer money although I am not doing it for free! I quote for the company I work for in the week the pricing is very different. If I went alone again my pricing would be different based on the above.

We have a set from Saturn in rotation and notice no difference in wear or longevity on our TW230.

So has the 915 arrived yet Dean? And some nice Aluminium mudguards on that machine in the pics above, thought you guys were only fitting plastic mudguards now to stop people standing on them....

I just bought us a Mercedes Citan as a run about quote slash support van with the 1.5dci engine, its basically a Renault Kangoo with a Merc badge cheap as chips to buy very economical and nippy, i doubt it would have trouble tugging a 6" chipper around or a light trailer, you can always specify a sliding side door. We looked at VW and Ford Connect but they are pricey.

Do it and tell me what you think, in the meantime I'll continue to use my shonky techniques, or maybe dig into that pile of unused gear I have for a mallion and try it myself only I seem to spend more time behind a desk than up a tree these days.

So yes Tree Fancier it appears a base tied SRT puts substantially less force than a top tier DdRT, along the lines of what I posted there are lots of variables including more rope to absorb energy also more favourable loading.

Simple and I cannot find fault with it, Petzl have used mallions with their cambium savers, good off axis strength, you could back it up if you wanted to. Why are we not using it then? Basically what's the con- top tie diameter and Prussik length maybe. So why not just mid line knot and connect with a mallion midline.

John I do us redirects, just not often and when I do they are simple natural redirects, choked sling with carabiner or cow hitch with a bight. Having climbed with conventional doubled rope system and a hitch climber for most of my climbing I never struggled for good positioning and used redirects often here to, the good thing with DdRT is the ease of popping out your friction saver and moving it, a HitchClimber also shines with the ability to triangulate or redirect the whole system to the other side of the tree without having to climb up and over. Both systems have merit, and both can be simple or as complex as you like. I personally have quite a collection of gear but have found the longer I climb the less I need and most is now redundant and sits under a workbench gathering dust.

A DMM ring set-up you describe is a solid set-up with the only drawback it's a bit of a faff to set-up, hence why use the pinto set-up.

To lazy, and afraid of becoming a fully paid member of the occult. Joking aside I've seen a lot of the top ties. Maybe my point is show me something easy and robust, something you would teach someone who has never climbed before that cannot be configured wrong and is mid line attachable.

After having met up with some of you on the weekend for another play about with SRT with hopefully a positive step towards making SRT an industry standard one thing that struck me whilst looking at all the different configuration is the lack of what for me is a simple and elegant top tie soloution. I use the pinto and carabiner to me it is secure with very few drawbacks other than retrieval if you have to pull through/over branches. The negatives being we are configuring a piece of hardware in a way it is not designed to be used, if you capture the working leg in the carabiner also you are backing up the pinto only a carabiner is not ideal in a choked configuration. I also like knot blocking using a cambium saver, with this you are using a product designed as a top anchor with rings albeit not in a configuration it was intended, the advantages are it retrieves more easily over a choked pinto. It's negatives are, it's not midline attachable (unless you bodge something together like I have) and if you are moving back to your tie in point the weight of the rope can cause large amounts of slack in your system- there are soloution a to this like using a quick release clamp to stop the line falling through but it is not particularly robust in my opinion although I would happily use it. The best soloution I saw was using some kind of Mallion or shackle as a top tie, only there is nothing particularly ideal at present that I have seen. Any thoughts on a good simple robust retrievable top tie?

Old Mill covers the basics principals of it, it is as simple as a base anchor doubles the load. There are just so many variables and other points to consider, one being how the force is applied, whilst ascending you are compressing which is more favourable, as you move out you begin to apply lateral force only the force is reduced if your still base anchored due to deflection so you no longer apply 2 times the load. If installing from the ground you can ensure your line is deflected this will also spread/share the loads through deflection. On Friday I climbed a very drawn leaning Oak I kept my base anchor to work off base tying to a tree further back reducing the load on my anchor and had my rope taking half wraps around limbs ensuring friction/tension as when you move and let slack into your system it can sag which can be a pain when working on a base tie when wanting to weight your system again as the slack can drop down to your base tie without you the climber realising. Most of the time I top tie, not to reduce forces just to prevent all that unwanted sag and movement and so as to not have support/load bearing leg of my line on another part of the crown. I climb very simple with few gadgets, do not use fancy redirects, I base tie with a running bowline (or snake anchor) then top tie for work and use a hitch with rope wrench nothing else. It's that simple, much like a Prussik and cambium saver.

No boot comes with chainsaw protection worth a damn after a few months use, my opinion of most chainsaw protection but that's another topic. The Andrews look a good boot a few of the guy have them here and rate them.

Your tether will also play a part, but I like Oval shape anything by Petzl and Rock Exotica, not a fan of DMM carabiners, I like pretty much everything else they make though.

I have seen a gradual change in that, when the first foreign labourers came over they were the pioneers they recognised what their hard work bought them and worked accordingly. Now some have bought over their mates and this second generation are not as good, and some of the agencies pull in the lazy ones off the street and punt them over here to make a percentage. Of course this is a sweeping statement and not true for all. The idea that foreign labourers are cheap is not true either, we recently approached and agency the cost for 2 skilled labourers for tree planting was £250 a day and we are to provide accommodation and transport. We have foreign employees and they are paid no different from our U.K. Staff. Personally I do not care where your from as long as the works done how we want it, on time and within budget.