Marc

How is the RW close to your face? and it is a design that can and is always getting improved, there is also room for other types of srt work positioning ools just like in drt. SRT for tree work is not new it's been around for several years its just that drt works so well.

I know what you mean, and I think you hit the nail on the head moving to a new device can renew you enthusiasm and force you to make changes which will improve your technique which is no bad thing. For balance though I,ll always champion the hitch.

I would of stuck with a Hitch and put my money towards a better fitting harness. A sj, lj, rw or hitch makes no difference it's you not so much the kit that counts. It still boggles my mind that it's a belief that moving to a sj is a step up in performance. The step in performance comes from you! I got to admit though the new improvements to the sj really make me tempted to get one, but alas I need to put my money elsewhere nearly all my kit is looking tired these days.

Sorry I was not implying you had that attitude, and yeah I,d be interested in how well the wellies fair as the protection in them seems as thick as normal ballistics.

Your feet must be a wreck, I,d only consider wellies if I was working on boggy ground, good foot wear is vital lets face it your going to be in your work boots more than any other footwear so it's worth the investment. Never think to yourself that wellies offer higher protection so there by your safer it's the wrong attitude and one that will lead to an accident. The amount of cutters I see with chainsaw scars on their toe caps and stitched together ballistics is shocking their belief that they are wearing a cocoon of protection leads to sloppy cutting. Get yourself some meindls you will not regret it, also consider 500grams on your foot equates to something like 1.5kg on your lower back, your feet are your foundation bad footwear can cause so many other problems. But hey I,m just a softie southerner others probably have tougher feet than me.

The test is flawed and unfair, boots are not designed to take cuts that way, just look at the other lab test shown, across the tongue cutting straight down in a robotic nature. It's still good to re-cap on these things to make all aware of the short comings of ppe. It's been said over and over ppe does not give protection against what we deal with, even you hard hat is not going to protect you from that chog falling 30+ ft! Be carefully be aware and keep safe.

Agreed, although when high enough with a vt set just right and the tail right below you with the wind in your favour it can self tend nicely, and its wise to grip it to make sure it does grab again. But its best not to get hung up on it self tending. I like my vt hitch to grab reliably, i try to set it so that its just on the cusp of not grabbing, this will make it always break smoothly. The VT certainly takes a lot more patience to get right but there are few hitches out there that can match it. If my cord length is not quite right i'll just tie a knute.

I disagree recently did a big rigging job one tree with 2 climbers 2 grcs,s one line was similar to liros 16mm quite static, other I think was a Yale 13mm fairly dynamic, the Yale was a dream to lower with I didn't, even need gloves, it absorbed the shock the climber felt and didn't shake the tree, the give was very subtle we are not talking bungee rope here! The static 16mm required much more running to ease shock loading with far more grip control/gloves. The more static line was better for tensioning lines obviously, but using both side by side in that day made me appreciate that big static lines are not the be all and end all particularly when drop loading, yet still have a place and are good workhorse lines.

[ame=http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WDIo-WZkSaM]YouTube - Yale Cordage Ultrex vs. XTC Rope Static and Dynamic Test Demonstration[/ame]

Who thinks ppe will protect them? Protection is the way you carry yourself and interact with the team on a daily basis not how good your ppe kit is. I think the case of the railways is a good one, a few cases of guys cutting the back of their legs and type C was deemed the answer to better protect them on the ground, the whole concept of just put more protection on I find difficult to understand. The reality is they should never of exposed themselves to cuts to the back of the leg poor chainsaw use is the cause not inadequate protection. Ppe is very important though. As for yanks do not be fooled they are just as competent as us.

You know I actually think he really does.

[ame=http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=b4ifRHCC5Tg]YouTube - Hillbilly Tree Removal[/ame]

most of the climbers I work with have scabbards usually some leather/composite affair I never see them struggle with getting it in or out and it does not get in their way. Its like a lot of things in the arb world, and just my way of thinking. I have a laugh and a joke at gayjack users (and don,t get me started on rope wrenchers) but it's only tongue in cheek, what does annoy me is those that think this product or that product is the pinnacle of design way superior to anything around. And while not the best analogy a scabbard on your harness or sawpod on your leg is just down to your preference and what tool suits you best hence I,ll never slate a product but I will try to give an unbiased opinion on what I like and why.

See I think when you got your ass all the way out there with tight rope angles at full stretch on the flat branch structures in some stupidly large cedar doing a fine silky reduction I,d rather have my saw pod any day. It's just a love or hate thing, like me and art

I use the attachment in the photo as is with no mods perfectly well just takes a little patience getting the technique right, best used moving bigger piece in site clearance jobs one of my pet hates is when others use it and insist on using the grab part for everything, use the tongs to catch forks and drag with it. Or pile brash into large piles point forks down I,e vertical to ground push upto the pile then grab drive back and rotate simples and no damage to grass. For logs get a bundle using same technique, or just use like a fork lift. As for grabs, I,ve seen them used well but they are heavy I,ve not used them much so I,m pretty useless with them. I prefer the attachment you have as is it works very well and I,ve done some pretty big site clearances with it trust me Dean it is good!

I think the cambium saver Normandy is talking about is more of an emergency job, recently I damaged my pulley type saver, and made up a temporary one using a Sirius multi sling and revolver in the soft eye Treeworker Like has been said you got to be carefully of the gate fouling the stem or biner moving and becoming poorly loaded etc. Nothing beats a proper pulley type saver wether its the teufelburger, art or home made job.

O.k your drawing hearts on trees, now I know you finally have gone mad

In the grand scheme of things given the gaping cavity and urban environment (as in I bet things get nailed to it amongst other damage to the stem) that some some low impact invasive decay testing is going to do more good than harm in the long run, after all that tree is just a history of wounding evident by the cavity and previous pruning.

Just be a little cautious of the gate from the revolver fouling the stem.

Forget about self-tending it's not important, it will with the right knot and enough rope do this, but you just got to tend it by hand most of the time, besides it not self tending is a strength in some users hands, it you want a self tending device the art stuff does it better. But for me the hitch is a better tool for daily commercial climbing. Footloops or pantins avoid if you can, over use of a pantin is just a pain, I do use mine but the least amount of time possible, best used with one foot against the trunk. Sit back is a thing of preference, I,m actually moving to more and more sit-back as it lets me fully break off the hitch which counters friction in other parts of the tree, I usually have the tail of my line dragging through other forks as it helps to manage the twists you can get from a vt, and allows me to redirect my hitch back up and through without actually going back up and through myself. Probably what I am saying makes no sense, it never does until you see it being used, which is the difficult thing you really need to see good hitch climbers in action. Get either the Knute or vt grabbing reliably and also advancing easily it should be very light, paying out slack should be with finger tip ease even under load. And get climbing try to not body thrust use the tree and advance the hitch by pulling slack through. In short a hitch climber will allow you to move differently over a standard Prussik, you can now tend slack easily with one hand, a hc gives you ultimate tunabilty so many knots and cord combinations, the 3 holes also allow you to easily attach a second line or use and m rig among other things.

What are those termination knots? Norm use a Knute it's not particularly fussy, advances easily when set right and grabs reliably. VT is a great knot just very fussy and requires a bit of time to get right, sometimes fresh cord takes a while to bed into the rope.

That's my understanding to. As long as all four wheels have traction! And ditto on Ac price, wouldn't,t like to comment on others well I would but I won't.

The crown looks scrappy a nice reduction would tidy it up and help alleviate the sail area/end weight. Rob horse chesnut can actually compartmentalise quite well as long as no significant pathogens are present and it has good vigour T & C what does it look like in full leaf? Decompaction look impractical and probably no help here if the tree is showing good vigour. Out of interest how would you decompact? I reckon at varying levels if the cost is not an issue would be worth while.

A pantin with drt is good, but be warned its not particularly balanced and should be avoided for ascent, best used for short hops in the tree, best when against the trunk. SRT and learning to throw line setting access lines will make your access life easier particularly in woodland trees, I just recently did a dead wooding contract on tall slender woodland scots pines, most were at least 15m+ to the first branch. Climbed a 35m lime (in the uk climbing 30m trees is pretty damn rare) Q got a line in at 27m with a hand throw then 3 climbers in the top in minutes, rope over roping would of been a battle, although getting the lines in did take 20mins but worth it in the long run of your climbing career! Nice shiny new stuff timberbear I,m a little jealous I need a gear fix soon.

Skip foot locking it,ll take you a while to master and get the required fitness sure it's a cool technique that once you get proficient at it you get an enormous sense of achievement, but it's very intensive and hard work. Srt access is probably one of the best things you can ever learn it compliments drt work positioning so well. The hardest thing will be mastering throw lining, you will never look back.