Marc

I dislike windstopper stuff for this type of work not breathable enough, i used Rab pertex smocks and jackets, if you always check gooutdoors you can occasionally find a good Rab bargin didn't pay anymore than 40 quid for any of my Rab stuff i've had one of my smocks now for 3 years tough stuff and great for this work as its highly breathable being not totally windproof. Bought a load of of cheap fleeces to from go outdoors at 4 quid a pop can't fault the value.

Those shackles are a desgin flaw no way should the sliding D be able to slide over them. My harness has a rear attachment for hanging a saw but where do you clip it short???? I hate to have my chainsaw flapping about feet and like it hung short within easy reach so a side clip or at least somewhere to put one makes sense. Having to reach round and find your saw lanyard behind you to drag up a big saw repeated times during a climb is less ergonomic than finding it within easy reach at your side i'd assume, its just personal preference though. I also like the way people assume there back is better now they are in a treeflex to me thats good promotion, there is nothing ergonomic as such about a treeflex it will not neccessarily improve your back or be any more ergonomic than any other modern harness out there.

Schliesing would probably be a good alternative, and maybe the bandito. Thing is with the Vermeers i've used they say 10inch and mean it you could probably fit 11 or 12inch through been a while since i've used the BC1000 in anger, others say 9inch and really mean no more than 9. The only problem i have with the BC1000 is the single feed roller it is a nice big roller but doesn't always pull the brash in as good as a twin design, maybe i'm just spoilt. Other than that little niggle its a great machine.

I tried Softbankshawks uni set-up and found it very simple and easy to use if a little quirky. It was a while since i used one from memory he had the uni on an adjustable whoopie and a croll on the chest harness so for ascent he would set the uni long and attach the footloop to thisobviously clipped into the croll to then would ascend like a normal treewalker system. Once working height was acheived just unclip the foot loop store on your harness unclip the croll and with whoopie bring the uni in short. Its a nice simple set up you can leave the croll on only having a footloop to store so for another long ascent its easy to est up again and quick. I tried it and found it very easy and pretty much fell in love with it alas as much as i loved it for me it would be a mere toy but one day i will have a uni of my own. As for the ID i prefer a Elderid Eddy on 10mm line for tree work more compact and better suited in my opinion.

What alternatives is there to a BC1000 basically what other heavy duty 10inch machines are there to choose from?

your way to observant Dean i didn't even notice him yanking on the saw i had noticed his back cut wasn't paralell leading to a possibly slight undercut hard to tell. Crtisism is healthy i just like to see more of a logic and reason behind the critisism, not to just say its crap.

True also liking the look of the new range from Meindl can't wait to try a pair on on at show next year.

I generally thought this was to small ornamental standards, i see this often done to Paulwonia (foxglove trees) just not mature trees. Still i'm sure it will come back lovely next year with great big leaves and denser growth to further over shadow the neighbours garden.

Hmmm i've not tried the approach but i have crodas and have used them footlocking in a competition they are very similar i don't think the sole plays a huge part in clamping the rope a good rubber rand helps a little, more important is clamping the rope when you have one foot on top of the other. Been a while though since i've footlocked in anger was never that good barely able to do a sub 30s 50ft I prefer srt for access these days.

Yeah my post is a contradiction, thats because i often post without thinking, there is in no way that you can condone not using appropiate ppe, hypothetically if you don't wear statutory ppe and you have an accident wether self employed or employed its not just yourself that suffers your employer has a duty to make sure your wearing appropiate ppe, insurance personal employers or public lia, could be invalidated etc.

I must admit he does have a rugged slightly hippy qaulity about him that i find strangely attractive, but enough of my taste in treeworkers i thought it was a valid question if not to learn more and maybe educate myself, to me it looks good given that it was an rope assited fell but thats me maybe someone can enlighten me as to why they thought the cutting was not good rather than just saying it was bad, i took the time to give my opinion on why i thought it was ok. For the record i'd try to be a little more neat and tidy, but i'm not going to knock someone who looked like he got it done confidently and safely.

I reckon he swept round on the face cut that way the nose went a little deep making the line of the hinge seem wonky and like its supposed to be back cut or something along those lines. Still he placed the hinge at widest point the hinge was nice and thick the hinge face was level where it needed to be, it went over where it was supposed to go, so how is the felling cut a dogs dinner? Sure its not as neat n tidy and picture perfect but it was effective. And yes he holds a nice pose.

In the UK NO, not sure about Drew in NZ? I personally don't see a problem with wearing these type of boots in a tree with a chainsaw as your feet are at minimal risk (thats just me personally some people i've worked with should deffinetly wear them) the only problem is its against H & S regs so the answeer has to be no.

yep there all big saws and yep they all cut nice, i'm little bothered by saw cutting performance and how fast one will cut over the other, a long as they do cut and get the job done that in my opinion is a good saw.

AKU Crodas all the way i also believe there are some new AKU's in the same vein as the crodas on the way. If I was to get a pair of Gronells i'd go for the Approach not the Tangos, Approach has a much more durable Vibram sole, the soles on the Tango always looked to me like they may not last,,,,, also vibram soles are often easy to resole and cost effective, i doubt the soft moulded sole of a Tango will be replacable unfortunatly.

Sure is, though I still think its worthwhile every now and then reminding people that our ppe is not cut proof and gives you a bare minimum of protection in certain situations is a good idea, good practice and awareness of every move you make is what keeps you safe. Every day i work as though i have no protection on i will not take a chance.

The tree climber boots look really good hopefully better than the last treeclimber boots Meindl made which were not sturdy enough. I may ditch my AKU's and go back to proper boots if others like them.

I used to just find a secluded tree somewhere and climb it, its far from ideal climbing on your own though. More fun with someone else though and you may find you will push yourself more when having someone with experience there to back you up, nice one Mick

Months? well i can maybe get a month but i don't climb all the time if i did every day then i'd only expect 2 weeks. What i find is half the fibres may be fireproof/heat resistant but fast decents/ general use will cause the fibre to go brittle, so whilst the cord is still intact i can with my finger nails start to break down the fibres so i just ditch it plus i like the consistency of a clean good hitch. The last 2 years i've bought 20 odd meters so on average i'm getting a month . I tried beeline which is all heat proof fibres but found it glazed to easily and wasn't consistent for me. I use a pulley saver this makes a difference over the old ring saver i had. And no i haven't tried ap but would like to.

I want a unicender thats $450, seems reasonable to me if it makes my life easier and more enjoyable, one day i may go to the dark side and try an art jack personally i've never had a love for them i just don't think they are all that, good tool well priced just not me.

I love ocean poly i think its great even 10mm which is my favourite on 11mm line tied with a knute very smooth, using 8 at the moment. i'll get a good couple of weeks out of a hitch with this stuff where as normal poly i could destroy in a few days. When you buy the pre spliced stuff its far more supple i heard that this would also be availible on the reel, it doesn't seem so yet.

i'm not surprised that job took 5 days thats a hell of a lot of timber/tree to take down, deal with and remove in a tight space without crane. The tree in my avatar took 3days and its nothing compared to that. And Qtip I see what you mean by intresting we have to try it out sometime ourselves.

Was that at a hotel in Bishoptrow?

I expect thats how we'd of done it, out of intrest did you strap the split and install other straps where possible in the canopy? that way i would of thought it make it safe at least to anchor to the tree instead of the crane that would of made the job a little easier going. Still sounds like you got the job done quickly and smoothly given the situation so jobs a good un:thumbup1:

Good vid Reg enjoyed it, we'd been talking about this the other day using 2 pulleys then qtip mentioned the day after you'd actually done it on the Popular vid you'd recently posted. Also like the way you set-up 2 karabiners? to pull the ropes apart to save them from being crushed/pinched by those stupidly large pieces. Thanks for sharing i'd really like to start getting into making videos myself one day.