Marc

I love good footwear, i just can't wear cheap, i'm come out in a funny rash my comfort is paramount. I have 3 pairs of boots for work Meindls (with orthotic insole 75 quid) for general groundsaw work, and either Aku Crodas or Kayland vertigo highs for climbing all about 150 a pair. Taking my work footwear upto about 500 english pounds. And the rest of my outdoor workwear is just as pricey, and why should'nt it be its the clothing i spend the most amount of time in.

Hmmm intresting, I have Mammut powerstatic 10mm as my access line its the most static if i remember right in their range at 3.5% ish. Static ropes have to be within 3.5% and 4.5% for CE ratings i believe, now correct if i'm wrong but good climbing rope is around 3.5-5% elongation. Basically my point is that my mammut stretched out over the same distance as my new england tacyhon has about the same amount of give that i can tell, if anything the tachyon maybe even less stretchy/more static. Low stretch is a good thing for me, it helps me to climb easier, and as i'm never in a fall situation! i'm not worried about the shock absorbtion properties of rope. And for the record i wouldn't climb with the mammut, proper tree climbing rope is much nicer and fit for purpose.

Its thin.

Your looking at the wrong bit Matty, its the part that wraps round under the spike that is glued, this bit comes in contact with the bark and eventually the glue can loosen, the strap then shifts under your arch and slips off the back of your heel. The carbon geckos are not a polished product the qaulity is a little off in places, and maybe they will not last as long as say a pair of bashlins, yet for all their faults and niggles i still reckon they are they are amongst the best pair of spike currently availible. The bashlins with caddys like MB has sure look nice as well.

The glue coming unstuck is nothing in the scheme of things, yeah its annoying but they are still for me the best spikes out there. I've just tried using some heavy duty zip ties round the shaft below the fabric, got it nice and tight using a vice i'll see how well this holds up if i only have to replace a ziptie a couple of times a year i'm happy.

i'll be up for it.

I just zip tied mine in place, this fix doesn't last long, but zip ties are cheap and easy to come by. Stupid idea though glueing fabric to a smooth surface then expect it to stay there, should of been screwed in place..

I love rope names, scorch, blaze, velocity, lightning, python, poison ivy. Why can't we have realistic rope names that reflect more appropiately the climbers who use them, like Samson old boy, or Elderid dreadz, New england manky or Yale prima donna?

My post is going slightly off topic, probably better off taking a picture and starting a new thread. The area i'e the upper crown the part i'm working on this time is in such decline i doubt this would have a large amount of stored energy, and the lower crown so vast and healthy i'm going on the assumption this is where the greatest energy stores are.

Bungee rope, tow rope, lowering rope, make some kind of medieval catapult with it the list goes on. My 45m tachyon takes up less space than my 32m gecko lowering rope and weighs less too.

One of my observations about time of year have been that if you do it now it can lead to an increased vigour, where as if you leave it later there seems to be less reactive growth. I assume this is a hormonal thing? and can lead to stress depending on the trees overall condition and age. I have done trees at this time of year for these exact reasons to try and promote more vigorous internal growth as part of a staged reduction. I have a reduction/retrenchment this weekend a veteran Acer psuedoplatanus, the upper crown is in decline, lots of dead wood present big cavities etc, yet the lower crown is showing great vigour with minimal dead wood. Its location means it cannot be left alone to fall apart. So a heavy upper crown reduction now, and at the end of next year a more sympathetic reduction. This is kind of an experiment for me, i hope it goes well, and that my efforts allow this tree to stay growing safely for many more years yet. Anyone think i'm misguided and a fool? as i'm open to better suggestions. For the record i'd personally like to leave it alone to gracefully do its thing i'e fall apart.

It feels closer to 11.7 to me

I'll be there, can i use your footlocking line again peter

Virtually anything you climb on will be a luxury compared to gecko if your after a 1/2inch rope then Yale XTC (XTC fire seems nicer than the other xtc ropes) or Samson arbormaster are good. I like my 12mm new england Tachyon yet rarely use it, most of the time i'll climb with my 45m elderid 12mm.

The ms211 is one of stihls new generation enthusiasts saws, (generally anything that ends with a 1 i'e 361,441 and 211 is a new model) i used to have a ms250 it was a great saw little saw just not as robust as a pro model. Look after it though and it will do you well as a starter saw.

Intresting to know, i only ever looked at one and assumed it wouldn't work with my prefered way of having things, i'll have to get one now as i'd prefer a cinch over an art.

I'd like an art positioner one day do they work with steel core lines? As for a cinch nice bit of kit only i like my adjusters on the left as i'm right handed and this means the lever is the wrong way round.

prefer a hitch myself, you can slack it of under pressure, tend it easily one handed, its lighter and is cheap and easy to replace.

No waterproof liner and thin leather only 2.1mm thick. but i suppose to be light and flexible thin is better, only i wander how durable they will be. No waterproof lining at that price is bad, its been proven that gor-tex lined boots are no more sweaty than unlined boots. What ever boot you buy there will always be a comprimise, there is no such thing as the perfect safety boot. Meindl boots are still the ultimate boot for me, a proper boot made by a proper boot manafacturer with gor-tex and vibram sole, all others are pretenders. Thats just my opinion!

Are you warming up in the third pic or just doing some kind of strange ritual dance to the gods?

We have 2 Dell laptops, one is 2 years old the one i'm on now 3 1/2 years old, both work faultlessly, the wife regurlarly cleans them by backing up all the files on 2 seperate back up hard drives, then formats the system and reinstalls windows, it keeps them running super fast and stops them getting cluttered. Recently bought a new Acer laptop, lasted 3 months before self detonating beyond economical repair. Have just bought another Dell, will be giving one of the other dells to my parents. Can't fault our experience with dell so far.

What about changing your t.i.p? for the first year i climbed i'd find one place to make my high anchor and stick to it. Now i'll constantly move my t.i.p to find the best rope angles generally i always like a clear line of site between me and my anchor no going at funny angles round branches etc, i've found this helps a lot.

Great thread monkeyd, I always get a little awestruck when working with veteran trees, i just can't get my head round something that has lived for hundreds of years without our help, you know something that has outlived generation of my family then i come along with a rope, saw and good intentions. Still it is rewarding working on old trees, they are under a lot of pressure as we encroach on their enviroment, anything we can do to preserve them is worthwhile. Hope you understand what i mean. And the last picture of the Planes is amazing, we owe a lot to the victorian plantsmen and planners, do you think we still plant on such a scale? The plantsmen who planted those trees did it for us and our children as they would never of lived long enough to see them mature.

Not all gloves are equal, I hate the ones that fall apart and get stuck in the hitch:mad1: The assembly grip gloves can last ages, upto 2 weeks climbing you can even take them home and wash them, so are worth the extra.

Could be, maybe a crew stripped them out and chiped the brash, and another crew was/is supposed to go back and crane the timber???