frans

Yep! thats the new 'L' caritool. Looks like a caritool that has been eating it's vitamins

last picture of the spur attached and ready to climb. (except that I dont wear those little shoes when climbing)

I got a set of the velcro ankle straps for my carbon fibers, but hated them from the get go. They seem very bulky to me. So, I made my own. I sewed a strap onto a delta ring which I cut off of a TreeMagic saddle (which fell apart under normal gentle use), then I sewed velcro on one side. I dont know if the pictures show it good enough, but these straps work very well. These spurs are pretty old now and have seen ALOT of use. but they are holding up fine. The carbon fiber under the foot stirrup has not flaked very much at all and I do walk around on concrete sometimes. Hope these pictures show it clearly

The saddle comes in 3 different bridge length options. Overall I would say it is fairly comfortable. I've now used it on a couple of different jobs. Where I bought mine, it came with the new large 'carritool' which is pretty cool. The rings on the Petzl are 'gated' so you can slip in a bridge without having shackles I show a picture of the 'vented' back pad of the saddle as well as a custom bridge made for me by Nick

The gear loops are one of the failings of the TA. They work o.k. but could be better.

yes it does

Of all the new 'high performance' saddles out there (and I have, or demo'd them all), I have to say that the TreeAustria is one of the most durable, and well made saddles out there.... Pound for pound, they are an excellent value for your coin.

I am holding the saddle right now in my hands (well actually it is sitting over there on the coffee table) and I have already switched the bridge to Nick's bridge he made me utilizing the 'opening' rings. Seems like a light weight saddle. The ring size is just the same as the larger alum. rings produced by Buckingham in their false crotchs. The back pad does seem thin, but all the webbing is sewn directly through the entire back pad so it all appears fairly strong. Robert Phillips noticed that the 45 degree gear loops on the back are sewn in a way which seems like the stitches would pull out over time. One detail I like is the side D rings are robust and have the same double bar set up like the B'fly where the webbing will hold the Ds either in the open (forward) or closed (backward) position. Much better IMO to have the D rings like this than the alternative of having them flop back and forth. Bailey's is including the new LARGE plastic flat back spline tool holder with every purchase of the Sequoia for just a limited time. The thing is huge, like a carrytool on steroids. The regular ones are a good size for me personally as they dont stick out too far and snag on stuff. Too bad they didn't simply make the old one stronger.... As for the 'opening' alum. rings. The torx head fine threaded bolt goes through one end and is threaded into the other end. Petzl tells me that the thread depth is exactly the same as the bolt length, so pretty much impossible to strip the threads. In addition, when they anodized the ring, they also anodized the threads inside. So that is how they are making the threads stronger. I own the SRT model. On the back is a flat slotted piece of hardware designed to thread suspenders through. I wish they had simply made a webbing loop so a biner could be inserted. That way the climber can strip off the suspenders easily while in the tree without any hassle.

Yes she is, and thank you very much for remembering and asking, very thoughtfull of you. Micky, (my wife) just got done with knee surgery. It has been two weeks now so I expect she will jump back into the competing real soon. Thanks again ED!

b101uk, thanks for posting those videos, they are GREAT!

Great looking kid ya got there. Must be a handfull

Tell me about it. These dogs have a good life

Very informative! Thank you for posting that. Do you mind if I post it elsewhere?

Go man Go! Has the Sequoia been distributed in Brit. Land?

Really the Treeflex did not 'have problems'. What happened was during the very first ones made, the bridge was NOT sewn to specs. So those were immediately yanked off the market. The TreeMotion also had 'growing pains' where the ring which the bridge goes through was not polished correctly so it caused premature wear on the strap. This also has been corrected

In the first picture you posted Anna, do you have a load line through the biner on the strap closest to you? Also, did the limb 'hop' up when you made the cut? I have bitten my tongue before when that happens. Usually when cutting the end off of a horizontal limb.

I have a friend who uses a quad and he told me that the automatics are not so good to use because they travel at too high a speed for doing his spraying and fertilizing. He bought a polaris manual transmission.

I saw this at a trade show. The guy was unpacking it to set it up at his booth. As he unwrapped it, I noticed that the capstan was bent! He told me they dropped it during shipping. So I held the unattached capstan in my hand and realized that it was thin weak alum. I have not used it on a job, but my first thought was if any falling branch or even pine cone touched it, it would break something on the engine.

I am up for that. http://www.redwoodriverresort.com/ There are some nice redwoods to climb and the resort is located near Bailey's outdoor woodsman supplies. The resort is a great place to have a first climb in the mighty redwoods. The trees are tall. A condition of climbing is the climber MUST have their own gear, and know how to use it. Expect to set an ascent line at over 100' to just get into the lowest branches. This requires a bit of skill. Usually one of us has brought a big shot and a static ascent line, but everything else MUST be brought by each climber. I guess it would be rather an expensive trip for you brits but with the dollar down, maybe not so bad. Fly into San Francisco, rent a car and drive about 2.5 hours north into the Avenue of the Giants. On the way, stop in at Healdsburg and check out some wineries, buy a bottle of nice wine to take back to Brit land with you. The Redwoods River Resort is a perfect place to bring your wife/girlfriend/family, as there is other stuff to do at the resort and they wont be bored watching you up in the trees. I am thinking it would make a good 1 week vacation. Couple of days touring the North coast, couple of days climbing, visit San Fransisco, and the wine region... Check out the 'Drive Through' tree where you can drive your car through a hole cut in a redwood tree and maybe even go up to Fort Bragg where Gerry Baranek lives. For a preview of the redwoods Gerry has a bunch of DVDs which are worth checking out. http://www.atreestory.com The avenue of the giants has some of the world's tallest trees. It is a great place to visit. Eat some REAL wild salmon and dungeness crab or maybe even Abalone. Another little fact is that the resort is located in what is known as the 'emerald triangle'. The epicenter of the marijuana growing region in California. FWIW.

Sorry I have been away so have not checked in with my Euro brothers and sisters. Yes, it did happen in 2007 and and far as I know, it will happen this year as well. All are welcome, as long as the difficult issue of insurance is dealt with. Usually, the California Arborist Association covers the insurance issues by having each participant become a member of the association. This cost (I think) 40 U.S. dollars a year, but dont quote me on that. The CAA web site is: http://www.cal-arb-association.com The annual event is held at the Redwood Rivers Resort. Google that name and you will see what you will get. Frans

Tockmal, I was thinking about your post today as I serviced a bunch of equipment. I used a hand squeeze grease gun to grease about 40 points (zerks) on several pieces of equipment. My hands got a real workout If you want to build up hand strength, maybe give Thor (Ed) a call and offer to grease a bunch of whole tree processors That will make your hands strong, sort of a redneck hand strengthening machine

FWIW, here is my opinion: I only belong to my local Arborist Association and have now for a few years. When I first got certified by the isa, I joined all of the groups except for ASCA. Over the years, I became disappointed with the reality of 'joining' these organizations. About the only real benefit for me was the magazines and they are all to often a platform for adverts. Every once in a while I would check out some article that was good, but overall it was like reading a commercial. ASCA: They charge (last I checked) about 400 bucks a year. As a isa certified arborist, and a working kind of guy, I have yet to see how asca can help me make more money UNLESS I go full time with report writing. TCIA: Part of the membership requirements are that you state your income. Your income determines your rate for membership. Sorry, but that is very very personal. Based on how I present myself to the IRS, and how I manage my own personal finances, I just cannot believe that any one ( or company) gives a truly honest answer to that requirement. So I, personally, feel that this requirement is inherently dishonest. So I don't participate. I have narrowed down my professional affiliations to belonging to my local arborist association which promotes the WORKING ARBORIST IN THE FIELD. That is important to me, not the corporate stuff. I would like to know the tricks and methods which teach me how how to improve the working conditions and plant health care knowledge of the person who actually has to do the work (me!). Sorry for the long reply but I feel strongly about what all this 'membership stuff' means for the person who is just trying to pay the bills, do a good job, and maybe, just maybe, be able to call themselves a tree care professional. Here is a link to the org. I pay dues to: http://www.cal-arb-association.com/

Return the money. If it was an employee, that money would have to come out of their pay and they would get in trouble.

It is entirely up to the user IMO. What works for you may not work for me

1/2" plate so not alot of room for countersinking