Linda

I wouldn't mind one, Steve. I've just lost the knife I carry on my harness AND the knife I made in school when I was 13...

I gaff out quite often with the shorter ones( especially on birch, and we have a lot of birch trees out here), so have had the long ones shortened a bit by a blacksmith to make them longer than the short ones but not so long as to give me knee pains, if that makes sense...

Cool, I'll see you there! Don't forget your chocolate chip cookies...

Fancy a trip to the heart of Scandinavia? The Swedish tcc will be held on the 6th and 7th of June 08 in the city centre of Gothenburg. You can get dead cheap flights from Stansted, last time I flew out there it was £17 including all charges and luggage! Unfortunately, there will be no camping allowed on site but there are cheap youth hostels and probably some floor space available somewhere... For more info, get in touch with Håkan Nilsson http://www.arboristen.se or Thilo Beeker http://www.nordic-tree-care.com, or yours truly.

This is the thing, I can't go to Capel or anywhere else to try one on...I have to rely on you guys!

ha! ladies have bits that can get pinched as well! I've never had a saddle pinch the skin on the inside of my thighs as bad as the tree austria...!!!

Is it just me, or does anyone else have problems with fastening the ankle velcro on these ones?! It's gotten a bit silly actually, I have to ask my climber colleague or the groundie to pull the velcro strap tight for me, as you kinda have to pull it away from you...

I had a pair of Meindls for 3 years, pretty good if you ask me! They're a bit heavy though. Haix seem lighter? For the ladies out there (and lads with smaller feet): both haix and meindl come in stupidly small sizes!!

Hm..interesting point. My only problem with the first one is that it sort of pinches my waist bones...perhaps the second one won't because of the lower sliding ring and hence there will be more weight on the legs than on the waist?

Drayer has got one called Sliding D Austria that looks similar to the one showcased on Treehouse.. http://www.drayer.de/shopfactory_deutsch/contents/de/image_viewer.html?lmd=39432.438889

Cool. Thanks for your input Matty.

Do you find it easier to carry loads of equipment around on the "2"? For rigging etc?

Hi guys I need your expert advice on something. I'm looking to buy a new harness, have got the Tree Austria 1 (orange and blue) and love it, but would like to hear from someone who's got experience from both this harness and the Tree Austria 2 (blue and grey). I really like the back support and the sliding D on mine, how does this differ from the "2"? The sliding ring is positioned a bit lower on the new one, what effect does this have on the weight distribution on the legs? Et cetera... Thanks L

Are we talking the basic or professional tree inspection course? Supposedly the basic one day course should teach you about inspections. I did the professional 3-day course and found it very useful even though I know most of the risk assessment and biomechanics stuff from before.

Pruning with spikes, eh Peter?!

Mine broke first time I packed it! The backpack straps came off, and I bought it specifically for carrying it on my back. Have splashed out on a North Face now, so I look just like the pros at the comps...

I've just got some thermals from Smartwool that had some nice features for the ladies. Icebreaker do thermals for all occasions, from 150 to 260g per square metre, if you get a few different ones it means you will stay warm in all kinds of cold weather. I've almost completely stopped wearing cotton for work or sports, even in the summer, normal t-shirts are just so rubbish in comparison to high performance fabrics. Worth every penny, I'd say. Are there any regulations in the US for working in the cold? I know at one stage the Swedish equivalent of HSE didn't recommend prolonged outdoor work unless warmer than -12 degrees Celsius. Often I've found though that with the wind it'll be more like -20 at that stage...

Merinowool thermal underwear is the only way forward!

Hey Pete Could you make some for the ladies as well please? Size small would do us fine!

I think definitely that more media coverage would encourage more women to choose tree work as a career. But I would like to see media coverage that doesn't portray the few women in the industry the way women in male-dominated industries are always portayed: as abnormal extraordinary creatures; that will do nothing but perpetuate the idea that you need to be male or act male to fit in. The pictures that Buzz has posted of Anna above, or similar photos, can be very inspirational for girls/women (and they defintiely are for me), as they show that a woman of normal physique can be capable of carrying out this sort of job. Tony Kirkham and the BBC did some filming at the European TCC earlier this year, but I'm not sure how much of that will focus on the ladies.

You're correct Drew. Before I bought my second Ropeman I used a Blake's hitch with the cord attached above it to a little metal thingy (which I can't remember the word for at this late hour) which then minded the Blake's, but having a knot that close to the end of a piece of rope, which had been "thinned out" towards the end to make it slip out of the hitch more easily, made me slightly nervous, so I've opted for the mechanical version.

Here's one I've used lately. The accessory cord is about 10 metres long which seems enough for most situations. And it all fits nicely in a little Weaver throwline bag.

Perhaps not the best picture to post on this thread...where's the correct PPE?!! ;-D

I'm with you all the way Mr Ed. Like we've said on this thread before, you need to put the right person on the job. It's just that for some people that means it always has to be a man whatever the job is and that's what my post was aiming at.

You're putting forward some interesting questions here oldugly. To me personally, it’s never been a problem, I’ve always known I can do whatever I put my mind to, and I’ve been lucky enough to have worked with open-minded and progressive men and women throughout most of my career in arb, but to many women, going against the norm entering a male dominated profession is a daunting idea. It may be difficult for men to understand the hurdles women need to get past to make it into the industry, as the opportunity has always been there for men and taken for granted as well, mostly because men are commonly told from an early age they can accomplish anything they set their minds to whereas little girls very quickly learn that they will only be properly loved by society if they are pretty and submissive and it can be hard to unlearn this. I think it's important to be aware of why the industry became male dominated in the first place because it is part of what we are dealing with now. I mean, why were women excluded and made to think they were not welcome in these sort of professions? And why do these ideas prevail? When I started out as a climber there were next to no other females in the industry and some customers viewed me with scepticism until they saw that I knew what I was doing. And now, in certain areas, people are used to seeing females doing tree work, it’s not a novelty or even weird any longer, it’s on its way to becoming the norm, and I believe this is what needs to be supported by private companies. Take a chance on hiring a female tree worker and you will do your bit in changing society to the better.