ecolojim

just a quick one. does anyone find it annoying that the waist belt has a release on it but not the leg straps? is it still easy to get in and out of? i would have thought having them on the waist and not the legs kinda defeated the object. dont want to end up ruining one if i get one, by having to slide my muddy boot through the loop in whatever direction jim

cheers Jamie golf clubs aparently nah i know the people you mean thanks Justin, i'll give you a bell in the morning i think.

right guys. now ive made my first excursions into the canopy, I would very much like to be getting it right gear-wise, to give me the best chance while im up there. thus far I have merely been using a sport climbing harness, screwgate biners (DONT EVEN THINK ABOUT IT), my yale xtc rope and my split tail. harness-wise, i reckon it's gonna be kolibri time for me. gotta try one out first but better get it right first time IMO so what else am I going to need between now and my cs38? so far i can think of cambium saver (but what length and do i need multiple?) triple lock biners some kind of lanyard/flipline (possibly two??) throwbag and line probably a new split tail or two for tying in with both ends of the climbing line if applicable perhaps some light prussik cord and a micro pulley for auto-advancing my friction hitch when ascending 2:1 helmet with a chin strap I think the course requires anything else? any ideas on the most cost effective setup please, im certainly not made of money but have managed to allocate as much as i can to getting the harness right. show me the way of the force master jedis

you do realise, he who plays an april fools day prank after midday, the joke is on them? my my count you posted at 10 past midday tim seen the double clipper before. thought it was brilliant. bought two!

navaho sit fast has now superceded the vario though as far as im aware. dont know whether the floating D side straps are designed to go on the new saddle too or not. i think there are a couple places i could still get hold of a vario, but it's an obselete product now for what that does or doesnt matter so it could be tough

dammit! better try out a kolibri asap then by the way, could be a stupid question but is there any difference between the EKN kolibri/hummingbird and the skylotec kolibri? half the suppliers I have looked at supply it as one and half as the other, but i was under the impression the EKN was discontinued when it was bought by skylotec thus any sold as EKNs are old stock? thanks jim

personally I think I'm going to be looking at the kolibri or the butterfly II. that bloomin navaho sit fast is still tempting me at the back of my mind but it's a bit of a jack of all trades im led to believe and not specifically geared towards tree work? just need to find somewhere to try them out. if i was in Leeds at the moment i'd head for trees unlimited but im not sure there's anywhere near me

does anyone know when the new petzl sequoia is destined to hit these shores? I've tried the Navaho fast and found it very comfortable and did everything I need right now, but the new sequoia with its interchangeable flat and floating bridges and some extra adjustability, not to mention 1.3kg weight for the DRT model looks like it should be even better!

wow sounds like a great bit of experience for me, and always great to meet people i can learn from. that's what it's all about for me. I'm just hoping I can make it, even for a while. The date puts it right smack in the middle of red-eye time. think thats about a week or maybe two before my final uni hand-ins so I might be snowed under or just no good for anything much, but I WILL try! thanks! jim

ah right, cheers! [ame]http://youtube.com/watch?v=MiqXkal-Eh0[/ame] biffy clyro - the conversation is...

I wasn't yesterday, but it's on my (ever lengthening) list of stuff to get so i'll pick one up asap cheers

loving this song at the moment. especially now the sun's out. puts me in a festival mood! oh dammit, how do i embed youtube stuff like you guys have?

the dryadeus? does it commonly appear around the base of the tree? I THINK i might be able to get some good pictures of one of our big oaks that I think has it going on google images pictures as reference. IN my youth I used to smash it off with a spade, so I'll see if it has regrouped

Fair enough dude, might just stick with the oak for now then. but yeah, biners too. Are any of them better than others or is it just personal preference. the ball locks seem to be more expensive, and like i put earlier, I seem to recall people having trouble with a fairly recent petzl one locking up on them, or not locking, because of the ball. Is it better to go with the regular 3 way lock biners for that reason? less to go wrong

just to try and drag this away from 'biner-conomy' for a while. Going to buy a couple of 3way lockers this morning and then this afternoon head up our golden weeping willow. See about moving around the canopy, try tying in with the other end of my line etc. Anything specific to the species to be careful of?

wow, i nip off down the pub and look what ive caused! think i'll be ordering a good few 3ways then. any advice on which? I seem to remember a petzl one recalled due to the ball in the lock jamming? Tim, exactly the same as that except I dont have the pulley for slack tending. At this juncture I havent found my slack rope to be getting in my way particularly, but I'm sure I will eventually. intrigueingly, in that picture, the split tail looks to be of greater diameter than the main climbing line?? I thought it should be the same or less generally? When someone suggested using the tail end of the rope as a secondary tie in, Im assuming just deploy it when in the tree as I would a second seperate rope for secondary tie in. as a second DRT system. How would I do this? It's confusing me (could be the beer) since the length of it would be dependant on the length of the primary tie-in wouldnt it? would I therefore 'tie in' to both ends of the rope, with friction hitches on the corresponding 'other side of the rope' thus leaving a 'bight' of slack between the two DRT systems? thanks again guys

yeah thanks Tim, I think I'll do just that (when i get chance). in the mean time, if one were to open the tree climber's companion to the centre pages, it's half way between the two diagrams. a split tail climbing system with a blakes (working end of line attached to biner by spliced eye, split tail by double fishermans) but no slack tending micro pulley. Although I am most tempted to employ a system for bodythrusting that uses a light prussik cord with a micropulley attached to the working end of your climbing line with the pulley below the blakes, to advance it automatically as you pull in on the line. I can imagine it saving my elbows over time although might be a bit annoying when lowering oneself or letting out some slack for limb walking. if any of that makes any sense whatsoever must must must get some double locking karabiners though, ive been using appropriately rated screwgates that I have for sport climbing. I cant see how the ropes could ever undo them as the ropes at that point are completely static, but i believe it's a regulation that double lockers be used?

well now, it's hardly going to be big news to anyone here, but I thought id let you know my 120 foot hank of 1/2" XTC arrived today and I took to the skies for the first time in a big oak out back. went with a split tail since a: I had one, and b: i couldnt get the blakes to advance using the tail end of the same rope, it tightened up too much. So I set up a decent anchor point with my throwline, set my rope, tied in and up I went, even managed to go out on a limb briefly. OK so i didnt have a second TIP as I havent got a lanyard/flipline yet (choosing which to go for) but no harm done, and of course I wasnt running a saw. so there we go. just thought I'd share

thankyou all, that's put my mind at ease, I'll not change the order and await the xtc-12 then. for anyone who was interested, its coming from Abbey Pro, they have a limited amout of XTC-12 left so mine is the 37m with a spliced eye. I can appreciate a rope is a rope is a rope to an extent and that I will soon be far more intent on my positioning etc, but I, like most/all new guys want to get things as right as i can in the first place. Jim:)

alright guys, finally took the plunge and ordered my first rope. decided on balance going half inch was the best option. cost was quite an issue to me, but not at the expense of buying something unsafe. after some careful deliberation and some recommendations from climbers, i ordered yale xtc-12 at a very good price for 120' and have now (my order hasnt been delivered yet, might not have been even dispatched yet) found a slightly shorter length of marlow gecko for slightly cheaper from the same retailer with a stitched eye rather than the yale certified and logged splice. now the xtc-12 came well recommended, but have i cocked up here? Ive not been able to speak to anyone as yet who has used the marlow gecko. I know marlow make good strong lines for other purposes, but that is secondary to how well the gecko wears, handles, works with a friction hitch etc. all input welcome. I MIGHT be able to change my order in the morning if i need to. thanks Jim

Id love to be involved if i could depending on when it is. Happy dragging stuff about to chip, more than anything I'd just like to be there, to witness it. It's a pretty big deal when two trees like that go down.

I can travel a sensible distance, of course up until the point where it starts to cost enough to make a big dent in my wages. often travelling outside of leeds is easier than across it of course. jim

sounds like it could be very good experience. can you PM me some more information please? thanks very much Jim

shall be returning to leeds to do the last semester of study for my degree at the end of the month. Because my schedule changed, I had to leave my previous part time groundie job last easter and have just been doing bits and bats ever since. Well Although i thoroughly enjoyed the work I did with the previous company, I thought it would be a good move to see if anyone else was looking for a hard working dedicated worker. I figured it would provide me with a more rounded education. I am certainly not the most qualified person out there. I only have my CS30 and 31 but am working towards 38. I constantly buy books like tree climbers companion, art and science of practical rigging, shigo's modern arb, but also books on forest management, countryside ecology and wider conservation subjects. somehow i fit this in alongside a music based degree (bad move but the end is nigh). The work does not have to be exclusively arb, I am very interested in the wider countryside management field (if you'll pardon the pun). I live in Headingley, have my own transport, coming up on 4 years NCD, clean licence, tractor driving experience (farming background), doing my B&E soon, all my own PPE and a passion for the work. my availability is friday to tuesday every week, but ideally need at least one day to keep up with my uni workload. thanks for taking the time to read Jim

dammit, january?? i was after a new one for christmas. im too impatient for january