caorann

Tom Dunlap's posts on Treebuzz prompted me to get a Unicender back in 2008, tbh working SRT forays were sporadic. It wasn't until around 2010 that I climbed/worked just SRT. It's great to see some of the kit available now. Morgan Thompson and Tom Dunlap certainly deserve a lot of credit.

Does it not wear out quickly thought? To be honest I think it tends perfectly on its own

 

Not excessive, not that I've noticed. I have difficulty remembering what the HH was like without now tbh. Maybe just kidding myself its smoother....maybe more so ddrt and a kinder bend on rope and slight pulleyesq action. If your happy that's all that matters.

 

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Yeah, I prefer the DMM steel oval. Try sticking a DMM spacer for the pinto rig in the HH and see what you think for tending etc- works fine on 11 mm kernmaster, been using that setup for a few months no problem

No it doesn't, it creates a bend in the rope to allow a hitch to function on a single line

No it doesn't. Additional friction is created at the hitch's attachment point- the 'dogbone' and and at the steel krab. No bending of the rope - that's the rope wrench.

For just drt try the latest SJ imo.

Couple of other thoughts came to mind- uni easier to attach/ remove midline and shorter ascents using pantin and advancing system by hand with rw easier as HH sits a little lower but its maybe just me getting used to it...

Yeah would recommend starting out with 5/1 vt as recommended ( though mine would normally slipped into 4/2 ). Once I got orientated a bit better with HH thought I'd try the sooper cooper hitch, been using (and tweaking) this for about a week and a half. Only been using HH for about 3 and a bit weeks.

Great tool, well built, heavy in hand but not noticable on harness, smooth in ascent/ descent srt/drt ( dependant on hitch of course). Control easier than uni, uni/rw, sj/rw, taking in slack maybe not quite as smooth as mechanical devices but getting hitch right goes a long way obviously. Difficult to compare with rw/hitch setup as I only used this briefly when zk1 first came out...zk2 great and sure stiff tether makes a big difference ( use a 'stiff tether' krab with my zk2/ uni) but no pin to lose, no removal for drt, no concerns about rw engaging and sticking out infront of you. HH generallly much neater package imo tho there is more of a clutter at bridge for drt but not a big deal for me.The little 6mm e2e with the butterfly knot ( clip to my chest harness) works v well for ascent and with the rubber krab band helps keep the steel krab oriented correctly. I think those trying out srt work pos for the first time should seriously consider the HH.

Ken

excuse background clutter! Tail of rope should be the other side of steel krab sorry

Just preference really plus short ascents, would grab RW to advance, found it easier to grip.

This is what I've been using with the uni ( used a black diamond belay krab with zk1)-Kong rated srewgate. It works great, been trying out hitchhiker for a couple of weeks...still undecided which best...bit more tweaking of hitch and think HH might have edge for me personally...

For longer ascents-Croll with footloop as upper ascender.Pantin. RW clipped onto petzl voltage chest harness via DMM thimble. Old photo, now have SJ mods, considering stiffer tether.

from memory too short a tether length can make advancing more difficult and can possibly lead to descending issues, RW not getting chance to engage properly as you descend so can just plummet! Think something like this may have happened to Carey Gibson...maybe he posted on treebuzz, could be wrong..just make sure wrench engages before descending(as I'm sure you know).

Having reviewed this there were other factors involved in Carey's incident, he's got it all on utube . My mistake. Apologies. As per recent RW safety vid there are a number of factors to be taken into account then using the RW, tether length, rope diameter etc AND in the case of the SJ your using a tool not strictly designed for this purpose ie SRT. As per the SJ manual it is a ddrt tool.

I would recommend those unfamiliar with the RW use it also in the method for which it was designed initially ie with a hitch (this is especially the case if they are also unfamiliar with the SJ) before, if they wish, trying the two in conjunction.

Saying all that I find the ability of the SJ to consistently grab the rope (provided you don't hold back your weight!) especially in varying conditions a distinct advantage imo.

Although I've found for me an 11mm static to be a preferred choice of working rope, in many instances, as I'm sure most of you are aware this in itself adds another potentially dangerous variable. Take care.

Ken

Hi Ken,

 

Yes thats exactly what i thought, might go have a play tomorrow with the SJ setup (depending on hangover). I would just run the cut away straight into my tethered RW (cut away) i think the distance is going to be less than another RW but i guess i'll see what happens.

from memory too short a tether length can make advancing more difficult and can possibly lead to descending issues, RW not getting chance to engage properly as you descend so can just plummet! Think something like this may have happened to Carey Gibson...maybe he posted on treebuzz, could be wrong..just make sure wrench engages before descending(as I'm sure you know).

Caorann as far as i understand you add your SJ into the rope and then use the tether from the RW in the same way Joe Harris connected it in DRT?

 

P.S thanks for the treetools blog i enjoyed reading it.

Set-up 1- Exactly the same set-up as Joe Harris but instead of attaching the spliced rope end to the Krab (he has attached to a cutaway which runs through the velcro and is girthed onto the SJ krab (connecting to bridge))for ddrt you just attach the RW with it's cutaway.

Set-up 2 - RW tether with thimble (optional) girthed to SJ krab and running through the velcro, so Ian if I understand you right- Yes to the above! Tether length should be such that the RW can be vertical just above SJ, so when RW horizontal the distance between the SJ and RW is roughly the length of the wrench-if that makes any:001_smile: sense!

Ken

Sorry I'm a bit of luddite when it comes to computers! Hence my long painful descriptions but I will try in the next few days to put on photos of both setups. I was just reading the Treetools blog which seemed to indicate the SJRW setup didn't really work!! Don't understand the problems they're having??

Ken

Interested to see how the system works with SJ and RW. I've heard it works better with LJ and RW but keen to hear how you get on Ian.

I don't own a LJ so can't comment too much on that. But I was under the impression that a greater deal of control was provided by the SJ with it's breaking block than the earlier Lj which was a bit more tug the toggle and go!

I've been using the RW daily since it was released (also owned a unicender for about 4 yrs) and have so far found ,for me, the best set up working SRT set-up is the SJ with the RW. There are definitely improvements still to be made for working SRT (the new ART mods that joe harris has spoken off will go some way to help this SJ set up and there are definitely some issues with the unicender that if resolved would also make it a better package).

I've tried both tachyon and 11mm static (Yale Kernmaster) with the SJ/RW and find the static (though can be difficult to grip without 'sticky' gloves) the best - it runs much sweeter through the SJ and I prefer as little bounce as possible. I chose Kernmaster because of it's (apparent) energy absorbing capabilities.

Initially I just attached the RW with a cutaway strop to the SJ set up ala Joe Harris ( a cutaway through the velcro and the krab attached to that). This has worked great and it was easy just to detach the RW to revert back to ddrt.

As I find myself rarely reverting back to ddrt these days and to encourage the SJ to self tend I've just changed that setup to a simple tether (around the krab attaching to my swivel on my bridge and through the velcro then tethered to the RW) with a DMM thimble. The tether is shorter than the previous setup so the RW engages that bit more quickly than previously and the overall package is a little neater. You can still fairly easily remove the RW from the tether and attach your rope end to the thimble for ddrt if you wish. I've the Petzl voltige chest harness ( on it's way)- the idea being it's a little easer than the whole lanyard over the shoulder rigmaroll and attached to the RW thimble (and on 11mm line) this provides an optimal situation for the SJ to self tend.

SJ with RW is the way forward imo. Velcro really isn't an issue but the new SJ parts in Feb it will make it that little neater and improve performance methinks.

It is very good but I think the LJ is slightly better as the tether can fasten directly to the LJ. I may even buy a LJ even though I have a SJ:angry:

Yeah, that did look to be potentially neater set up... but I found a small mammutt sling girthed to the SJ krab and just poking through the velcro attached to a krab which you can clip on to a cutaway sling girthed to the RW fairly tidy, easy to remove RW and drt if required.I also liked the idea of the LJ being midline attachable but tbh I've not really missed being able to do that. The greater/finer control etc offered with the SJ more important imo...

Heard there making changes to the velcro, maybe it'll make for an even neater RW setup.

Would be interesting to get more feedback from those that've used both the SJ and LJ with wrench.

Try RW with spiderjack on 11mm static (I use Yale Kernmaster). Best

combo I've tried, better than Unicender and various hichclimber/cord combos imo.

Just wanted to thank Reg, Brian(Contractor) and his gang, Ross (Crane Operator) and Gavin (Photographer/Camera-man extraordinaire) for a great day yesterday.

I was lucky enough to be up in the canopy (Beech),picking up invaluable tips, with Reg whilst he dismantled it.

A smaller crane had to be used which made things a little trickier for Reg but allowed me ample opportunity for learning.

I managed to take a few photos and a couple of short clips with my phone but none were of great quality... I'm sure Reg will have the film/photos of the job posted soon though for everyone else to enjoy.

Worth noting the Stein crane bag and the new Stein rope bag look to be very handy (and seemingly well made/durable) so they'll both be added with intercom to the ever growing wishlist!

All in all it was a great day with a genuinely good bunch of lads, well worth the long drive on a friday night!

Best of luck in Vancouver Reg. All the best. Take care.

Ken

Yep I'll buy it if it's still for sale?

Just wondering if anyone's got a spiderjack lurking in their kitbag gathering dust??? The £200 odd for a new one is a bit beyond my budget so anyone interested in selling one please give me a shout. Cheers:thumbup:

Just some ideas may or may not be useful -Try using a pulley on the line- put sling around section then clip on. Clip on another Krab (to pulley)and control descent with 2nd line through fig8 anchored to suitable point on tree (this controled by climber) or run 2nd lind through pulley and down to portawrap. Could remove fairly large sections.

Aye count me in, anywhere in Scotland no problem-just need a bit of notice. Cheers.

Ken

Try Paulo Bavaresco at Treemettlenexus. I enquired about the same thing a few months ago, a least 4 people needed (I think)in order for the course to run. If you can sort something out with him you can count me in. Goodluck.

Cheers bob, managed to get somone. Thanks for offer tho.