Rupe

Yes, I was hoping it would be ok on velocity too. I'm using mine on poison ivy but was thinking that 11mm should be better. With possibly greater amount of sitback (the zig zags having to stretch out more to grip) which would be a good thing when on branch tips. Used mine again today, all good, cant really fault it.

I have a mk1 for sale £100 inc postage? Was interested to see what this one made first.

2 hours to go for this, could be a bargain Art Spiderjack 2.1 | eBay

11.7mm Im not saying it doesnt self tend well. Its very good indeed, but I do think the SJ is better at that oen thing (self tending) although generally I didnt get on with the SJ.

I would say its not quite as good at self tending as a SJ, but the intuitive feel of it (for anybody whos used vt's) well makes up for the (very) slight reduction in self tending. It bites very well, so there is very little sitback but the downside of this is that its difficult to force feed some rope through when on branch tips with flat rope angles and friction. But for those of you taking pictures of it looking like animals and diggers, get a grip! Its a tool, for work, not a lovetoy!

There is no definaition of a "tree surgeon" so anyone can all themselves one, you dont even need CS30/31 but a chainsaw would help! Its just tree cutting remember, its not an unrestricted business, anybody can do it. Withink the trade I think that 5 years full time experience as a climber is usually the bench mark but it does depend on who the mentor has been for that 5 years!!

To the OP, just noticed you paragraph to me, and quite understand what your saying, but I've was in your situation for many years and don't think I ever got any overtime in my life, and all jobs were underpriced because that's how most companies win the work. So, I'm might be an owner manager now but I do know what it's like. It wasn't a dig, but a fact of life. You either get on with it or go find another job, which will probably be exactly the same.

They should, but without one the employee is protected by a standard contract under employment law.

I was thinking about my rather harsh comments to the instructors out there....... Not going to change what I said, but just to add, if any employers think that NPTC means the person they are hiring knows how to do the job then that as much their own fault as the person thinking an NPTC is a gaurantee to a job. It works both ways.

I would be Rhys, but I've decided not to get another pair, as there are other things out there to try, (less yellow) but Im tempted, I think mine are 44.

Oh, ok, sounds about right!! Make the course easier so more people pass (sorry pay for) it.!!! When I did it there was a fair amount of maths, but I'm a maths nerd so it wasnt a problem. I would think that someone without basic maths would struggle but if its been made easier then maybe thats not the case. Once you've done the course, you just put SOME chemical in your sprayer and start spaying, and if you run out put SOME more in, and if you have too much go over the same area again! No maths ever! Two days for that, genius!!

I need to try and be more contraversial! People keep agreeing with me, that can't be right! The NPTS are (I thought) supposed to be a check that we are all on the same page re safety standards, they are not meant to be instruction on how to do the job, so the idea that a person holding an NPTC is in some way "qualified" is a non sense, and widely misunderstood by those paying for the courses. Instructors should IMO turn away 90% of those coming along to courses. We, as proffessional contractors, are supposed to turn away all the topping jobs, or at least talk the clients into much cheaper (in the long term) healthy pruning, thus doing ourselves out of future (all be it more bad) tree work. Why shouldn't instructors do the same?

You dont need any, some basic maths skills would help. If your a total non maths type person then you might struggle but you dont actually need anything to qualify for the course, you might fail it though without some maths skills.

Agreed. NPTC training is a healthier industry than tree work, thats for sure. It used to be that NPTC training served the tree industry, i.e the training and assessments were paid for by tree workers (or companies) that wanted to progress (or their employees to progress). Now training is paid for by money that does not come from the tree work indusrty and there is far more of that money. The bank of mum and dad mostly but also from those changing careers. Too many people hear the words "you need a ticket to get a job" and they take that to mean "if you have a ticket you will get a job". Neither is really true, but employers dont need to pay for training anymore as everyone in the world has an NPTC ticket the problem for employers now is finding someone who can actually do the work and the NPTC ticket is a zero indicator of that. For me personally, the criteria for starting an NPTC course should be 12months employment in the industry, that may be harsh so lets say 6 months. Seeing as no one is being employed in the industry at the moment then the numbers going for training would drop hugely but the standards of those turning up for the course would go up hugely and then (with a decent trainer) they might actually learn something useful. So employers could hire people to drag brash with no tickets (they can now anyway) instead of having numpties with tickets that think dragging is beneath them, and then IF they last 6 months they might send them to get a basic chainsaw ticket, and so on like that. The numbers dropping out of work cos its too hard in the first six months would be huge and so no worries, at least they haven't wasted their inheritance on pointless training for non existant jobs.

Patience and an ability to keep awake through two days of boredom, thats all!

In the absense of an actual contract you are covered by employment law, so in effect you dont really need a contract. If you have a contract that says you will get overtime that still doesnt mean you'll get it if the boss doesnt want to pay it. And if you get sacked for no reason then you will have to take him to small claims with or wothout a contract, you should win but you still have to take it to court i.e. having a contract that states you cant get sacked for no reason wont actually stop you from getting sacked for no reason, if thats what your boss is like. So you dont need an industry related contract, they are all the same, except in our industry there is no paid lunchbreaks, but theres no point in picking over an hour here or there, my advice would be to work harder and get the jobs done on time. It will make you a better treeworker for the future. No one actually has enough time on jobs, if they did they wouldnt have won the job in the first place.

Exactly, it will scare off the decent ones, and the dodgy ones will go for someone without t&c's so its a no win situation. Tree work in the domestic market is about people to people relationships, forms and signatures, interest rates, cancellation charges etc etc is all too much, its only cutting some trees, its not a mobile phone contract!! Just be prepared to have some cancellations here and there and go a do something else. If you try and wrap it all up with paperwork you will have no work at all!

I believe the e bay ones are even older models with different soles but pretty much the same thing.

Yes, scarpa stopped making them but due to pressure form the arb industry they now make them again just for us, so limited runs of them sent to a few suppliers I believe. Honeys do them for a mere £192.00 Pro Ascent Climbing Boots

If they are even close to your size then get them!!

Too big for me but thought someone might want these awesome tree climbing boots. Scarpa Boots Size 48 | eBay

Having the tickets (rescue) does not mean you can be sent out with a climber as the rescuer. Any employer would need to see that you can rescue the climber in the situation he is likely to be in that day. SO a junoir recuer might be the rescuer on small jobs but it would not be ok to send him out with a much better climber if he's tip pruning big trees. So that in itesefl kind of makes a mockery of nptc. YOu cant sent a newly qualified chainsaw operator CS30+31 to go and fell a tree if its beyond his experience. The employer would be liable!

Sir quip said it betterer than me!

If he isnt specifically qualified for arb gear then hes not going to know what hes looking at!!! He wont pass it, he will just be confused! If your "somewhere local" is for fork lifts then they wont do a loler check on climbing gear. And vice versa! I'm qualified to do loler for arb but show me a crane and I wouldnt have a clue what I'm looking at! Of course you "local" guy might do fall arrest stuff for, lets say, scaffolding. But again he wont know what it is he is looking at. One of the criteria for the ARB loler course is good knowledge of all the gear. So if someone came to me with a pair of kong ascenders, a petzl croll, a ropeguide etc. I know exactly what they all are, I also know every make and type of arb rope (or can look them up easily) etc etc.

Is that an ARB loler course? Dont forget that LOLER is not an arb thing, there is loler for cranes/forklifts/lifts(elevators) and anything else you can think of. A loler inpsection course for one thing wont cover the others.