kevin bingham

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIVaE-JuvA4]oak to oak - YouTube[/ame] here is a little video of some wrenchin. Note the first part is a very good technique for passing through awkward redirects. You can use a friction hitch to weight your Single line and then safely pass your rig through the redi. that way, you never have to put your full weight on the branch your redirecting through.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIVaE-JuvA4&list=UUCm5fwHS9hQ0ghiKz6-_ISA&index=1&feature=plcp]oak to oak - YouTube[/ame] here is a helmet cam video. First day out with a gopro and opening day of Oak pruning season for me.

Yeah it should take a fat 13 mm. Just roll the pin so it fits in the pocket

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLC0yBq7bsE]Rope Wrench at the house 5-29-11 - YouTube[/ame] This is my favorite video of a wrencher. Jesse Huffman in Arizona. Cant imagine doing what he does on a double line.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDcjWakRL9Q&list=UUCm5fwHS9hQ0ghiKz6-_ISA&index=1&feature=plcp]Kevin Bingham AERIAL RESCUE (KYTCC 2012) - YouTube[/ame] here is my areal rescue. Not the proudest of this performance but there are some nice advantages here of Srwp

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ye2hqpKrdg&list=UUCm5fwHS9hQ0ghiKz6-_ISA&index=1&feature=plcp]Wrenchin' in Kentucky - YouTube[/ame]

oh shoot, ill get that fixed

here is my arieal rescue, Good enough for third, Derrik Martins was much better. I did a few things wrong in this rescue but I was able to get the thing down. I got to work on my verbals a bit I see. Kevin Bingham Aerial Rescue - 2012 KYTCC - YouTube

Here is Derrik Martin's work climb. He had the fastest time and the second highest score in the work climb. along with a second place areal rescue using two wrenches, he won the prelim events. The masters challenge was not open to out of staters, but Rich hattier represented in the masters using a wrench. The event was won by three time champion cory petry.

So, a few weeks ago, I was challenged on Arbtalk to find videos of a good work climb done srwp. It was in a spider jack thread that got derailed by discussion of SRT in competitions. There was a comment about how someone had never seen a fast and smooth work climb which touched off a nerve in me because since 2009 I have been trying to enter the world of competitive tree climbing using the climbing style that I employ at work everyday and feel sometimes like I’m getting old and slow in the process. However, There a few competitions out there that have taken a good serious look at how the Rope Wrench works and have allowed its use under a stringent eye on safety. Obviously I think that for me, it is the superior style of climbing and I am confident that a SWRP climber can climb fast and smooth. I am well aware that a climber can be fast and smooth ddrt. That much has been proven at many comps and work around the world for years. I believe myself actually to be a fast and smooth ddrt climber yet I am faster and smoother climbing SLWP. Observing myself that is an undeniable fact plain and simple and that’s all I can tell people. The same might not be true for others and I don’t expect it to hold true for all climbers. I had the opportunity to go down to Kentucky which is a great local chapter that puts on an awesome fun competition and got a little video. I realize that the competitions do not say much, and that a 34th place finisher in a comp can be a far better overall treeman than a top ten finisher, yet the competitions are the only place where climbers can get up in a tree and show their style and they are a lot of fun as well as educational. Kentucky was a blast and the rope wrench was used by several outstanding climbers including the Preliminary Winner Derrik Martin from Pennslyvania. I personally felt old and slow so will not embarrass myself with footage of my work climb but here is a little footage from that event. Wrenchin' in Kentucky - YouTube

thanks Matt, that actually gives me the idea that if you even stuck 4 or five feet of your tail through the loop and left it there while you did the traverse, it could act as a lock. Having enough rope usually isnt a problem as most of the traverses that I have employed this technique on are really not that far.

I dont think a panicked horse could pull it loose, but a person could break it while the horse is panicking. Would like to see it break tested

Definitly not for life support. My horse figured out pretty quick to pull the tail and free himself. Always had to tuck the tail through the loop.

Never mind, the loop just comes out on the other side, i see they are the same. Hmm

Interesting, the falconers knot is slightly different. Same result though.

If you yank the tail though, it probably means you are holding the tail, meaninng you wont go anywhere, and you can lower yourself down.

Ive thought about that. Youd smack the tree pretty hard. If your worried you could use a dmm buddy or an isc rocker. It trails down but would catch if it pulled. I find i have to yank pretty dang hard to yank it out. One time i busted up my elbow trying to yank out a redirect. When it did finnally give i smacked my elbow.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDjjFksC1Zg]Using a Horse Knot - YouTube[/ame] here is a little video of me playing around with the quick release horse knot. I did not include it as a redirect but I use this knot for redirects quite often as well. I have started tying off my base tied ropes in the tree like this because it eliminates a lot of the stretch and bounce in my system and protects the cambium. I can not tie it effectively from the ground because the weight of the rope always pulls it out before i get it to the crotch. For getting back from a redirect or traverse this technique has saved me lots of time and effort. I also use this knot for my throw bags as well as light rigging.

Joe, i think youve misunderstood much that i am saying, i am not blaming anyone or anything or any group. I realize i have not done things i maybe should have. I am new to this. I am expressing frustration that you have not seen a fast smooth work climb srt. Thats all. I also was not bored or un impressed by the climbing i saw in portland. A little not the way i would do it but AWESOME none the less. I loved every minute of it. I have a few more points i will adress now that this thread is completely hijacked but im going to be gone for a few days.

Thanks joe. I would love to go to the victorian. I was thinking about this whole argument a bit and realizing how ridiculous it really is. In a sense the comps are pretty ridiculous as well. To clarify that the comps dont mean anything without srt: i go to comps to see and learn things from competent climbers. My point is not that the rw ias better than ddrt. It is for me, a lot of people its not at all. I am considerably faster srt than ddrt but not everyone will be. I feel repressed as a competent climber with something to share. The most common reason given to me for not allowimg the RW is not that there is a danger but that i may be a bad influence on other climbers. Its not just the rope wrench though, its the whole process for incorporating inovation into these events. To me its not about who wins, its whether or not there is cool stuff to see. Right now the itcc is years and years behind. Its hard to get to the itcc. Dont you think that making it there should mean that you have shown a bit of competence? Enough competence to share yiur style with others? To prove that im not going to fall out of tree? What was your submission process for the spiderjack? I have never had a problem coming back from a limb walk. I used to come back from limbwalks with an srt style even on ddrt. Tending slack is so much easier for me srt. Its all a matter of personal style. There was a great opputunity in the last four internationals to show a different style, but it hasnt worked out. Maybe in toronto someone else will have better luck with their submission. That really burnt me out honestly on the whole thing. Not sure whose loss that is. As for who wins, as you say, the comps dont say much about who or what is best, but the comps are not representative, and they are boring, and people traveled all over the world and still havent seen a fast or smooth work climb srt and dont think its possible. It is, and im pissed, not at anyine in particular, at myself for sure for not navigatkng the Maze better etc. But i really do not believe showing people my style is bad influence.

Id like to see more work climbs set up this long. Looks like a blast

Joe, what heats me up most is not that you find faults with SRWP I know its disadvantages and advantages. You are entitled to your opinion. I have seen people get on the RW and fail miserably and I think to myself that this system is not for them. What got me going here was that you have never seen a fast and smooth work climb SRT. There were at least 10 -12 climbers at Portland who could have shown you a bad ass climb and SRWP is their way of doing things. You are perfectly entitled to your opinion but in a sens it is us that are not entitled to our opinion. I was there in Portland, I watched you run your spiderjack work climb flawlessly, you may have watched me stumble around with my hitch climber and two ropes and the seemingly miles and miles of rope I had to tend. Not a smooth climb at all. Next SRT friendly work climb will be at the end of October. I will try to make it and make sure it is video taped. I havent seen a video ever though of any work climb that did it any justice.

Thanks Skip, sorry if I get a little worked up. I definitly realize the advantages and disadvantages of each system. A good climber can do either and it shouldn't matter. It is quite frustrating to be told that the system I find to be the safest and most efficient way for me to get around a tree is not good enough to show off. There is no argument about the Spiderjack here. I have seen with my own eyes that it can be used beautifully and smoothly and efficiently by a competent climber. when I go to a comp and they tell me I need to climb on either a spiderjack or a hitch climber because Im not competent enough to figure out a way that suits me best I am honestly offended. Then other climbers say that they have yet to see SRT used well. Its quite annoying to go to my local comp and have to use a method of climbing I personally find limiting and difficult because I might hurt myself if I use another way. I am done arguing with the judges about it. It has also been disappointing finding that many traditional ddrt climbers dont seem to have any problem not being allowed to run their systems head to head against SRWP. It must be dangerous. Or is it just slow and ineffecient

I posted sam coopers facebook video on my facebook page. I cant seem to upload it onto arbtalk. It is a camera phone video. There are the videos on my youtube page of me just climbing.

The comps really do not measure a climber or a styole but they are a starting point. I personally love to talkshit in a competition setting because there is notheing personal in that arena. I go out and play ball with my boys and half the time we nearly end up in fistfights over the rules. So believe me that I am entering this conversation on a competition basis. Others not so much. You have got my competitive nature out and I want to show you a good climb. I will be the first to admit I have been smoked in a masters climb by a ddrt climber while I was on SRT. Back to DMC's point that its not the system that makes a climber smooth. Sadly I wont be in Toronto. I tried to pull off a ddrt masters in Michigan and got confused. To much dicking around gear and BS.