Dilz

I been using a tree runner p500 bollard for years now and would never go back to a crapstan, and to be fair the p500 copes with just about everything. ITs the winch part of the Stein that is interesting / useful and the fact that it is removable and thus you dont have to take the full thing out to every job is a really good idea. It looks like its a lot easier than setting up a serperate lifting system.

So the stein 3001 bollard and winch - is it any good? apart from being less than half the price of GRCS.....

just switched to the Andrews after a decade of Haix protector pros - I too have weird feet - i bought the 47s which at first felt massive and stuck and extra insole in - it took a week or so the break em and at first they were not very comfy but now they are getting there - I prefer the Haix PPs for spiking and ground work as the higher boot is better for those swampy areas... That said I'm not doing so much line clearance and more pruning work these days and the grip is top notch on the Andrews though they are not a light weight boot...but great if you have wide feet.

also i want this years event to go ahead as i plan to be a judge or something.....got to get those CEU's!!

Well when I asked the event organizer why after the RW being available on the market in various forms for what? 10 years ish? is it now all of a sudden a problem that it is not CE marked... the answer i got was that some one made a complaint and the German Trading standards banned it...but as to who brought up the issue that resulted in not only the sale of the rope runner and BDB but the RW as well i can only guess...on that note anyone bought the spiderjack 3? not seen any in the flesh yet... and anyone remember when Germany banned its nationals from using a chainsaw in the tree...funny how that didnt apply to the rest of the EU...

If the rope wrench is load bearing then so must the tether that is used...so all tethers need to be CE marked as that is how the RW is attached to the climber other wise what is the point of having a load bearing device attached to a climber by any old bit of string wrapped in gaffer tape?. and yes the Dudesons.. fine Finish chaps.... the fat one cut his thumb off with a chainsaw.... but going down that route does that mean that the only systems that can be used are CE approved ones i.e teufelberger CE sytems (CE= Creatively Expensive....its shame im not allowed to swear.... ) Makes you wonder who put in the complaint in the first place....

Bloody germans ruining everything! The organisers of the climbing comp here in Sweden have banned SRT devices including the RW - stating the RW isnt CE marked and just because ISC say its not PPE doesnt mean it isnt PPE - totally failing to grasp in my mind what the WR actually is and that is something which allows a hitch to work better on a single line and is in no way load bearing or life support - it just stops the hitch biting too tight and wearing out too quick on rapid descents - its the hitch cord that is PPE / life support and not the wrench if you take the wrench off its not like you fall to your death - in fact its very hard to move anywhere! - or have i got this massively wrong? is the RW technically PPE? IF so. how??

I use non CE cougar blue and orange - both great on SRT with Wrench and VT as well as Zig n Wrench setup.

Tired the zig zag and wrench set up today - it works rather nice.

use it a lot, like it alot.

SO after seeing a couple of videos and a thread about using the rope wrench for rigging I decided to give it a go using the ZK1 and an ISC pulley. First thoughts were you have to really pull hard to bring the rope with you. even after switching from 14mm to 13mm rope the rope wrench offered a lot of resistance. Secondly it doesnt work with light pieces at all - it just holds them up. iNfact ihad to go quite big on a pine tree for it run down to the ground at a sensible speed. Lifting and holding up pieces is much easier. and i think this where the system comes into its own - control from the top is easy - i.e take control of the rigging line whilst the groundy pulls the tips away from the bushes - towards the chipper etc. Im getting a pinto rig to use for this set up in the future. The ZK1 i think is perfect for it - at least mine is as i bought the extra split pin which is less fiddly than on the new wrenchs - although i havent tried it with the ISC made wrench yet. Has any one got any decent tips / insights into using the wrench as a lowering device? As working often in a two man team i think i will use it more often.

dismantles - 201TC with a 14" bar. 560xp 18" or 20". might get a 660 up on really chunky stuff but only if im taking cookies off. if felling out large lumps 560 does it well enough and doenst pull the harness (too far) off my arse. 576xp is a good saw - loads of grunt - really chew through the wood. I don't see the point of a 50cc saw but the two girls on work experience like them.

solder the wire on.

Teaching myself more on fixing saws, and giving my 7 year abused 200T a full strip down. How do i separate the halves of the oil tank / crankcase / remove the crank shaft? Also any tips for cleaning off seriously baked on crud from the exhaust and fins? I had to chisel my way through to get to the cylinder head bolts. Cheers for any tips

dont use a balancer much but this last week it has been really useful. the balancer Ive made is just a rope with two steel krabs knotted to the ends and then a prussik loop attached to the middle of the rope which is then clipped to the main rigging line. SLiding the prussik about changes the balance. Now straight logs. no problem. but balancing branches with tips always ends up dipping down one end or the other. Anyone got any handy hints?

i bought one of these years ago. it should come with a strap. They are great bits of kit for small to medium rigging. I prefer to use it with a 14mm rope - 19mm is a bit too thick for it in my opinion. As long as its tightened on properly it shouldn't move. I have taken some fairly big stuff with it, blocking down dead elms and the like. Its also really easy for an inexperienced groundy to get the hang of.

so CE marked cougar is bouncy?...glad i got the orange now.

what happens if you use a 60C wash? i did this by mistake and my ropes appeared to be fine, just very very clean...

so after a couple of days of wet and slimy trees - the new rope has started to look and feel more like my cougar blue. I didnt realize the orange was not CE marked....would have been nice if it had said that on their website...its going to have to stay in the truck on some gigs now

had a CAT S40 - was solid, water proof, worked with gloves, good noise cancelation. Some git nicked it out me pocket in the Peru so got a Samsung X cover - cracked the screen in a week but otherwise tough enough but not as good as the CAT phones.

i prefer the HAAS set up over a foot loop and hand ascender. On SRT jobs though i will often have the hand ascender clipped on to my harness to use for a quick 2:1 setup

is that shackle rated? would be good if it is so it can be used for DRT as well.

i think banging the cougar blue on a 60C wash fluffed it up nice. Climbed on both the orange and blue today - Blue is noticably nicer to grip but the orange wasnt too bad and still is a really good rope - ran it with a zig zag and was smooth as anything.