Dilz

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.

perhaps that is just it - it needs some sap working into it and then a spin on 60C should fluff it up a bit - My cougar orange and blue were bought from Nod. - and its amaizing how quickly you can loose 50 -60m of rope on SRT around a tree.

Got my hands on 35m of cougar Orange to use along side my 60m cougar blue SRT line...cant help but notice that the Orange is noticeably thinner than the blue...its feels and looks like 11mm instead of 11.7mm anyone else notice this?

if you want good weather - stay in Oz.

Thanks for the info chaps. I'll be having a play with it tomorrow.

considering getting a shoulder strap for my austria duo 3.2. any one had any experience of these? are shoulder harnesses only good for when you hang big saws on? or can they add comfort when pruning? any feedback on em greatly appreciated.

make a quick cut with the saw and jam the hook in, dont go too deep less you wreck some decent timber. I use the next size down from this bar for felling, and a big one with a hook for rolling, The little ones are mint, hit wedges in with it and then jam it in and stand on the back to get it over.

My 346xp runs like a bag of the proverbial poop. Its slow to pick up, often the revs dropping right off as i pull the trigger, and often requires a bit of feathering to get it up to speed. If i jam it right open then it can die. It doesnt like to start... even when warm but its a husky so... but also last time i had it out and used it all day by the end of it it would randomly drop the revs or stall when cutting and when not under load once i had gotten it up to full revs. To me it sounds like the saw isnt getting enough fuel or too much air, but I've done what i know - cleaned and adjusted the carb, airfilter is fine, no holes, fule filter looks fine, changed the spark plug, but its still not right. It has done this since i bought it. It was the last one in the shop as the 550's came out. Was only used as a back up saw as i got a 560xp which has more grunt to it. But as things are relatively quiet at the minute i've got the time to fix it. Wondering if i should replace the carb entirely? any ideas much appreaciated

pholiota squarrosa is sometimes not very aggressive, I most often see on trees that have exeprienced some sort of root damage but the rest of the tree was healthy - example in summer i crown cleaned a tall robinia, tree was in excellent condition, was on the same site in the autumn, large amount pholiota squarrosa at the base. The tree had suffered root damage due to construction. on the same site a dead cherry had pholiota squarrosa at its base but I doubt that it was the sole cause of the trees decline...but any way i digress... to the question in hand - it could just be coincidence - the thing to do would be to monitor the tree next year and see when it comes into leaf and when it sheds them. Even then there could be a number of factors such as south facing aspect, available water, wind exposure, genetics etc....though one area i'm willing to speculate is that - could there be potential for the fungus to encourage the tree to remain in leaf longer so as to make more carbohydrates available to the fungus....or is it the trees response to being attacked by the fungus, the tree itself responding to a need to bolster its defenses and that this will require more energy??? there are things we know that we dont know and things we dont know that we dont know etc etc. so the short is i havent a clue.

Has anyone used one of the Sherpa mini skidders? doesnt look like it has much beef as an Avant but I think it could fit most places, and as its lighter might not churn up lawns too much.

I believe our good man Tree man69 is expressing his own special way his struggles with getting to grips with the old SRT whilst using a rope wrench some perhaps a pantin type device and a hand jammer sort of thing if I'm not mistaken. The best advice is keep at it. Practice outside of work with no time pressures and if possible find someone who has experience of using SRT in trees and get them to show you some tricks. Lots of videos on youtube and such with good tips as well. It may help if there is any particular aspect that is proving difficult rather then just saying SRT is hard.

Thinking of a getting a new harness - got some wear and tear in the old lumber region - arthritis at the base of my spine and in the hip and a disc thats a bit unhappy at times - was wondering if there are any other climbers out there with back issues and what harness they find offers the best support?

Being handed a blunt saw - unless I'm about to sharpen it. eating all the biscuits / more biscuits than me.

My old poison ivy was stiff as a wirecore due sap and filth from these last few weeks. Usually wash it on a low wash but just realised I had it on 60c. Rope seems fine and very clean now it's out. Any one got any warnings about a hot wash on a rope?

old ms200 held together with spruce sap, a 14inch bar and full chisel chain - why complicate matters? - also anyone else find these days silky blades just don't keep their edge for long?

cant find 11.5's half sizes stop after 10.5 - size 12's are ok in winter as i wear thick wool socks - but causes me grief in summer on long drags - best pair of Haix i had were EU 46 2/3rds spot on fit but nowhere does them anymore

makes sense - more rope = more stretch = more force absorbtion. Its easy to see how much difference there is just by comparing ascending on a base anchor vs a top anchor - though why any one would fall with slack intheir system is beyond me...

Mallion on a prussik loop.

`the price is indeed shocking! i like to have large caritool with the gate taken off. Have the saw on a strop attached to the back handle attahed to a usual attachment point on the harness but you can then hang the saw by the front handle on the caritool - this is mint when sorting out rigging lines as the saw isnt hanging about like a big piece of snot getting tangled in everything.

also is the quick step foot ascender setup worth it? I do use SRT for just about anything i can get a decent line in.

how the andrews for fit? im usually 11.5 but you cant buy half sizes anywhere in any climbing boot! so if they are snug a size 12 will do me fine

dont like airstreams - Haix are big and clunky so thats no change for me - Steel toe is a must - as is chainsaw protection.