Dilz

Any one know any one to get in touch with about getting into the timber sports? Axe racing?

when i first came over to sweden i was on £20 an hour and thought it was the tits as it as double what i was on in the uk - i had all my kit provided and digs (of a sort actually they were rather gash) and the use of company van, phone etc. Once i stopped getting pissed all the time i started saving money. Self employed over here you need to charge a minimum of 400sek and hour to company but now there are so many desperate climbers that has been pushed as low as 320 which yeah sounds alot but the work season is retarded - work usually starts to come in around March but you may as well right of July and most of August as every one is on holiday, then you work Sep to novemberish and then your lucky to get much till next spring, and if you are legit you are as well as halving anything you earn as it goes to the tax man. Now as employed with all the perks of a reqgular contract (if you get one now they offer an hours as required contracts) you get sick pay after 6 months holiday pay and kit provided etc. but then even in stockholm you will be hard pressed to be on much more tha 160sek - guys i know are employed on 145 an hour - so yeah you still earn a bit more than in the uk but it isnt a cheep country. I do alright but then i've been lucky, and i live a relatively modes life style - i rarely go out on the piss proper and have no need to show off by buying fancy crap i dont need - instead during quite times i bugger off to some place cheep and get 6 months worth of drinking done - cheep flights to poland anyone??? There are more and more swedish wannabees and pleanty of young uk chaps trying to get out here but work is competative and often hard to find out side of the bigger cities, it helps if you have other skills so you can do more than one thing as myself and some other long termers i know out here have already reached to conclusion that it would be folly to rely purely on tree work to get you buy - though folk do manage it and have been very successful out here. But if you are young and single with out a mortgage then dont worry too much about the pennies you earn, get over here for the experience. If people have a strong work ethic matched with ability then evetually they land on their feet - or so i can say from my own experiences.

cut off limit for climbing for me is -27C but been out in - 39C - tis grim - yeah you can get 30 + an hour but its rare and hard - starting rate for a trial in with some of the bigger firms is about 150 sek so 14£ an hour - take into account a pint is ofet £7 - a casual few is £50 - and a saturday night is more the £200 so its all relative - get out here - live like i saint then go to portugal and live like king!!

i thing you get to keep what you pick up as payment - stuff it in your sleeping bag to keep you warm whilst chewing on the undigested fish bones. All the brain and body needs.

height is no probelm its what you are on thats the issue - i can feel comfortable at 100ft plus if im on something solid. but be half that and be having a twitchy bum if my only real working anchor point is sketchy. I here ya all on the wobbly tooth pick once the top is off. But there is being a bit nervous and being scared witless, a bit of fear keeps you in check. - but always remember the ground will stop you if you fall and if you dont kill your self doing something stupid, old age will.

wood wasp - had a bloke crap his pants when one flew in the truck - harmless to humans

the technical extreems are a mint work trouser i loved my last pair - though i went for the SIP innovation 2 this time round, in my mind the Tech extreems beat them on weight and manoeuvrability and i really liked the velcro waist bands meaning i didnt need to wear braces or a belt. I have to wear a belt with the SIPs they are heavier and a bit more restrictive and not as cool or water proof - but they are a hell of a lot cheaper. I found the pockets of the Tech extreems bust after too short a time but really liked the knee pads. I think if i were to buy another pair i would probably choose the Tech extreems over the SIP's tough it is still early days (only been out in em a couple of weeks) but then i'd have to stop being such a penny pinching sod.

or if you want the snow - you can get work up in lapland over winter picking up dog poop for the sled teams.

winter is crap - little work, no light - bloody cold - good skiing though - might get work shoveling snow from a roof. But get in touch with the firms so they have your name for when work would pick up - Dont expect great money, alot of firms now will pay a you a little more than in the uk but you could earn more if your good in the uk - prices of uk climbers can be as low as 140sek an hour - which may sound a bit to some but cost of living is high - if you are good and get in with the right people and supply kit you can earn a lot better. But it takes time and luck - ive been out here for 4 years in September so i know a bit and the market is getting tougher and tougher so prices are getting lower. but there is always work for the willing and able.

we tested some of the 540xps - i hope they have fixed a few things on em as all 6 saws went down after 3 months and all suffered niggling breakages and damages before they gave up the ghost...........they should have got a ms200t and painted it orange then there would be no issue. Me im gonna hold on for another 6months - i'm sure a bucket load of returned saws will soon get them fixing all the problems they should have.

found the x fit to be crap - crotch always goes - but once you stitch it up again its ok - almost worth going over the stitching before they split. cant comment on the new pfanner jobs - but in the past the galdiators which i wore in winter were good. My last pair were the Husqvarna tech extreem (i only where front protection) and they were the tits! super light took a year of abuse fairly well and would probably get more life out of them if i spent some time cleaning em and fixing the holes caused by wire fences and the like. Super light weight, nice vents highly recommend em if you want to fork out some dollar as they aint cheep. Just got a brand new pair of SIP innovation 2 not tried em in the field as it were yet but the fits good and they feel light and they were about half the price of the Husqvarna tech extreems

what was wrong with em? were they the P'pros or the others - i've heard bad reviews on some of their other boots but after getting more than 2 years out of each of my last 3 pairs im tempted to stick with em. Though the weight is a bit of an issue - sarted getting plantar fasciitis so i could be tempted to go a bit lighter in the foot department (as well as bin my old steel gaffs) - but thats for a different thread now back to the boots....)

with the extremes how does the 'claw' element hold up? i dont think haix think too much about the weight..... nor do i

time for some new boots - used Haix PP's for donkeys, will probably get some more of the same, but interested to here in what folk think about others that are available on the market at the mo.

A work mate came up with this un today - 'If a fat girl falls over in the woods and there is nobody there to see it do the trees laugh? - If at first you don't succeed Skydiving isn't for you' 'Boss' - Can't isn't a word I use in my vocabulary nor should you 'Employee' - But how do you say "you can't say can't"

Just seen you say july.....bring lots of Mosquito spray, and a net.

Iwould be walking but my foot is nakcered aint it....canoeing this summer i reckon. Hoga Kusten trail up past sundsvall is nice. Bring some mosquito spray, Or try and hit it later in the year (end of august early sep is good but can be chilly). Abisko is supposed to be good, have yet to make the trip up there.

I swear there is a seperate place on this forum for accidents and near misses but i cant find it so i'll post this here. Coroner: Tree trimmer killed in 60-foot fall | Oconee/Pickens News - WYFF Home

Sherril have released an email to people who just purchased one - here's a link to it on a forum.... Just Received This E-mail From SherrillTree About Petzl Zig-Zag Failure - The Dripline

TreeClimber.eu - Arborist Forum - SKT Baumpflege • Thema anzeigen - ACHTUNG WICHTIG!!!! UNFALL MIT ZIGZAG!!!! you need google translate as its in German.

just been trying to look into it - its just a rumour and i want to find out if its true. There are currently people saying its true and folk saying it bollocks put out to create bad press - so im in no way saying its happened. So dont panic!

rumours are abound that some one got spanked when their zig zag failed? Any one got any more on this?

Its important to make sure the boss isnt taking the piss too much though, which depends on your boss, but its tricky as blokes who are out of work are willing to work for less just to get the job which means companies can quote even lower forcing the next lot who try to get a job to work for lower wages so companies can then quote lower, and thus the arse fell out of the industry - If your boss is a decent bloke who you can be upfront with and wont talk bullpoo to you can probably be a bit more direct, but if he's an arse be abit more subtle.

Alot dpends on the the main company on the contract - i've worked on and off the rail alot for the last 3 years - It can be relaxed pace at times but other times you have to crack on. Taking big bits when needed but then also making sure as hell nothing falls on the lines or track. There are rules and stuff that are made up by people who have no idea of how to do the job and planning is often useless....but you get paid by the hour and you just deal with the other stuff. Sometimes it gets a bit dull with just taking the weight off spruce trees for the ground fellers, ups and downs really. I hate it and love it....

p.s, there are no big trees in sweden!