Dilz

hmm, just had a thought, i may have to design my own, as most have the Hi Vis just above the ankles, not the best when your over your knees in snow by the rails...

The hi vis isn't as yet compulsory, but the Traffivverket (government transport office) are running out of things to complain about so we are trying to pre-empt them. The new Sthil x-fit come with the reflective stripes, they are only Type a as far as i know, but again over here that isnt an issue. - i have been using type A since last november. Hi-flex are solid, and thats a good point Jenks about the over trousers, there was a lad over here who wore some light weight combats over his trousers, he'd had them 2 years and they looked brand new, The low temperature is only a problem when standing around, its surprising how quickly even in temperatures at -20c and below the body heats up and in these temperatures the last thing you need to do is start sweating.

Martin Lothman, he isnt on this forum, but i'll be chatting with him soon so will send you a contact e-mail or something, one of his best mates has just bought a house in gothenburg, he too is a rock climber, so i'm sure they would appreciate a little local knowledge. I'll give you a shout myself when i get near there, but its a long slow walk for me, shouldnt be in that neck of the woods till next winter. I havent touched rock since last december, i was just getting the hang of it as well (only been rock climbing 6 months prior to that - but my mates are keen trad-climbers who have been doing it a few years.) and just to point out to anyone else who reads this..... i went out in Kalmar city last saturday, 3 of us each blew around £200, the average round was £35 and that doesnt include the cash from the side job which paid for the meal, nor the £40 cash i won at black jack....you have been warned!

and hes 40odd years old (though with over 20years forestry under his belt...)

85kg after i wake up.....84kg 20 minutes after the second coffee of the day..

bah! taking all the work out of the job? we'll just be like the bloody bin men in a few years..... (though is we earn the same pay as them that could be a bonus!)..... seriously its an interesting product, and if it saves the back so you can keep working, and work faster then its a good thing

na! the bigger the better - all our trees have to be picked up by the harvester and as much timber in length as possible, even if most of it goes for pulp, they don't like us taking things down in pieces much smaller than 3 meters, bigger if we can, i tell you its a god damn night mare when we are clearing big oaks from the HV's and the bigger bosses are telling us off for taking things in small bits.

shuch a short life span is no good....are the yellow the same material? they are going to have to put up with some harsh punishment over the winter months...

Been looking at the Hi vis chainsaw trousers from Stretch air, useful, but some feed back would be cool, also i noticed they do a class 2 protection (24mps chain speed) any one tried these? they sound like they would be a tad warm, but then i'm looking at another winter in scandinavia rail bashing spruce trees.....

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oE_kdIdspU]our daves first big top - YouTube[/ame] this might do it

13 mm is good, i rate the xtcs, i think 11mm is too thin, unless you use a lockjack. One advantage of an 11mm rope is it opens up lots of possibilities to use gear mainly used in rock climbing, where 11mm is probably as thick as it gets. I switched from Yale xtc to poison ivy, which is 11.7mm the extra .7mm makes a hell of a difference to how the rope feels in your hands, i really dislike the blaze 11mm, i find it hard to grip, especialy when wet, but then i got some fair sized paws with which to have to grip it with. I started using 8mm prussik cord on the poison ivy, it worked well, but would heat up a hellish amount when descending, to the point where i could hold the knot, have just switched today in fact back to 10mm and from a knut to a VT, much happier i must say. - thats just my view and experience, best thing is to try and get hold of some of the ropes you are interested in a try em out.

hang on might have sussed it, never loaded a film of my phone before to post on here...

Log in | Facebook this might work, will continue to try and get this bloody thing off my phone...

balls it doesnt...

Our Dave, bless him, only been climbing 3 months. Woodpecker nesting site in the pine, to be left as a habitat pole....do you think we can take it in one, he asks, if you use a wedge we says. enjoy <object width="320" height="240" ><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="movie" value="http://www.facebook.com/v/10150365451876062" /><embed src="http://www.facebook.com/v/10150365451876062" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="320" height="240"></embed></object> i hope that link works...

hmm interesting stuff, had a rope access worker over here in Sweden say the alpine butterfly reduced strength by up to 60% which has made me reconsider the system I use for setting up and advantage for pulling trees over, though with out having the correct measuring gear its hard to sya how much force is being put on the rope....

If you want durable, weaver wins hands down, the only problem being the bridge cant be replaced, if you nick it or it gets damaged some way, I still have my weaver, its now 8 years old, so i cant use it but i have no doubts that its still up to the job. The Tree motion is handy because of the replaceable parts, its comfy, light and well thought out, once you get it set up right, and i think that puts some people off, it took a while to get mine right, but its there and its like wearing an old slipper, although after less than 2 months the stitiching on the padding for the leg loops is starting to wear, but it hasnt been an easy two months, i must say when i opened the booklet and it said the harness could last up to 3 months with hard use i started to have regrets, will see how it looks in another months time....

Was it just a mistake with the ash, or does the kid really not know how to identify them? Everyone makes a little slip up every now and then. What grade did the lad get in his ND? did he just pass or get the full tripple distinction? thats the differece between a D level student and A*. Also if he went straight onto the course at 16 and had never worked then they may not apply themselves as much. I have heard in more then one college teaching ND level arb that the instructor had finished the course, worked in the world for 1 year then gone back to teach the ND. That is stupid, and will lead to students not getting the best insights in to the industry, and after 1 year not many can say they can tackle any tree, have observed tree structural defects for real, and that real world isnt as black and white as text books. - Of course the colleges are going to glamourise the course and the job and say there is tonnes of work out there, the more students they have the more money they have got. At the end of the day the ND is a good thing to have but it is up to the individual undertaking it to get as much as they can from it, and with the market as competative as it is and getting more so every year, the newbies will have to work hard to get the and keep the jobs that are there or work for less money - i know of one guy who got laid off being told there was no work, who then found out that with in a month two new guys were taken on who were nearly half his wage, - and the bloke in question is a good climber and crew leader.

i was too lazy to read all of the posts, but i like the idea of this thread, and wish to add my 50p's worth, There are studies, beliefs etc that tree have an ability to communicate, one thesis shows that this is enhanced by microrizzhoal ~(i cant spell it but you know what i mean) networks. The tropics are a good place to look for these kind of things, many trees flower in a sporadic fashion (i.e not the same time every year) yet it is noted that trees of the same species will flower at the same time. Yet scientists are not 100% sure how they co-ordinate these flowerings. Also a tree is a living thing, all living things contain an energy...the 'spark of life' there is a distinct difference between a living thing and a dead thing, regardless of what it is. Sentient means feeling of emotion, emotion could be put down as vital for survival, we fear, so we flea or fight to save our ass, we feel lust for the opposite sex to reproduce, we feel hunger and thirst so we seek food and water, etc. Trees do the same, but if they feel emotion the same way we do, then they aint letting on, but they do react, check out holly, and thorns, after they have been trimmed, flailed etc, they grow back twice as spiky to defend - this is caused by a chemical response, but then humans dealing with say - the nasty bloke in the pub is just a chemical response but played out on a different record. Also - all living things like i said before are powered by energy, energy creates a magnetic field, run a current along a wire etc... Now if our thoughts result or are the result in an alteration of chemical levels, and thought ( which trigger thousands of eletricla charges and impulesses through our brains) then is it not possible that this can effect the magnetic field we produce - or the vibe, we call it 6th sense - walk in to a room know something isnt right, or feel good because every one else feels good etc, then this could in effect have an effect on things around us, though it is hard to tell, especialy seeing as only other animals can really display any immediate reactions but these could be picked up by smell or body language ( the smell of fear) pheremones released could reveal intentions, so say the thought of a violent act results in the release of chemicals in the body to prepare the person for commiting said violent act, this change in body chemistry results in hormones being released in the sweat ( to expel the excess and perhaps to notify others to be on their guard). who is to say trees cannot pick up on this - though the flip side who is to say they can.... also for those who go on about grass, grass has evolved ( or was created for those who believe in creationism) to acttualy benefit from being grazed or cut short, you aint killing it, you are simulating it being grazed. Trees are important, always have been, always will, for those who get the pleasure ( and it realy is) to smash them down in big pieces and give a whoop whoop when doing so, we also have a duty of care to protect the trees that need protecting and do what we can to protect and preserve and make the existence of those things we use and rely on as good as possible, all i need now is a camp fire and some rizzlas the length of a roll of andrex.....

for a momment i had thought i'd shat myself because of the smell...

I aint talking about our Pete causing all workers to withdraw from the van with haste, (and thus braking the second rule of tree work) but an oak i climbed today, included codominant stems starting from about 6 meters up, chogged it down the fork, on the last chog, after it hit the ground, the tree made a cracking noise and the included union opened less than a cm from the released tension, also a crack appeared radially across the top of the cut, it smelt bad, i mean really bad....

If people in stockholm are willing to work for 120GBP a day then thats their problem! i came out and started on over 2000sek (200gbp) a day paying uk tax, free accomadation, albeit in a flat, with no windows, wiring that could kill and not much else. Stockholm is now getting quite competative in my opinion, lot more companies now than even 2 years ago, I charge for subbing 350sek - 450sek per timma, but taxes and expenses and unreliable work, winter, july when every one buggers off!!! mean that you have to charge that sort of money to live through the quite times, For those who read this wanting to come over, its all about getting to right contacts, and a little bit of luck, dont try looking for work out here form october till about march, as the season really winds down, though some people will still look to replace those who cant hack the winters. alot of guys, swedes included are what i'd call cutters not arborists, good climbers mind but kommunes are now wiseing up, which is a good think for me. When i rented it was lots cheaper than when i lived in oxford, and i gave up the sauce after the first 6 months - honestly any one who is interested in comming to sweden to work, be prepared, a quite few after work will probably cost well over £50, a good night out in stockholm once cost me just shy of £300, and thats was mostly on just me, £5 - £8 pints, and the spirits.......well its enough to make this old rum head weep. I stopped drinking and took up rock climbing, again lads and ladies, it will save you loads of money, its good fun and the indoor climbing gyms in stockholm are great to hang out and meet healthy athletic memebers of the opposite sex. Now i think about it i started on £35 a day dragging brash........... Jarnii i'm down in Smaland at the moment, about 40km from Kalmar, (no known climbing gyms round here:( ) but will be heading towards Halland province over winter and next year, i'm now on a traffikverket project and will be heading up on a stretch that way. My mate is moving to your neck of the woods soon i think, if so you guys should meet, he's a keen climber, ice climber fell klattra etc, and not too bad on the rope and saw, top bloke despite his mullet.

also i was told you need to have employee cover which costs a bomb for small one man bands to cover subbies without there own insurance. A subbie with his own insurance is classed as a bonfide sub contractor, labour only requires employee liability.

not sure about personal health....my mate over here has an american policy, hes rom the uk, works all over europe, costs him 60quid a month and they pay out with no issues and can be used on top of other insurances as well. Can also give info on getting public liability cover for uk based in europe if needed

stat oil coffee, or from the Q8 station with the blonde who is cute all over.