Cary Gibson

This is pretty slick and easy looking, much simpler than some other AR's I have seen. The little tether to connect the rescuer to the rescuee is cool. SRT up on the wrench slick as snot, clip to your guy and descend down.

yeah

no, actually you are right AL, your message tone implied that, big difference, my apologies so a rated hitch is a rated hitch, SRT or DdRT, right? the wrench really is not a factor PPE wise then right?

I tie mine because a real short hitch which works well with a RW is too bulky spliced

and tied hitches are legal in ITCC comps, lots , actually most of the top people tie their hitches

So Al, are you stating the RW is not safe( in your opinion) because it has no CE rating? and you are not hanging your weight off a RW, when engaged in work/lower mode, it is sharing some of the load from the hitch, but it never supports you, the hitch does, same in DdRT, if the hitch fails, you fall, right? everyone has their opinion, and this is a good thing, have you climbed on a RW/SRT Al?

Amen Marc, a smooth rounded RW done DMM style? man that would be sweet.

maybe over in the UK, not here, I'm the owner of my bizz, the lead climber, so yeah, I call the shots and the shot I call 99.9% of the time is the rope wrench My base tie is lower-able from the ground so even if a RW malfunctioned and the hitch seized, i could get out man, plus i always have an "8" on my saddle as well. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DX98siN0VeU&list=UUchhD5vrG2RRPm1PAxxtnwQ&index=1&feature=plcp]Basal-tie lowering rig - YouTube[/ame]

Scotspine, are you by chance Grover on the buzz? seems we have been thru this already eh? the wrench is not PPE, the biners, pulley and hitch, tied from rated cordage to a rated bridge on a rated saddle are are those wood beads people put above their hitch DdRT PPE? nope, but lots use them. it is simply an aid for climbing that reduces friction on the single line so you can climb on it. It is actually a teeny tiny DdRT system self contained. So IMO? it need not be rated as PPE, you could beat a bear to death with it, it is sturdy.

proof that a basal tie rig can be used to lower you out this is even with a 360 degree wrap around a limb as well. She lowered me out, no probs. Now being able to unclip your lanyard is crucial.

really, cool Georgetown is about 4.5 -5 hours west of me remember, Ontario is BIG....lol

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZwYXistLNk&list=UUchhD5vrG2RRPm1PAxxtnwQ&index=1&feature=plcp]Maple removal - YouTube[/ame] a 70-75' hard maple removal yesterday, rope wrench, no spurs until the last bit of the spar. Great day, my son and I, 4.5 hours from arriving until leaving. cheers! (pretend you never saw any 1 handing , it never happened )

I did that too Carl, the other day, in my yard trees as a comparison, it just sucked large nuts man

yep, the only thing I add is the biner on the bight to the wraps, but that is where i got it from

take 2 walks around the tree, under the up rope, 3-4 half hitches around the up rope leaving a longish bight, clip a biner in the bight, gate-out, to the two wraps, VIOLA! done, solid as shite, and you can still be lowered out if need be.

sounds good man, take some pics, low and slow and have at 'er!

I'll be perfectly honest, when I first tried the RW, I hated it...kept going back to DdRT, almost sent it back to Treestuff.com so someone else could give it a go I kept at it, read more, watched more vids, talked to Kevin about it, then suddenly one day on a big prune, I decided to use it all day in the tree. BAM, the light in my sometimes dimwitted brain clicked on, bold and brite:001_tongue: I worked that tree in record time, planned my climb and got to places almost impossible with DRT due to friction trouble. came out of the tree, and with a worried-heart, tentatively tugged at my multi-redirected KM111; it all came out slick as sour owl poop. I was hooked and have never went back, I just keep finding ways to make climbing easier, faster and more fun, and this equates to me climbing longer and making more $$ cheers!

That sounds good, I may make a video of me working a tree, 1st with DdRT, then with the Rope Wrench/SRT, same climb, same route, same problems, that would be cool to see from my helmet-cam viewpoint. but in the meantime, this is a short little vid Kevin made showing the advantages over DRT and regular SRT.

Sometimes i edit the movies in iMovie on my mac, sometimes just on youtube, there is a free dowload called "MPEG streamclip" google it, it will allow you change the format from MOV. to MP4, which youtube recognizes.

unclip your snap and throw it over your shoulder, like a bandolier , then clip it into either the HC pulley if you are using one, the tether of the rope wrench, or, like me the DMM thimble on the tether, snug it up good. then when you ascend, this tends the hitch and RW together, leaving your hands free. I only do this for long ascents, while working I just put one hand over the wrench, and one between the wrench and the hitch. A good trick is to clip the lanyard over the shoulder when you can climb a good section of the tree, it tends all the stuff as you climb like a kid, unencumbered you are in a way, self-belaying

Okay, since more and more people are trying the rope wrench, I figured I would share my fall on one when I first started. Me and a buddy were climbing a big red oak, 100+'. I had taken some fast up and downs to show him how fast it was. I went to the ground and started back up at about the 35' mark, my pantin popped off the line, and I did not have my lanyard over the shoulder near tight enough, plus I had a VT way too long and not dressed as tight as it should have been.( this is crucial, it needs to grab right away.) The next thing I knew, I was falling backwards, trying to set the hitch, which it did not so I resorted to grabbing the rope to slow my fall. I hit the ground on my back, right between two headstones ( we were climbing a cemetery tree), the smell of burnt rubber from my gloves was all I could smell. Then the burning pain set in, seems the rope was between my legs and up my arse, I was wearing Arborwear Tech pants, which are nylon....the heat of the rope and the fall melted them to my , well..... my stuff not fun at all, took a bit to heal, but nothing else was hurt. Even though the hitch did not grab, the RW DID slow my fall though, enough that between it and the rope thru my crotch; I walked away uninjured, well kinda... Freaked me out for a good 2 months, I was a bit scared on ascents, but it passed. So the rule is this, short , well dressed hitch that grabs right F@#%ING NOW , and a tight lanyard over the shoulder, plus on a long ascent, I clip a biner in my pantin to back it up. It was in no way the fault of the wrench or SRT, just my own complacency, play safe people

I'll post it in a bit man, no worries

That is to clip your lanyard into over the shoulder, for ascending

Some Samson vortex would be perfect for you man

see? I knew the Jedi-master would be here, it is like in the movie, field of dreams, "if you post it, he will come"