MasonW

Awesome work . Looks like it will make slack tending and returning from branch walks a breeze. Look forward to the tutorial.

No offense intended gents, but when Petzl says don't use... Thats enough for me to go back to tying a hitch.. Oval carabiners and rubber rings aside.. IMO..

Happy to have the wrench and srtwp in the tool kit. Always wanted to run the uni but cost was prohibitive. I too would like to see it more readily accepted as an energy efficient means of climbing by the governing bodies as opposed to a sketchy fringe fad. All srtwp practitioners know the benefits and i wouldn't say it replaces ddrt entirely but I wouldn't be without srtwp. How about that awesome looking rope runner.. Go Kev !!

I too apologise for de-railing.. So what your saying softbank is the RW should come with a preferred length tether and hitch cord with instructions on how to tie the recommended hitch? My ZK 2 came with all that information, just not the physical tether or hitch cord ..or instructions on how to tie a vt. As for melted hitch anyone with a spare crab can munters hitch their way out of that.. Have you seen a drop test on a footlock prussik?

The RW is not for primary life support any more than a prussik minding pulley. Although it would be great to pick up a certified, pre-packaged RW climb pack, ie hitch, wrench and tether I don't know how relevant that would be. I've met plenty of arborists who all use different climb styles, harnesses and gear and its very rarely a one size fits all equation. Its also not a certifiers job or kevins to make sure a climber can configure their RW or tie their friction hitch. If anything I would say SRTWP is going off, not in a rut?

Imo that's worse. If it failed from slight jolting what would it do in a decent fall? I can't see how a side loaded crab would rip the splice attachment point off and the d attachment point failing at 15.6 is enough for me to be back on a hitch.. At least for now anyway..

I thought all life support equipment had to be a minimum of 24 Kn breaking strain.? If the zz splice attachment point is taking half the load (reported to have been loaded at 15 Kn for 3 minutes) and the friction plates are taking the other half of the load (presumably 15Kn) does that not mean the bridge attachment point should be 30 Kn? The zz tested today failed at 15.6 Kn at the bridge attachment attachment point. I think the rough math for a climber falling is your (the) weight doubles with every meter fallen.. Ie. My weight 87 kg falls one meter = 87 X 2 = 174 kg 174 kg falls two meters = 174 X 2 = 348 kg 348 kg falls three meters = 348 X 2 = 696 Kg 696 kg falls four meters = 696 X 2= 1393 or almost 14 Kn.. Theoretically, If an 87 kg climber fell 4-5 metres onto a slack system whilst climbing on the zz you can't expect it to save you. (If you fall 4 meters onto a slack system the zz would be the least of your problems) Rant over... This Maths lesson was bought to you by Macho man Randy Savage.

In the interest of science, Treetools will be break testing a ZZ tomorrow to see how many Kn it takes to fail at the splice attachment eye. I think they are re-creating 15 Kn as Petzl claimed to have loaded the eye at 15 Kn for 3 minutes. Look forward to the results ..

Would be great to see a brand new one strength/drop tested, seems to be none on YouTube. Comparing my zz to the picture made me realise how thin the gold cheeks are and how little surface area there is between that and the curvature of the swivel housing.. Ha.. Gold cheeks.

I have tried numerous brands and have found Bolle to be the best for anti scratch and longevity. In saying that they claim anti fog but all brands seem to fog up.. I have a yellow pair for cloudy days and a black pair for sunny days. I wash them in warm water when dirty to avoid scratching and store them in an old work sock per pair when not in use. Go through 2/3 pairs annually. Beats having a scratched eye ball.. Thats for sure..

Some poignant questions asked on this Treetools blog about the certification (?) of the Zigzag.. Treetools Blog | life in trees - hell yeah!

Makes you wonder if the device was configured correctly. Haven't had a problem with mine so far. Will be interesting to see how it plays out.

Hey Paul, the 6mm ocean polyester is threaded through the thimble and girth hitched so its about 12 mm away from the wrench, so no metal on metal that ive noticed.

With this....6mm Ocean Vectran Loop with stainless steel DMM thimble Like this..... The Ovi O is girth hitched between the wrench and the top ultra o krab on the HC pulley. I find its a good length as a tether as its short ,compact and pretty hard to get snagged or wrapped around the top of the wrench. Thanks to Cary for this one. Hope that helps..

What does the krab with the hitch clip into to stop the climbing line slipping? By having the CS in the system must mean you have to isolate the limb. One of the reasons I use SRT is so I don't have to do that! Big shot out, rope in tie off, job done!! Just had another look, its not a hitch. Hey Deer Man its an alpine butterfly with a krab through, krab as back up in case the knot pulls through. I usually throw as high as i can from the ground, tie one end off at the base and ascend to that point with LOTS alone or with a hand ascender above all that with a foot loop for my left foot if the rope is in mid air. Once i reach that point, i lanyard in ,get the groundie to untie the base and if it isnt a dismantle i would select my TIP as per DRT and set up the CS system previously pictured. I like the lines running through the tree as opposed to one side of my life line tied to the base.. Scarfed off a large Poplar scaffold branch when i first got the wrench, tied off to the base. The leader compressed on the foliage end and like a spring pushed the butt end back towards the trunk where it missed my base tie by about an inch. The other reason i started using this system was quite often im pruning and i wanted it retrievable.

How much do i LOVE my wrench... ask my work mate hes dog tired of hearing me rant on about it ALL day like i work for Kev Bingham.. Easily the best piece of Kit ive come across since the Cambium Saver.. Able to climb 15 to 20 metres in under 2 minutes with just a wrench, tether, L.O.T.S, H.C pulley Two O's and a piece of prussik cord. Thanks for making everyday climbing half as hard. Less fatigue equals safer workmanship and better productivity... and less sweat poured at the end of the day... It has to be used continuously to be believed. My Setup.. Big ups to Drew for helping me figure it out!!

Called out to a Veitchs Silver Fir with Taupo Treeman today. This tree was growing to close to the Friendship Rock, (Not Joking) and some Earth works company Boss wanted his picture taken there. After arriving and arguing with a gardener about how the Tree had more character than the rock we gently gained some Rock Clearance with a silky and proceeded to "inspect" this fine specimen. All in all, a sound tree with maybe some non invasive bracing in the future and a good excuse for a blaze on the wrench of glory!

Hey Mate, There are two main ways to go in NZ... you can either go through a Tertiary Institute and do your qualification ,Three days in the classroom and Two on job. Fully Qualified in roughly two years, with a student loan of approximately 8-10 grand. OR Work for a big company that offers apprenticeships and work full time, taking days off to do day classes and on job assessments. Three to Four years to complete with no student loan. As previously stated, you need to OWN the groundsmans duties before you can even look at a harness.. All Great climbers are Great Groundies

He probably wouldnt ascend the limb,he would ascend his rope..

This was my method of Rope ascent on DRT if i had installed a CS from the ground. I used a croll as opposed to pulling part a pantin but had to double up the bungee cord to make it work better. Easy to set up, light enough to clip on your belt.. and your ready to go. Still not as easy on the body or as efficient as ascending on SRT with a RW in a frog setup, once again easy to set up, light enough to clip on your belt.. and your ready to go. I would recommend SRT as the most efficient access and work technique over DRT anyday. Just my opinion... mind you....

I used the Line boss once about a year ago. We were installing 6 metre long Red L.E.D strips on gum trees in a gum forest at Keystone(Crazy billionaire art and animal farm). As i was not entirely familiar with SRT at the time i was isolating my throw ball, installing a Cambium Saver, and climbing Drt with the DLRW (Double Line Rope Walker) which at the time i thought was **** hot. Turns out looking back the RW would have made this process three times as fast. I had climbed to my CS, as was preparing to throw my climbing line higher up the stem. I opened the top plate of the Line Boss and my line started free spooling through the device toward the ground .v:scared1: Admittedly it was my first time using the device and as we were trying to get as many trees done as fast as possible there wasnt time to be practicing low and slow. Stupid on my part as it would have made for a difficult rescue. 15 plus metres up and only lanyarded in. Tree DBH 1.2 metre. I was surprised there was no sort of spring loaded safety feature in the device to prevent this happening in change over, luckily enough i was quick enough to grab my line before it paid through the device but after that it wasnt really a piece of kit i thought was worth pursuing..

Far !!! Mean clean up alright, you could have a picnic out there..

Get a wrench..(helping)

I prefer my spikes tight, top and bottom... even if slightly uncomfy. Mainly because its even worse when they are loose and slip and slide around your calf. Having grown up on a set of basic Buckingham Leather Gaffs when it came to choosing a new set i was keen to try the lighter kinds as price wasnt an option..(I work at the council with Taupotreeman) The Velcro Geckos werent tight enough around the top and the boot straps were made out of a shite plastic im guessing they moved to over Leather to reduce production costs. I didnt try the Carbons.. I then tried the aliminium Bashlins and felt right at home.. Leather straps nice and tight and half the weight of the ol Buckinghams.. Stoked!

Sick Video Ian. Not enough RW helmet cam dismantling climb videos available to view. I think alot more climbers would understand the concept and practicality of the wrench after viewing. Picture paints a thousand words..