Gray

difficult one this, i've owned elten fellsmen , haix pro climber , some other not worth mentioning brands and currently clima air tirol's . the first are ultimate climing boots but don't last long on the soles, the haix are dissapionting if you do a lot of jumping ,scrambling,running and kicking stuff in and around the crown, they just fall apart, the clima air's i'm confident will last 3 plus years but only feel confident on spikes in the tree ,you still can climb in them but you have to get used to not using the center of your foot as the sole is just smooth there,and on the ground there average, you seem set on haix but at the first sighn of anything ripping take them to the cobblers as haix themselves aren't very co'operative if you have a problem with there product.

topping strops , chainsaw strops or hangmans noose for you missus costume on halloween

Working for lots of guys rarther than just one you end up with an overall better understanding of how each job is done best , its all about information sharing meeting new friends and having a great time, most of what you will do will be what most guy's will look at and say that i want to live" , but you'l soon realise that nothing's impossible . the worst part is finding out if your good enough to hire youself out, as in this job rep is everything , good or bad it'll follow you for years, the job itself is good though up to £40k if you work solid weeks , i only work 3-4 days a week though co's i've got 4 kids who need there daddy

guy i know's on cs38/39 this week for about £190 80% off due to funding from somewhere the only thing i could say to find out is google it ,or i know if you phone base training/buxtons in staffordshire they could tell you

as far as i know it's true(common knowledge around area plus i've worked with at least two former employees who've confirmed within the last year) , i dont know how he gets away with it but there are guy's who will take advantage of people desperate for a job, it sounds fishy to me aswell.

i've got this water proof sort of smock made by aus , does up round your neck realy warm and the harness fits perfect over the top so all the ring are unobstructed, theres a pic of it on my album, never liked gloves especialy for climbing .

I earn £120 per day,feed back as follows, small towns like walsall and other black country area's thats quite high, all of staffs and most of brum - thats bang on the money, south derbyshire and leicestershire thats quite low- average is more like £150, the reason is most towns are full of unemployment so some guy's find it cost effective to take on unqualified groundstaff , thats why groundies find it hard to get on ,you just can't compete with someone else at as low as £20 a day And get this , i know a fully qualified company where the groundies are on £30 and the climbers £35 + £7 show up bonus per day for all staff I'm gratefull to the guy's i subb to ,they are allways happy with my work and i get to have huge fun.

sorry didn't read it was a pollard, i'm gessing it's on softwood , usualy the bark's that rough that you can wrap your saver round and if it dosen't meet thats perfect as your weight will pull it tight on the way down and it grips and dosen't slip same as a timber hitch. or just shimmy down on your strop to the ladders(unless it's like 60ft finish height) leg loops are realy good for the final cut though , tree officers don't mind if you leave a growth point to get down on perhaps 5in diameter and 1 1/2in protruding, (using it as a stopper). thats rope around the trunk though not directly off that point.

i Just use the saver for most of the tree, then if i need to come down when theres just a pole then i put a notch in the top ,hellilogger style,

very very good bud , pop's make me har.. i mean excited , looks like you had a very good driver for the day. pics to be proud of.

no mate i'm 39 and i'm eligable , i havn't googled it yet though, just know an instructor who told me and a mate from another company is taking a load this week coming.

just had a funny idea so let me know how it goes, buy some pink fairy wings turn up on your first day and with your hands on your hips boldly say out loud "I AM ICARUS.... GOD OF TREES.

just that, although at the moment you can get upto 80% off due to govenment funding right now. thats all cs's by the way.

200t is the saw i like to use on most of the tree. don't know why but back handled small saws genrate far more kickback when the tip's sunk. the only option for me when the trunk's too big for the 200t is 440 or 660 and then it's step cuts stop em spinning off. you could always get a 16" bar for your 200t and i'm sure you could get the engine ported and bored, i think you can even use corded rings on a magnesium engine.

Just coppy the guy's kit who's the best you've ever seen, i would myself but they don't sell 3 strand , a rusty carrabina and telecom straps anymore. whatever you decide give my mate steve a ring at chainsdirect.co.uk , he's got anything you could possibly need (apart from chainsaws) even a huge range of silent and deadly's.

I must admit, i've had good instructors (more practical than the usual ones who TELL you what to do instead, wanting you to get it wrong so they can put you down with there ultimate wisdom) . and because of that i've rememberd alot infact it's all used daily years later, just good practice. Although i can't help thinking about a few times i've been cutting logs while holding them and buzzing the ends off one handed with my 200t, and the guy's who've said bloody hell thats quicker. Just wondering if they went to the local gypsy or ebay after seeing how easy(to a bi'standard) and light and small(""again"") they are to use. Dosen't have to be me though, ever seen people watching you work, i know every time i see a chippy using a nail gun i always say gotta get one of those. Quite a good discusion post this is , if only we were all in a pub on wages day,heh,heh.

nobody confirms 100 legal percent to hse regs, you just can't they change so much. if you try to keep up you just spend all your proffits in the prosess. its always been the same for some time, chainsaw climbing courses have been broken down into about 20 blocks because someone somwhere wanted more proffit, if any of us are taking down a mature poplar in a confined space using roping down technique hse will have something to say, "have we notified the customer and surrounding neighbours to remain within a safe distance" making sure whatever we cut in lenth does not exceed 1/2 that distance. if we use a crane do we bully the driver into showing us the vehicle's service log and that he's qualified to do the job. and who when chipping roadside has ever halted a pedestrian until you've turned it off so they can walk by, cos thats in your chipper course. in short good focused guys live long and get a good rep, idiots get hurt and then get rich(claims direct ect.) , thats what makes our life difficult. the rest was just me havin a rant , because i'm old and grumpy so the wife tells me.

Used to be that it was what the climber felt safe in, but h.s.e. and insurance companys had alot to say past few years. best phone the college or instructer to check, Elten felsman are a very good starter boot , grip everywhere but last sub 1 year.

cheer's bud i'll check it out.

One of my mate's was showing of his new harness today, thing is it weighed 1/3rd as much as my willans t22 wide back in it's bag. Possibly time for a new one but i realy like the sturdy straps with stoppers on the end and the fantastic layout of d's and tool rings. i kind of like the non floating anchor point aswell. Also with my steel spikes no wonder no one brings my kit bag round the garden. Anyone with any veiws as to a replacement feel free to comment ,thanks.

silky's are dangerous , silent and deadly i call 'em, you can't hear them reving to cut when your grounding on fast jobs