WorcsWuss

Well I've had a go at tying the helical, I reckon I could learn to love it. It's a bugger to set, as it implies in the knot guide it's either wrong, wrong or with loads of fiddling, right. Having dangled from the rafters it seems that if I run it up and down the line a few times before weighting it then it sets quite nicely. I do think I need a thinner cord though, on 11mm rope a 13mm tail is too big. Not sure how I can set up a pulley to self tend either, will have to experiment with that... Anyone else climb[ed] on a helical?

Doesn't look like I'll ever get an excuse to trade up to a set of ali spurs then.... I'll see your SPURS OF WRATH and raise you 'DESTROYERS OF TROUSERS'....

Cheers Rob, will do. Thanks, Simon

I've got some cords out on my kitchen table having a go at that now Drew. The only problem I see is actually tying the thing. I use 11mm Aeris & my split tail is 13mm Gecko which seems to present some issues with setting it properly. I'm going to go out to my workshop and hang the line up and try it with the proper kit, the prusik cord I have been using won't take it very well.... I'll try it with some cord & a buntline onto a crab as well instead of the gecko. Might need to invest in some 10mm Ocean, and if I get e2e it's there if [when!] I decide to go to a HC...

Tautline binds too easily. What I'm looking for I guess is an open hitch with the characteristics of a VT....?

Which bit of it is a howard hitch? There doesn't look to be a lot of it left in there...! Is a closed hitch going to work with my gecko split tail? Going to get a bit messy when I stick a buntline or something on the end of it...? Would I not be better with an open hitch like a helical?

Cheers lads. I will try to set up the knut! Does this self-tend? My blakes runs up by itself on a pulley off the standing end of the climbing line.

They are mega money and it does seem difficult to understand why, they're not a safety critical item afterall. I would really like some nice ali spurs, but I have a set of steel ones with leather straps & pads which I paid 90 quid for from a guy selling them on eBay in Leominster. I believe the 'brand' is 'Arbtechnish' if that means anything at all...?! They are perfectly functional and serviceable spurs, but they won't win and kit bag bling contests!

I've had a search and I know this has been covered, but where do you guys recommend I go from a Blakes and why? I'm getting a little hacked with my Blakes, on 11mm rope it can bind up with the big old split tail I have. Without investing in a load of new kit, what do you think is a good alternative? I want to stick with DdRT and ideally I don't want to shell out 70 quid for a hitchclimber kit [although it is on my christmas list I ascend on the Blakes, use it as a back up & high anchor for limb walking but come down on a figure 8 [really fast ]. I have a lanyard with a VT on the end of it for work positioning, and I like it so much I'm going to make up another really long one to use as well. What friction hitch could I use with my existing 13mm split tail [i know I know, don't say it's too fat...!] which will jam up less than a Blakes? Thanks Simon

I tie as many wraps and braids as I can get round on the lanyard to take the pulley as tight to the wraps as possible, it makes a huge difference to how it tightens up. It can have a tendency to not want to lock up at all if the pressure is applied very slowly [unlikely to be a problem when climbing I guess], with a fairly stiff cord the braids can hold the wraps free causing it to simply keep sliding till it's yanked on. The easy release is definitely a VT's best feature though...

We've done this for ours for a couple of years now, our 5 year old sat through it the other day open mouthed, it really is good... well worth spending a few minutes filling out the details...

It's a travesty that I'm so far from London [not that it usually bothers me all that much...!] particularly with this mention of 50% off.... I guess I will have to stick to shopping on line and emailing you incessantly asking when my delivery will arrive, like an over-excited child.... Or I could come down to visit my sister..... Second thoughts... maybe not....

You said it, my wife can be like the woman on the tram! I use a VT on my lanyard, I find there's a lot of sit back in it although it tends lovely, I think that would hack me off if I was climbing on it. Can't comment on a knut... looks like it would bind up more though to me....?

They do, and the bundles look good value. I did find making up the kit myself part of the fun though....

Yes, that's how I do it, I hadn't thought of the space needed for pulley tending though, I might go rig it up in the shed when I've done the washing up to see how it would work.... I think it will work....

I'm basically self taught on the climbing side, it is possible to learn it but you need to be able to just keep working on things at low levels in your own time. I'm fortunate that we have plenty of trees at home to practice in so I can try most things. I wouldn't recommend buying some kit and heading out on your own, it's dangerous as hell, even if nothing catastrophic happens except you panic and can't go up, can't go down and get stuck there and suffer from suspension trauma - it can lead to a pretty quick death in the right circumstances. You can learn the knots by sitting in front of youtube with a length of cord, that's how I learn many of the new ones, but when it comes to getting up into and around a crown you really need someone with you who knows what they're doing. My current basic kit was as follows, you can price it all up at Buxtons.. Heightec Treehopper harness 35m of Marlow Aeris [plus a spare] Marlow Gecko split tail 4 DMM crabs Couple of lengths of cord [for footloop, auto-tend etc] ISC Micro pulley 150' of throwline [and a bag & throw weight for it too...!] Cambium saver Fig 8 for the fun bit at the end! That got me up there....

Can't beat some ping 'n rattle..... I don't use a hitch climber, I'm still old fashioned and use a split tail which presumably it will have less effect on. I also assume that a swivel would get round that problem, albeit moving it a little futher away. Using a small crab like an ISC Gator would help here I suppose. The rings on the Harkie harness don't look very big in the pictures, which sort of led to the question... One other question then, is it acceptable to anchor my climbing line onto a crab, say an Ultra-O and clip my split tail into that same crab and hang off that single Ultra-O off my bridge? The fixed bridge on my harness isn't especially roomy so when I have my lanyard on it makes managing hardware a bit of a pain. I can't think why it wouldn't work, unless it would cross load the crab maybe? It would also allow a bit more movement around the rope.

So it is just an alternative to a crab. Do you anchor straight on with your line or clip on with a crab to the rings?

I use a Treehopper harness with a fixed bridge. I can see the advantage of a replaceable bridge, but can someone explain the advantages of sliding D's on said bridge? The Harkie harness which I really quite fancy has a pair of them and I was just wondering if there is anything which makes them a great thing to have? Thanks guys Simon

You need to decide HOW you're going to climb first.. SRT or DdRT... DdRT is the cheapest way up a tree, you can get up with just a rope and a harness. Expand this with a split tail to save the end of your climbing rope, a cambium saver, a couple of crabs so you can get off without having to de-rig, another crab, micro-pulley & length of prussic to auto tend, length of cord as a foot loop.... add in an ascender to speed up advancing your footloop... Don't forget throwline & weight too! Harness & climbing rope will be your biggest expense, everything else is cheap in comparison.... The Honey Bros lanyard kits are good and quite reasonably priced and you'll need another attachment point if you're cutting anyway. Spurs will be your next big expense, although mine cost just 90 quid from a guy selling them locally via eBay... I have a pretty cheap kit but I daren't add up the cost... I would like to upgrade a few things, I like the look of the new Harkie harness and the ali spikes. Rope wise I'm happy on Aeris. I have a spreadsheet which I input all the suppliers costs into and add them all up to see who will be the cheapest for whatever bundle I'm buying. It's an interesting exercise! The other thing to factor in is VAT...

Brill thanks.

OK, that is an excellent point. Although a bit far fetched... However, I think that operating power tools in the vicinity of private property is a different proposition to a stone flicking off the wheels of your car. Who did the track belong to? I would say the council must be responible for their stone flicking off your wheel....!

Perfect thanks, we have an account with Speedy, I'll give them a call tomorrow. Can you remember the cost of your replacement handle Alec? Thanks, Simon

What have I got then? Plate is long missing. Number stamped in one side of the casing reads R14934. Other side SWL is stamped as 30 cwt. I need a proper handle for it, scaffold pole is crap, and what I presume was a roll pin which retains the end of the freespool lever has broken. Anywhere I could source these bits? Tractel seem to be no help and have not responded to my emails. Thanks! Simon

OK Dean, you obviously have something on your chest... did you smash Simon's window....? I accept that he was only doing his job. It was also just an accident. But, as it was also not in any way Simon's fault any damage caused, accidental or otherwise, should be made good by whoever caused it, or their employer. This isn't someone demanding oodles of compensation merely for having scraped the bottom of the gene pool and still not grasping the concept of looking where they're going.... This is just someone who rightly wants damage done to his property put right by the party who inflicted said damage. It's not going to bankrupt the country.... it's just the right thing to do and EXACTLY what we would have to do if we smashed a window in the course of our work. Why should the council be exempt from responsibility for their actions and mistakes... or act of god or whatever they want to call it?