WorcsWuss

My word, we are becoming popular.... Who wants a fake passport then....?

We have a few nice estate type oaks running down a couple of fields. There aren't any veterans nor real giants, bar a few large ash, but there's a reasonable variety. It is generally nice open oak and ash, certainly good for beginners or trying out new stuff. I'll take some photos of what we have when I'm shooting on Saturday....

Hi Keiran. That's a kind offer, thanks, and I'd dearly love to come along but with my other commitments I'm probably going to struggle. If you're ever looking for somewhere to the south west of Birmingham to have a climb though just give me a shout!

This may or may not be a good idea..... Thinking about the opportunity Mike (chipper080) had from Sam and the support network on here with the 'pass it on' nature of the community, it occurred to me that there are lots of folks out there who are just starting out or want to practice climbing but don't have / can't justify the expense of the gear just yet. I have amassed a fair bit of gear, much of it pretty new, which doesn't really get that much use, and also some nice trees to climb. So with this in mind, if there's anyone around the West Mids who would like to come out and borrow a bit of stuff for a climb please feel free to get in touch with me. A few provisos.... 1. You do so entirely at your own risk. It is entirely recreational and there would be no form of liability insurance covering you. 2. As a non commercial user my gear does not get formally inspected under LOLER (although I do keep a close eye on it myself and wouldn't use anything dangerous anyway) so it is up to you to satisfy yourself that you're happy to climb on it. 3. I will happily come along with you to keep you company and offer friendly advice but don't profess to be an expert nor would I be instructing you. 4. Any dates would need to be arranged to suit my available times. (And I'm married with 3 kids so my time is precious and very limited! That said, my little boy is starting out so it can be rolled together) 5. If at any point during a climb I decide it's dangerous I can call it off and my word is final. 6. You would need to supply your own harness. 7. And finally, in return, all you have to do is help someone out when it comes to your turn.... I have conventional ddrt gear and now a rope wrench for SRT so there's a bit of stuff to try. Novices are more than welcome. I 'learned by doing' all those years ago so even if you have no experience at all you can still come for a play, even if it's just tying knots and to have a look at some of the different gear available.... or to see whether the job is for you (i could probably lend you my harness for a 'first ever' climb) I'm quite happy to spend a morning keeping someone company 5 feet off the ground. So, a chance for a few lads (or lasses!) to borrow some gear and swing from the trees. Nothing more, nothing less.... Just a thought anyway...

Pasted straight out of your favourites list Rich?! :lol:

I assume it's the same principal as the new platinum rope....

Shade over 130 quid for 45 metres spliced seems quite reasonable to me... Aeris is nice but definitely has faults...

That's what I thought..... I know it's impossible to tell from a photo but it just looks like it would be a nicer handling 11mm rope than my Aeris....

Bright red.... Almost gingham! Teufelberger Fly Rope - Eye Spliced

Anyone using this yet....? I like the colour! Seems quite good value.... Anyone thinking about trying it....?

Keep me posted, as soon as I get the new ones I'll give you a shout.

For EVERYTHING I use a vt, different cords in different applications tied slightly differently, but always the same basic knot. On my strop, on ddrt with hc & pulley saver and now on SRT... Only time I don't use a hitch is clogging down when I just have an f8 on a choked single line in case I have to bail.....

I only take it out of 1 side plate, not out completely, even without locating the key into the groove I can roll my rope into the wrench. I found that depressing the key enough to slide the pin through the first plate is tricky with gloves on though...

I haven't replied yet because I didn't want to promise something and then let you down. I MAY have a pair of stihl boots you can have but it won't be for a few weeks until I pick up some new ones. I know things are tight for you so I wasn't intending to ask anything for them, but a small donation to the children's trust to cover the postage would be a nice gesture if you can stretch to it. One day you'll be in a position to help others as you have been helped, that's all you have to do. If you don't sort something in the meantime I'll let you know when I'm done with mine. (They're good boots by the way, I just fancy some new ones!) Simon

I LOVE the whole act of tying the knots, and the price. I quite fancied the idea of a spiderjack for a while but I'm well over that. The zigzag doesn't appeal to me at all. I like the versatility of cord, I can tie what I want where I like. The only mechanical doodah which does appeal is a cinch for my strop, but I'm not lusting after it so much that I'm going to order one. Going to spend it on a snake anchor instead. I think the only way the friction hitch will be killed off is if the HSE delude themselves into believing we're as thick as they are and shouldn't be allowed to tie our own knots.....let's hope they get disbanded before that happens....

If you're negative rigging something like that and cut low enough to put enough weight in the butt to prevent the butt coming up, make sure you know exactly where it may, or may not, swing. Also, don't underestimate the weight in the tips, you need more stem than you think to keep the butt down. I used a similar set up to bring a eucalyptus off some phone lines (there's a sketch in Adam's rigging thread somewhere). Pretensioning, lifting etc is fine but remember you're working in 3d, the cut piece could swing round the tree as well as up and down.... Take your time and have fun.

Chime away! I'm going to order up another pinto, a 90cm 8mm OP eye to eye and a couple more slings, a 30cm and a 50cm, see what I can come up with.... I think the OP will perform nicer on the edelrid static, although boa might be better as well.... Might try that too, have some lying around somewhere. Never tried a zk1 so can't comment, (nearly bought old mill's but he wanted too much for it:lol:) but the 2 is very nice. Not sure how much I like the slik pin though.... Nice idea but unusable with gloves on. I only had the thinnest pfanner gloves on yesterday 'cos it was cold and couldn't get the pin out with them on. Other than that, highly recommended Yeah, but look how bondage it looks! I was thinking I could also use it on the cheerleader when she 'comes to live with me', not against her will obviously.... :lol: Nice idea though, I do have a sling I never use so will try this out..... Still think I'll buy the harness though, it reminds me of Eva Mendes' lifejacket in Hitch.... Wow, that was a weird train of thought..... it's all a waste of money for me really so why stop here...?!

Cock.... I've only just woken up.... You sure 6am wasn't a typo....?!

I don't wash my trousers very often! good point though....

Often find they're not always quite the right shape!

Sometimes I only need a really big hammer to 'fix' them.... They never give me trouble again....!

Have you seen the stihl special tools catalogue? It's bigger than the ms200t workshop manual...!

I might do a little experiment with my existing trousers, treat one leg then let my kids turn the hose on me.... I'm sure they'd be up for that! Maybe when it warms up......

I won't be up to snipe this at 6!!! Can you make it 10 or something?!

It was, I must agree...