Pedroski

At the risk of being a bore...... I must mention that the slack runs straight through the SAR Rocker and it self-tends with zero effort. If you don't want the slack to run through on its own (like wanting slack in the line to make it easy to move around), all you need to do is swing the locking lever over and you can then just pull slack through in same way you would with a hitch. It's simple. I've just read it can also be used as a belay brake.

Massive difference between trimming and significantly reducing or removing.

Quick copy and paste from the Stratford local authority web site..... "What about trees and hedges: Do special controls apply? Trees in Conservation Areas have special protection because of the contribution they make to the character and setting of the area. Tree surgery work on any species of tree, including fruit trees, from simple pruning to crown reduction, thinning or felling, should not proceed unless you have given six weeks' prior notice using the notification form Trees in a Conservation Area. Permission may also be required to remove a hedge or significantly reduce its height, if it has not been regularly maintained. You should Contact Forestry & Landscape on 01789 260307 to discuss the hedge in question. Trees in conservation areas already protected by a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) are, of course, subject to the normal TPO controls. Please note that you do not normally need permission to cut down or do work to trees that are less than 75mm in diameter (measured 1.5m above ground). Shrub species are also exempt. Further advice is available in the Trees section of the website as well as the relevant application forms." Seems quite self-explanatory to me. If in a conservation area then you should check before ripping out a hedge. And there are obvious reasons for it - in a conservation where I work, the area is largely characterised by some lovely old hedges. Ripping the hedges out can have a big impact on the character or these areas, in the same way as knocking down an old flint wall.

Looks nowt like the U%%%%%%%%. The chain links are positions differently, and all sorts.

Done

Got to first job early. Sat in truck. Watched rain. Drank coffee in truck. Watched rain. Ate lunch in truck. Watched rain. Came home. Sent email to a solicitor. Popped joint of beef in Dutch oven to slow roast with onion and red wine. About to send another email to another solicitor. Maybe start building a web site shortly. And I'll be contacting a customer to see if we can start on some work for him in a week or so. Fun fun fun. And now it's not raining.

2 inch slices..... wallnut chopping board. Flog them for a tenner each

Simon, I'm about to do your survey, but not sure how to answer Q5. I'm self-employed, landscaper, and get a fair bit of tree work in. Shall I go for "self employed (arb related)", as it is sort of arb related, or "self employed (other)"?

My mother-in-law is

Just found that the AAK Competence Center in Norway supply the SAR Rocker as part of their "Forsterket Rocker posisjoneringsline" in their Arborist range (see Forsterket Rocker posisjoneringsline ). Here's a bit about AAK Safety About AAK Safety. So maybe I haven't made a poor choice

If you're talking about something like the Stihl pole saw, especially the telescopic one, they're brilliant. Love using it and it makes some jobs so easy. Also with a hedgecutter end on I can do massive wide and high hedges with relative ease. Good exercise too

Did mine back in September - months early for the first time ever. Can't handle the stress of leaving it to last minute and trying to figure out crap from well over a year ago!

No offence taken. Agree, it wasn't safe. It was only on a few jobs that I'd do it, and the work got done well with combination of free climbing, ladders and long pole loppers. But there were many moments when I'd get the shakes. Just lucky I never hit the deck. I'm more safety conscious now and don't bow to pressure from others who balance one footed on top of ladders! Tree Magic looks great. One I'll definitely check out now.

Yep, central attachment point only. Not ideal, but I don't do much tree work myself.... mate and subbies so that. Me, mainly recreational climbing, landscaping and some pruning work.

Yeah, I know. But I can't see a genuine reason why they should have a fit. DMM say it's the "ultimate all rounder, just the sort of clever design that fits with the full range of climbing disciplines: from trad and sport, through to whatever winter or alpine climbing shenanigans you might be getting up to.", and that kind of implies trees as well in my head. I've dangled hundreds and hundreds of feet in the air in one of these and trust them with my life. Sure beats what I was doing which was just free-climbing trees (only 30ft but that's enough to hurt) and hanging on with one hand with Silky in the other. Main thing I guess is comfort for when hanging for long periods and having heavy duty attachment points for tools. I will get something specifically for trees, but mainly to save my rock one from getting covered in muck

Cheers chaps. I'll get on to the landowner this week and see when I can sort something out for. The place is in Ditchling, it's ok to have a bonfire there, and there's a proper standpipe on the site for running water. Another option would be where my muvver lives just outside Billingshurst. She's got some big trees up there. Pedro

I must be all wrong...... I'm running around in trees with DMM Renegade harness with a Silky Zubat and secateurs! Tried the Petzl Sequoia SRT and feels really comfy. Love all the heavy duty attachments points. But I'm leaving the stuff that warrants that to my mate.

Trailer mounted HIAB. You can use it at both ends then - to load and to unload. Or a manual version with block and tackle.

Tremella mesenterica or Dacrymyces chrysospermus maybe

I think a limitation of the Buddy is that the 100 is for use on 11mm rope only, and the 200 for 12mm rope only. The SAR is approved for use on 10.5 to 11.7mm so it's not critical to match rocker so specifically to rope. I know people have used it on 9mm rope, and it grabs well but the manual lock device won't hold it in place so well. And I'm using it on 12mm Kingfisher Kingbraid and it still runs smoothly on that.

Well, I descended on it by pressuring the release lever and back of the rocker. It wasn't as smooth as coming down on a figure 8 or ATC type device, but it worked and felt safe. Certainly no worse than when I see me mate coming down on his rope grab, but would be better to use it as back up for a Fig8 or a friction hitch. Actually, you could just leave the rocker attached, shove a prusik on the rope and come down on that with the rocker in the unlocked position. If prusik fails or you grab it and prevent it gripping then the rocker will stop you. For the record, I didn't pay full whack for the SAR rockers I've got. They're over £60 normally, but I paid about a £15 for shiny unused ones. I've also got a lovely Anthron DSD-30 descent device......just need a big canyon to play with it!

Used the SAR Rocker yesterday afternoon with 5m lanyard to carry out pruning of five trees along a walkway. Only about 30ft tall so nothing major - they're pollard jobs and every year we remove new growth to maintain them as required by the company that owns the land. Moving around was dead easy. Held fast for positioning, with the lever in the lock position the rocker can be dragged along the rope when you unload it, when the lever unlocked it moves freely yet still grabs when you load it. Also, when loaded you can release it with the lever (which is recessed so you can't accidentally grab it). And if you hold the lever in you can move at a fair speed without it locking, so moving around in the tree was a proper doddle.

Any TPO on it? Never know, it might be worth checking with the council and getting the tree occifer out, who might just say to do something gentle with it.

Sometimes. But a workmate of mine paid his accountant £695 last year. The accountant saved him £400 in tax by getting him to put something else down as an expense. Brilliant!

Yep, double overhand is the same as the double fishermans. Personally, I prefer tying the double fishermans way. Dunno why, but it just seems to set and dress easier.