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don't get plasma! get dynaline its significantly stronger which can mean that you can drop down a diameter meaning either longer pulls or more room on the spool & marginally more pull power (you loose less pull power with layers with synthetic as they 'bury' themselves when under high load) if you have the budget go for dynaline max, 11mm plasma is WEAKER than 9mm dynaline max!!! plasma is the biggest con going imo! great marketing **** product! check out their web site, not 1 mention of its strength! guess why that is? they even go on to tell you that their re-crystallization test makes the fibers stronger than other dyneema as etc etc but why is it then you product is so weak?? BUY BRITISH BUY MARLOW!! i've been off roading all my life and have been using dyneema based cordage rigging everything from high lines to wind turbines when used correctly it out lives steel and in many cases is more abrasion resistant (i know seems wrong) 12mm dynaline or 11mm max would do you perfect and you'd never have to worry about the crossing again, the price however is allot more than steel but i'd recomend it all the same just don't buy plasma!! you'd have to go to like 14-15mm for the same strength!

ha ha no it involved you shooting across a room moreover learning how easy the crossover can become when noddy has shown you the way (if my memory serves me)

i've been on nods, did you know you featured in the course!? at least an anecdote about you. He really is a great guy & a great teacher i think allot of people in the industry have received valuable guidance advice & tips from him not just on splicing but the whole operation/ career/ ethos. i don't know what course ripe did but he deffo wasn't on mine, when i went on nods i'd been splicing DB & HB for ages but had only had a couple of goes at 16 strand as i don't really use the stuff the methods he taught us & tips he gave "good house keeping as he described it were invaluable! not only did they make my 16 strand splices, easier, quicker & better it helped my DB efficiency no end! i did my first few triple braids last year, never again! ok maybe when i'm feeling like some punishment

get on nods course don't even dream of trying to find someone closer, nods course is ace! even guys who've been splicing successfully for years tend to take something from that course! its not that far to drive anyways.

that's god to know, thanks! perhaps it was honeys that said it

its an examination, not an inspection ;-p on an Austria they are slid between the back padding & the structural webbing, Judge: who stocks the replacement bridges in the UK i thought FR Jones told me they weren't replaceable? If the tags become ripped off or un-readable it doesn't necessarily mean they cant be 'thoroughly examined' under loler.

can i buy a CE stamp? they sound very useful!!! pmsl

which Samson splicing kit are you on about? all the ones i can see on their website are all but useless for splicing arb ppe ropes, perhaps you'd be best off finding a mentor or, better still, booking yourself on to a splicing course? give nod a ring at treeworker he is a top bloke and will tell you all you need to know, he's one of the few people in this industry you can take his word as pretty much gospel, if he doesn't know he'll say so, not bull sh** you like too many people in this trade. alternatively if your traveling down Bristol way give me a PM and you can come have a go with me, i've got some spare wire fids etc for you to borrow

real sorry to hear it man, hope she gets back safe and sound, she's a real beauty

a robbery that size may well have gone in one go to the former Yugoslavia TBH they're not so bothered about serial numbers over there, allot of plant & agricultural stuff ends up that way.

A1 that man!! DO put it on a cycle 1st, some detergents have NASTY chemicals in them! you can use plain soap suds or nickwax tech wash to help clean them though

for climbing gear it's 6 months from first use or 12 months from purchase, which ever comes sooner, that is providing it is supplied with the relevant certifacete's of conformity but that's a joke lol, if it's not supplied with a copy of the relevant conformities then it technically needs examining before first use, that's another minefield though, are the bsen's relevant to arb climbing techniques? uh-oh an of worms!! leg it! (oh and 12 months from purchase for rigging gear) PS examining your own gear (own personal or if you are the owner of the firm) IS illegal, that is law, no question about it, having one of your staff examine everyone else's gear is a grey area and your quite right it would be for a judge to decide whether they were in fear or favor, as Dave said judges aren't as stupid as some people think, and as many cases have shown in the past judges will often come down on the side of the employees and not the employer, I wouldn't dream of risking it, you'd be made to look pretty small VERY quickly in court.Lets not forget that if a member of staff has been injured his/her loyalties may have gone strait out the window, they may be entitled to reasonable sums of money, i darn't say they may be tempted to bend the truth! were the judge to rule against their employer, they may have got someone to represent them on a no-win no fee basis, on commission even. "well your honor he didn't seem very happy when i failed such & such and with immediate effect it appeared to me i was always being sent on the nasty jobs, made to work later, etc etc, then 6 months later he said be sure you don't fail anything un-necessarily, i took this to mean that if i did my future employment may be at risk: sob sob sob" Boom! In almost ANY other industry this discussion would not have continued, such an argument would be considered grossly un-professional, arbs always complain they can't charge enough money, people view us as un-professional / glorified gardeners with ladders, this is why our industry is stuck in the doldrums, marketing guru after marketing guru that looks at our industry says it, when will we listen? it doesn't really bother me, things are as they are but it does seem contradictory when the same people that hold the above gripes say ahhh but it's never been tested in court

reasonable measures, when we get a cold we seek a qualified doctor not a qualified vet, other than a qualification (specific to performing a thorough examination of arboricultural equipment) how would you ensue someone has the PTKE Dave?

practical & theoretical knowledge & experience x

The person that requests the thorough examination is the one responsible for ensuring the examiner has the practical & theoretical knowledge & experience and is without fear or favour, this person MUST be named on the 'record' so it is they who must prove that they went to reasonable ends to ensure the 'compitent person' had the PTKE AND was independant, In arb this MEANS as a minimum they must hold the NPTC for thorough examination of arboricultural equipment. If you want to be extra compliant then it might be advisable to e-mail or right to the examiner to confirm that they have the PTKE to inspect........and list any of your equipment that goes beyond the standard Ddrt hitches and basic rigging gear eg lockjacks, uni's, grcs's, wrenches, unusual main lines, unusual friction cord, non-manufac splices cinches etc etc. the nptc only teaches the basics, the ownas is on the examiner to ensure he/she ensures they have the PTKE to examine the equipment presented for examination, they may have to defer decisions or 'fail by default' if items of equipment presented for examination is outside the knowledge base they posses. You cannot Loler your own gear! you can examine your colleagues etc but not your own, if you are a the owner of the firm you CANNOT loler your firms equipment if you think you can stand up in court & argue that you are impartial then good flipping luck lol! also being provided with any accreditation other than the nptc should not be considered a reasonable measure, this includes the lyon course etc these courses do not cover arboricultural equipment!

it's a real shame some CP's have left you with a feeling they unnessiseraly fail equipment during a thorough examination You cannot Examine your own equipment and the HSE suggest that "this is typically someone from outside your organisation" this means you need a bloody good reason to have someone in house do it. When i perform Thorough examinations people are typically surprised how much passes! this is a little worrying if they have been climbing on it all the while even though they thought it unsafe! I NEVER destroy or take away peoples equipment unless they would like me to, if failed equipment persistently turns up being used again then i strongly advise people to let me take the failed equipment away with me. I have 2& a half metric tonnes of failed equipment and much of it gets used in testing & research. I would far rather reduce an items safe working load, or reduce it's examination period than fail it, items are maintained and cordage shortened to remove damaged sections when necessary etc i know that a failed karabiner could be clearly marked that it is not for PPE and could then be used as a saw biner or a frayed up rigging line reduced to becoming a light duty control line etc have you ever heard of accumulative familiarisation? this is the question we should be asking of your boss not CTF's!!!! have you ever had someone remark that "My hasen't your son grown!!!!" and your not really sure he's grown at all in the four weeks that they've not seen him, this is the same of our equipment, I am a very experienced thorough examiner carrying out more than 500 examinations every year, i have over £35,000 of my own climbing & rigging equipment yet i DONT examine my own equipment, it would save me allot of money, and my examiner frequently rings me with questions & queries. I am not happy examining my gear, if i worked for a firm & they wanted me to do theirs i would only do so on very strict terms, as an employer i wouldn't want my guys to do it, not only from a safety perspective but from a legal one If your boss thinks he'd be a happy man after standing up in court arguing against a professional barrister and expert witness that his in house examiner was not in fear of favor then IMO he is a foolish one. Court is traumatic enough even when thee other party doesn't have much of a case let alone when they clearly do (typically means) and at £45/kit it's not really that expensive IMO, that said you get good ones & bad ones, just like MOT examiners! some may have a vested interest in flogging you replacement equipment, some may lack knowledge of modern equipment & techniques and end up failing equipment to save face, i have great sympathy for those struggling to tell them apart. Peace out & climb safe x

Nope nothing compares i've tried them all and trust the NT have got it nailed IMO, they are twice the price of a rock-climbing harness but they are designed for rec tree climbing, would you grind a stump with a chain saw? not the best analogy but u catch my drift x

velocity is good, imori not so good through jack but nicer on hands (good if you're coming from 13mm) Aeris actually runs the best but is very harsh on hands and has a bulky splice and is a right PITA to splice your-self!

the petzl harneses are crud for trees, we use them sometimes for tree top camps co's they're less bulky to sleep in but real uncimfy to climb in!! ket the new tribe kids twist harness it will fit them right up until they are a teen or if they are of a slight build then for-ever!

the hooks that are designed for side loading look nothing like a biner & are designed to be srong that way but i'd thought you'd realise that when reading BSEN362, 364, 889 & of course as your craning BS7121-1? what a shame these attitudes persist in tree work no wonder everyone complains arbs can't charge enough money, you sure as hell dont get these attitudes with other riggers etc, your sure the hook was rated less than your biner, well i hope you arn't a betting man, how many fingers u got left??

yea he should have been using clickers (2-way hooks), they come in two sizes for two different sizes of end bolt, they cant slip off the end then, also some guys do clicker every step so they're never un attached but on such a big climb that'd only add to fatigue. man its well worth it to tick A off of the four letter list if you know what i mean ;-) that's make the climb well worth it!

SECOND THAT! i'd stay clear of the PS i meet sooo many people that have bought both and the PS does not compare, one of main reasons being it doesn't 'slack off' when retreiving like the RG does Stick with you Ddrt until you are a proficient climber before practicing anr SRWP high melt point cords arn't nessisary either but some like them, Liros is a really nice cord to use and it's really hard wearing considerinf it doesn't have a high MP, if you do want a high MP though the bail out is the best one to get IMO. A pantin is a must though it's best to use one as soon as you are proficient in the basic techniqes as you start learning good habits klippijg your heel on for medium & even some short asscents instead of ruining your back & arms all of the time

how much do you think a half hitch & timber hitch or marl & timber hitch/RB reduces a rope's stregth by? Also when chokering biners i'm not just talking about static 1 pull stregth i'm concerned with CTF's! i rig on allmost every job, it's what i do, I also do over 100 configuratinal pull tests a year, I am also willing to race anyone who thinks they can half hitch & choker a rope and biner as quick as i can sling a branch we got it down to just under one second the last time we had this argument on a training course we ran. many slings are designed & tested to be loaded dynamically un-like allot (nope allmost all) arb rigging lines, the reason we dont use slings for snatching is not the slings it's the conector. Also biners should be held captive to krabs when rigging to prevent side loading. Yes slings nearly half their stregth when chokered but so does a rope when you half & RB it to a log: ECRDPUA anyone? RR668 for short I didn't post to start an argument, there are benifits to tieing strait on but as i assume most people on AT are comercial tree surgeons i assumed that productivity and Safety would be the top of their agenda and replied from that angle. It also bugs me that people seem to make flipant speculatory acusations/remarks etc about things that are either not known or are known & they simply havent bothered to look it up, Someone very prominant in our industry for whom i have the up-most respect once said to me as i told him i beleived that much research which concerns our climbing & rigging practices is not readily available.... "how old are you 24?" "nope i'm 22" "FFS listen to your-self! how is it that you know all this stuff?!, where and how did you find it all out? seek and you shall find" Dont take my work for it, get out there, read, talk, test, examine, set out a few £100-£1000 and get on some test rigs after reading all that i could that's how i've answered allot of my un-answered questions sometimes it's the only way. I don't mean to go on, peace out

the 600kg sounds like an exageration IMO, I pulled a 12 YO sling, faded to F' chokered to the thinniest pin we could find strong enough 7 it broke at way more than that and it was a 22kn sling! slings for top rope rigging every day, until the lumps get too heavy (1000kg with my bigger slings & wizard Biners 70kn) then tie strait on NEVER use karabiners when snatching (negative rigging) ALLWAYS tie strait on NEVER choker a karabiner, the effects of this are well researched & well known it is an absolute no-no even if you half hitch/ wrap 1st or whatever, it is sooo avoidable and at no aditional time cost, it's not even lazy, its completely un-nesisary! Personally i dont use dyneema slings for arb rigging, they melt too easy & research has shown that nylon slings have a better CTF (cycle to failure) hope that helps (in brief if it's safe to do so SLING AWAY!)

nice cutting bro, a couple of tips if you like, or maybe if you not like? it sure as hell is the way i learnt! try using slings to attach branches, its way quicker and you wont be tempted to choker the krab like you do in your vid, i know that the choked krab isn't taking all the load due to your half hitch but its still a quick way to damage your krab. secondly instead of top tying tie JUST above the balance point that way the pieces will float off instead of jerking, this decreases the force on you rigging anchor massivley some times, to the extent that cutting a much hevier section can actually reduce the force on your anchor, it's hard to picture at first but just have a go for fits & giggles one day 7 you'll soon see what i mean, you can exploit the centre of gravity to gain ground clearance alos, it also helps your groundie out when manouvering pieces as they reach the ground hope it prooves to be well received constructive criticism x