Mr. Squirrel

Most manufacturers don't put a lifespan on krabs. With normal use there's nothing that will cause them to snap which wouldn't be picked up on in a loller inspection. I have ten year old krabs that are perfectly ok, and I two year old krabs that are buggered from the constant wear point on a hitch climber. It's all down to usage.

Utterly ridiculous. Where did you find the accident Tory and what company was it? Would be interested to see what they think went wrong... I saw the longer version on Facebook and aside from all the climbers cock ups, you can hear these guys trying to talk him through getting himself down. Honestly, I think I'm more shocked about that. Come on man, get up there and get him down...

Comfort and fit, then durability. For me Husky tech extremes are a perfect fit. After ten years in the industry they're the first pair of cutting trousers I've had which I don't grudge wearing. Durability is an issue, granted, but for the comfort it's worth it. Last trousers were Pfanner kevlar extremes, awful fit, but lasted for years.

It's amazing how easily impressed some people are eh? The shot of the guys harness hanging round his arse is impressive! I wonder if he's still alive?

Had really bad knee pain after a period of sustained & heavy pantin use, about 600m srt ascent per day. Could hardly walk for a fortnight, but not had any issues since. It definitely twists your ankle a bit which I'm sure must in turn twist your knee, so it all makes sense I guess...

I'd go with that. I've had similar experiences to 'white noise' with several of the UK arb suppliers. I see people singing their praises online all the time, and yet I've waited over a fortnight for a silky blade with no explanation...? As irritating as it is, these things happen, things slip through the cracks sometimes. Best bet is giving them a ring and sorting it out that way. They're usually pretty genuinely apologetic, and will see you right pronto.

I got the la sportiva boulder X mids in the summer. Inventor comfortable boots and absolutely perfect for pruning jobs. Don't seem as tough as my clip n steps but I'm banking on getting at least a year from them. Time will tell though.

Aaha, my bad then. Tbh I can't remember ever transferring a casualty onto my climbing line. Guess that'd be using a prussik just above your splice/termination knot? I do anual refresher training on rescues and practice them throughout the year and always go bridge to bridge. Fast and simple. I suppose if you were using a hitch climber pulley you could maybe put them onto a spare hole. However it could cause it to sit at an odd angle.

Never actually practised an srt rescue but I can see advances to it, being able to redirect straight onto the casualty without having to be concerned about rope drag etc. Figure of 8 below hitch and you're cooking. Simples, no?

Second that, not Massaria.

For what it's worth I'm with you on many points. I'd add that at 42 with 12 years cutting experience I'd be wanting more than 120/day to bust my arse. Say you pay a subby climber 150/day. Take off mileage, say 20. Then ppe, saws (I don't want someone else's saws up a tree), kit etc 10. Then tax, you're down to 94/day actual money. PAYE climber will get how much, 70/day after tax? Guaranteed money. Plus paid holidays, plus pension contributions. At which point you're really not that much better off subbing. Just means you can decide when you work. I charge 160/day when I'm subbing, which for a qualified and experienced climber who takes the job seriously and invests time and money in their quality of work I think is very reasonable. Running my own jobs I pay my regular groundsman 135/day minimum. When it warrants it l pay him 150. When I get climbers in I pay them 200+/day. If I could I'd match European rates, but there are limits...

As said, some static lines do have a bonded core and sheath. Courant certainly do one, as do some others (I believe someone mentioned Beal earlier) As for my pal, he was caving, and a victim of poor rigging I believe. Rope had some slight rub on rock which caused the failure.

I have a pal who had the sheath fail while ascending a static rope on a frogj setup (croll + hand jammer). As said he came to a slow and gentle stop as the sheath bunched up beneath him. Then had to go up the exposed core strands... Obviously only works if there's a knot in the end though... personally I'd rather a rope with bonded core and sheath.

I don't, but really need to sort it. I was refused a a policy three years ago as I was fresh back at work after a shoulder op, while off sick I saw a doc regarding stress, and was referred to mental health folk. That plus hobbies were too many risk factors apparently. However, when I broke my shoulder I ended up being off work for almost a year, I was near financially ruined. Statutory sick pay is worthless, and why would you knowingly put the burden of earning on your partner in the case of anything going wrong? I'm amazed anyone in this industry would say no to it.

Stiffline is a good un. I know someone who had 3 Stein throw cubes fall apart before he splashed on a Falteimer cube. Meanwhile one of my Falteimers is nearly ten years old. They're worth the extra.

You like that picture eh Stubby? I came across it numerous times when searching 661/395 haha! I spoke to a few pals and went with the 661 in the end, although that 395 makes me regret the choice slightly. It's a different beast though, if I already had a larger mid range saw, like a 372, I'd probably go for it. I kinda need something big, but practical from spikes at the same time though...

It'll be rare that anybody but me uses it, so it won't be abused. I've heard don't great things about the 661 and on paper it looks more appealing. There's a great deal to be said for a time tested solid saw, without all of the electronics in there though...

I just rate the mechanic at my local husky dealer a lot higher than the mechanic at the Stihl dealer. Aftercare and service quality matters when you're spending a grand on a saw and want to make it last...

I know there have been a fair few threads comparing the two saws but just thought I'd throw it out there again to see what the latest thoughts are... Buying my first big saw and debating which to go with. On paper the 661 cm is a bit of a beast, however from my 560 I'm fully aware modern saws can be less than they're cut out to be on paper. The weight and, i believe, size of the 661 is much more appealing for up a tree though. But I think the husky dealer round here is better at putting saws back together... Any thoughts or experiences? Cheers, C

I worked with a few guys who called their ground staff 'ground bi****s' and 'stick bi***'... screams to me of people who are trying to make someone else look bad to make themselves look good. I've worked with some really solid groundys over the years, and some who were simply less experienced or ended up in the job by chance. The ones who ended up in it by chance sometimes just didn't really care. No time for that. The less experienced can be forgiven most frustrations as how were they to know... So long as you learn and adapt I've got time for you.

I hate the Vertex, doesn't sit right on my head at all, the Alveo is great though. Be careful with em though as they are easy to break if you throw them in the truck or that...

So are Red Bull well on the way to turning the small, friendly, nurturing environment of national tree climbing comps into their hyped up brand of bulls***? Personally I'm really disappointed to see Red Bull get anywhere NEAR our industry.

2 hours, big douglas with really downward sloping branches. First practical branch was at 30m. Nakerd my shoulder so bad I needed surgery, but I got the branch I wanted...

It's been a long winter alright... I did finish off the dregs of a combi can which had been sat for many moons, so might've been some moisture in that. A good clean and fresh fuel through it seems to have sorted matters though.

Soaked the air filter in petrol and gave it a good skoosh. Also took the carb apart and gave it a good clean - the gauze had a kinda creamy layer on it. Running like a dream again, cheers for the diagnostics spudulike! Cheers for the offer to take a look at it too, I'm in Scotland though, so not quite local...