Mr. Squirrel

We aren't working in offices, by all means look tidy and respectable when you go to price the job but when the boys are on the job it's up to them. Ithin think. Like Joe said, judge my work, not my looks. Wear hi viz only when strictly necessary, so almost never. Nothing massively against it, but I've never found a hi viz top that was actually comfortable, and it does look a bit daft...

Brilliant choice! Perhaps... Time will tell, but if you're going to be doing it without a chainsaw at least you'll be doing it in style!

How about this old beast? Razor Tooth 21 - Hand Saws - Tree Care

Frontline hammock, also what I have. Not their lightest but solid, has the double layer sleeve underneath for insulation/keeping biting things away too. Have a DD 3x3 tarp aswell, brilliant sleeping combo.

To chip in with some hammock opinions, I'm a DD Hammocks fan myself. I've spent months at a time not sleeping in a bed and most of that time I was in my hammock. Did my back a world of good. Hung it from trees, up trees, balconies, even just put it on the ground and used some stick to suspend the mosquito net. Bomber.

Done very much the same in mcdonalds, sat down with my extra big McHeartdisease meal once and there was a homeless guy sitting opposite with a tiny cup of coffee. There was a blizzard going on outside so I just pushed my tray over the table and let him have it. He seemed pretty happy. Though that is a valid point...

I thought about that but it'd do my head in having to play about with grommets etc. every time I wanted to take off my climbing system. I used ovals with some success but wasn't totally happy with them.

I find a swivel is great when using my lanyard in a 'single leg' fashion, and gives some sort of an optimal 'rope in, rope out' angle with a spiderjack, but if your rope starts twisting it's a total nightmare. Had a small petzl swivel and the burr on the inside of the ring tore my bridge apart, had to file it down which seemed a little wrong. Small dmm swivel is much better however you can't fit the gate of a krab through it, which makes it not-so-great with a spiderjack. I've gone back to a ring...

ISC double pulley and a sling works really well. May not be perfect but it's near enough for me. For a retrievable redirect the sling and revolvers posted above does the job well.

Sorry to hear it fella, it's never good to hear these stories but sounds like an awful time for it right now. At least you seem to be sussed with what matters most at the moment though. Also very sorry to hear about the loss of a 200t, damn shame... It's outrageous the number of thefts of this nature we're experiencing in the UK though, it's almost a weekly thing on here. What changes/action could we possibly make to reign this in? Surely there has to be something other than forcing petty thieves to evolve into master criminals?

Yeah a rescue on a spiderjack gets you on the ground pretty quickly, requires a fair bit of thumb strength to maintain control but it's alright. You could always put a figure 8 in underneath the zz like you do with a hitchclimber? Test it out.

And for those not atall budget concious: Freeworker - Felling Bar 540 - climb up high!

As much as I love velocity, and I really do, I'd say tachyon was tougher. Not quite as soft and a tighter braided sheath I reckon.

Aah, I hadn't actually thought of a use for the shekels, good to know! Still waiting on an op man, doing some climbing again in the meantime though and trying to ignore the dislocations

Ah, I hadn't spotted it as it was under slings instead of rope. Thanks though, perfect. When in doubt, ask Nod! My plan exactly mate, been using them for a while with krabs but I'm tidying the system up a lil bit. Guess they'll not work for redirects with a krab on the end of the rigging line but hey ho, they look pretty.

Hey folks, anyone know where I can pick up some Samson Tenex in the UK? Spotted it at honeybros but only in 9mm, I'm looking for larger diameter stuff for loopie/whoopies. Cheers in advance for any help.

I freelanced for a bunch of companies over in Germany; the language thing can be a bit hit and miss if you don't speak native, though you can get by working knowing pretty much just ACHTUNG!, motorsage and tank. Generally I've found at least one person in a firm who speaks moderate English though, and obviously if you're spending any real length of time there you'll want to pick up as much as you can anyway (unless you pick up a German girl who speaks English, in which case whatever). From my experience the work there is brilliant, I spent weeks, months even doing nothing but dead wooding. As Jesse said they have seasons for things but those differ from state to state, Baden Wurttemburg I believe November - March is felling season? Germans are bloody hard workers which is great because you make more money, though you may feel utterly destroyed by lunch time. Take your long ropes.

Normal, no big deal.

It's a handy one too for if you've just got a couple branches 'over there somewhere' that need done but not the whole tree. Or for anchoring into one tree to work another. Saves going up there etc.

Yep, 80 was pretty horrendous and I think they limited it to 65 this year, but it was a great laugh...

I knew a guy working on a construction site in Liverpool, they came in one morning and all the rottweilers which had been employed as security were in holes, covered with ply. Not harmed atall, and nothing had been nicked, it was more just making a point. Saying that, big rottweilers that hate strangers will ward off many a thief...

I think a pretty important thing to remember is that these comps aren't actually about winning, because lets face it with some of the climbers cutting about these days that's pretty unlikely. Just watching those guys climb you can learn something though, and who honestly couldn't benefit from spending an hour or two at the aerial rescue tree seeing all the ways people do and don't manage to get a casualty down in time? It's those little things that matter in a real emergency. I hear all these chaps saying they'll be damned if they're going to climb for free, but if you actually enjoy working as a tree climber (as I suspect most, if not all do) then taking a weekend out once a year to climb some trees, pick up a trick or two, have a party and talk bollocks about trees isn't that big a deal is it? There were 80 competitors alone at last years German ISA TCC. Pretty amazing there was such a low UK turn out, but then the venue changes, clashing dates etc. definitely wouldn't help... Better next year perhaps?

I'm the same, I think I've broken around 10 phones in the last 12 months, which seems a little ridiculous. Looking at a Sonim for a slightly tougher option, though they are pretty pricey.

Getting them to hunt for their food sounds like a winner to me, not much greater motivation than hunger. I guess you've already looked at rope swings, always an entertainer although just don't go too big I guess. Other than that I'd just let them do their thing, the opportunity to use their imaginations in a forest is lost on so many kids these days, and there're few better ways of nurturing it than giving them the freedom to do whatever they can dream up. I reckon...

Whole thing over logs as said, I'm a bit hazy on cooking times but wouldn't have thought as long as 8 hours. Slicing the meat off you'll be able to judge fairly well if it's properly done or not anyway though. Mix oil, salt & pepper and brush on excessively throughout cooking, that and fire is all it takes to make it taste amazing. If you have a small electric motor lying about and can rig it up to the spit it will save you much bother.