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Back to my crazy idea

P

Peterk1234

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2017
Messages
805
Location
Massachusetts
A while back I shared an idea with you guys. It was working okay, but the aider management was a bitch. So it took a while to come up with something. I still have some thinking and tweaking to do but it actually works well. Amazing the stability I am getting with this, largely due to the fact that I am able to get both feel level in the aiders. Makes going no handed very easy.

So, here is what I have so far. I am taking my time, playing with the stability of it and realizing that I can take small steps or big steps. Pete

 
Peterk1234 said:
A while back I shared an idea with you guys. It was working okay, but the aider management was a bitch. So it took a while to come up with something. I still have some thinking and tweaking to do but it actually works well. Amazing the stability I am getting with this, largely due to the fact that I am able to get both feel level in the aiders. Makes going no handed very easy.

So, here is what I have so far. I am taking my time, playing with the stability of it and realizing that I can take small steps or big steps. Pete

Click to expand...


thanks for sharing. you are an innovator. I love when you start working on an idea.
 
Neat idea. I'm still racking my brain for some type of approach that would allow me to stop using sticks.

Between your video and Scott Adkins' YouTube video of climbing with two tethers on his legs, it's like I can almost see it in my mind's eye, but can't quite get it all together.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
 
Peterk1234 said:
A while back I shared an idea with you guys. It was working okay, but the aider management was a bitch. So it took a while to come up with something. I still have some thinking and tweaking to do but it actually works well. Amazing the stability I am getting with this, largely due to the fact that I am able to get both feel level in the aiders. Makes going no handed very easy.

So, here is what I have so far. I am taking my time, playing with the stability of it and realizing that I can take small steps or big steps. Pete

Click to expand...
That is really a cool idea @Peterk1234. You are an climbing innovation machine! Keep up the great work.
 
Peterk1234 said:
A while back I shared an idea with you guys. It was working okay, but the aider management was a bitch. So it took a while to come up with something. I still have some thinking and tweaking to do but it actually works well. Amazing the stability I am getting with this, largely due to the fact that I am able to get both feel level in the aiders. Makes going no handed very easy.

So, here is what I have so far. I am taking my time, playing with the stability of it and realizing that I can take small steps or big steps. Pete

Click to expand...

Peter I like this method alot if you don’t mind sharing closeups lol either on here or you have my number text me!! I definitely like to try this!
 
Matt, here you go. I will probably sew a webbing backing strip behind the area where the hooks are sewn to the strap because there is some abrasion there and I do not want the sewing the release. Other than that, I am not changing anything yet. I need to make a couple more so I can see how I feel about this when I am twenty feet up. Everything is easy ten feet and under. Over that is when it counts :)

The aider, which is the second pic below, is the same for both feet.

If cam buckles freak you out, things like a ropeman may just be the ticket here. Actually, that is what Ropemans were intended for I believe. I'm just not ready to spend the money for a pair of ropemans just quite yet. I believe these cams are rated for at least 600 pounds.


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@MCDM
 
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Peterk1234 said:
Matt, here you go. I will probably sew a webbing backing strip behind the area where the hooks are sewn to the strap because there is some abrasion there and I do not want the sewing the release. Other than that, I am not changing anything yet. I need to make a couple more so I can see how I feel about this when I am twenty feet up. Everything is easy ten feet and under. Over that is when it counts :)

The aider, which is the second pic below, is the same for both feet.

If cam buckles freak you out, things like a ropeman may just be the ticket here. Actually, that is what Ropemans were intended for I believe. I'm just not ready to spend the money for a pair of ropemans just quite yet. I believe these cams are rated for at least 600 pounds.


View attachment 25483

View attachment 25484

@MCDM
Click to expand...

in you experiment did you find have the hooks sewn directly to the strap better than say looping them on?
 
Here are two short vids of someone who weighs 240 pounds, and is not comfortable with the knaider/swaider combo. He has requested a set of these. This was his first time trying it out, so not bad for someone with no idea of what to expect.


 
Awesome system. Looks pretty safe and not too much effort to climb and descend


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I made up a couple more. So now I was finally able to get over twenty feet. It is so easy to use, even at height. My only concern is wear and tear. So I plan to use this during the off season for all of my scouting and tree prep. I did sew a strip of webbing backing where the hook straps are attached. I also need to keep an eye how much wear the cams may cause. It may not be an issue, but I see it as the only possible problem at this point.

Five of these things weigh nothing. It is almost silly. I put them into my wild edge bag for climbing. Take up no space and probably have half the weight, or less, than the four steps I use to climb. I am really torn. I love my WE step mod using the straps and quick release cam buckle setup. But this could possibly beat it in terms of weight, compactness and possibly safety. It will be an interesting summer of testing. Pete
 
CrackbottomLouis said:
Interesting. Have you timed yourself to a certain height after practice?
Click to expand...


Not yet. This will not be faster than my WE steps with the strap mod and knaider/swaider (I am up in a matter of minutes). But there are some other advantages which are not insignificant. I will need to rethink my platform if I go this route too because I currently use a Step with bullmans threaded on the strap.
 
@Peterk1234 this is a great system it seems and your right it is hard to beat the strap mod on the WE stepps. I definitely want to give this a try though but im gonna have to think of a way to make it without sewing at this point. Lol my sewing i would not trust for load bearing....( its not great). However you definitely are an inspiration when it comes to climbing. I attempted to mold covers out of plastic for the WE stepps to reduce tree damage but it did not work as it made them slip and then in an effort to cinch them down the plastic cracked with a great deal of force.

hands down to your innovation i know some will think this is crazy but I personally will say sometimes crazy is genius!! I look forward to seeing you in April!!
 
Great Job Peter.
This could replace my system of using spurs for those scout/ hunt days when I need to go lite. Not to mention the law breaking the spurs could do on public trees.


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Oh very nice! This is similar to the double tether climb, but one thing I noticed with moving girth hitched tethers is that they can bind and not be easy to move. Since you're setting every anchor position, it may be more things to bring but tying them should be consistent/predictable.

Have you dropped one of the rings to see how difficult it is to recover? Perhaps adding some shock chord to keep the aider within arms reach will be useful.

Using rope and ascenders one might even be able to create a "rope walking" system.
 
pesqimon said:
Oh very nice! This is similar to the double tether climb, but one thing I noticed with moving girth hitched tethers is that they can bind and not be easy to move. Since you're setting every anchor position, it may be more things to bring but tying them should be consistent/predictable.

Have you dropped one of the rings to see how difficult it is to recover? Perhaps adding some shock chord to keep the aider within arms reach will be useful.

Using rope and ascenders one might even be able to create a "rope walking" system.
Click to expand...

Ya, I think that leaving your anchors behind have its benefits for sure. The stuff is so small and light that it really is not a big issue.

I have yet to drop a ring. The thought is that at some point I would add a life line of sorts, but I want to put it through its paces before making certain mods.

I think a pair of ropemans would be very slick, offer less resistance and less wear and tear. I have a pair I use now on the lineman and tether. I may sacrifice them at some point and try them out.

I'm pretty torn right now. I love the WE Steps with my strap and quick release mod, coupled with the knaider/swaider. I am just so comfortable with it. But this is really growing on me because it so compact and effortless to use. It does not require any "big" moves, they can be as small as you like. There is a lot to be said for that, especially if you are bigger, less nimble and a bit fearful of heights.
 
Thanks for sharing Peter, this is awesome. I'm going to try this with a distel hitch and tender instead of a Ropeman like you mentioned.
 
To go ultra light, you could technically do this with only two anchor straps, right? Since you have to unhook from the lower and hook into upper, could just remove and take lower with you to reset as new upper (leapfrogging). Opposite to descend.

However, anchors would be cheap to preset and allow you to practically run up the tree. If you time this, time it setting anchors and preset, please.

I also think this leapfrogging method might work with 2 WE Stepps that could also be turned into a platform.

IRregardless, this is fantastic out of the box thinking! I love it!
 
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