• The SH Membership has gone live. Only SH Members have access to post in the classifieds. All members can view the classifieds. Starting in 2020 only SH Members will be admitted to the annual hunting contest. Current members will need to follow these steps to upgrade: 1. Click on your username 2. Click on Account upgrades 3. Choose SH Member and purchase.
  • We've been working hard the past few weeks to come up with some big changes to our vendor policies to meet the changing needs of our community. Please see the new vendor rules here: Vendor Access Area Rules

Kestrel bridge as second lineman belt?

River Hunter

River Hunter

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 19, 2017
Messages
301
Location
Minnesota
Was out getting a tree set up last weekend which was also my maiden voyage with my size 2 Kestrel.
First off some changes I made from stock set up in the two weeks I've had it..
  • I put a Ropeman 1 and carabiner on one side of the bridge - as it comes the bridge is way too long for my taste. And I haven't had enough experience with it to go with a fixed bridge yet.
  • I made a lineman belt out of 8mm static rope and a Ropeman 1 - I know, it states 10mm minimum but I pulled and pulled on it and I can't get it to slip. So I'm going with it under the "use at your own risk" label. Packs down to nothing.
  • Added the speed hooks G2 found on Amazon (I actually found it first but I'll give credit to him for posting it first). I use 4 sticks, at ground level I can attach two sticks and the other two I slip the stand-offs in the elastic band of the speed hooks for easy access. Super slick.
  • Added 2 entrenchment tool covers to the back of the Kestrel to hold my tether, lineman belt, and back band.
  • Swapped out the tiny prussik knots for the backband for a Nite-Ize cam jam. I tied one end of the rope to one side of the backband, trimmed down the paracord, run it through the carabiner on the tether and then hook it to the other side of the backband.
Ok...with that said, I was climbing a tree and hit a fork and thought, man it would be nice to have that second lineman belt. Then I look down and realized...I HAVE ONE!

I unhooked one side of my bridge, ran it around the tree, unhooked my 8mm lineman belt and re-situated it around the fork.

Am I late to the game or a trend setter?

In the 45 minutes I spent in it I have to say I'm loving it. I just need to figure out my bridge length / tether height to take the hip pinch out in the sitting position but when I'm leaning it doesn't get any better.
 
I also did the same. I put a carabiner on my lineman's belt to make it removable so that i can use my tether and lineman's belt in this same manner. I also use my lineman's belt as a secondary tether while hunting. If i have it up there, why not use it right?. I also have two bridges. one is webbing so it doesn't add any weight or problems. This way I have backups the whole time. Very comforting to me.
 
River Hunter said:
Was out getting a tree set up last weekend which was also my maiden voyage with my size 2 Kestrel.
First off some changes I made from stock set up in the two weeks I've had it..
  • I put a Ropeman 1 and carabiner on one side of the bridge - as it comes the bridge is way too long for my taste. And I haven't had enough experience with it to go with a fixed bridge yet.
  • I made a lineman belt out of 8mm static rope and a Ropeman 1 - I know, it states 10mm minimum but I pulled and pulled on it and I can't get it to slip. So I'm going with it under the "use at your own risk" label. Packs down to nothing.
  • Added the speed hooks G2 found on Amazon (I actually found it first but I'll give credit to him for posting it first). I use 4 sticks, at ground level I can attach two sticks and the other two I slip the stand-offs in the elastic band of the speed hooks for easy access. Super slick.
  • Added 2 entrenchment tool covers to the back of the Kestrel to hold my tether, lineman belt, and back band.
  • Swapped out the tiny prussik knots for the backband for a Nite-Ize cam jam. I tied one end of the rope to one side of the backband, trimmed down the paracord, run it through the carabiner on the tether and then hook it to the other side of the backband.
Ok...with that said, I was climbing a tree and hit a fork and thought, man it would be nice to have that second lineman belt. Then I look down and realized...I HAVE ONE!

I unhooked one side of my bridge, ran it around the tree, unhooked my 8mm lineman belt and re-situated it around the fork.

Am I late to the game or a trend setter?

In the 45 minutes I spent in it I have to say I'm loving it. I just need to figure out my bridge length / tether height to take the hip pinch out in the sitting position but when I'm leaning it doesn't get any better.
Click to expand...

You can also use your tether to go around limbs and that way hang in saddle if need be. And trend setter yes you are you tied the cam jam to one side great idea. But I have used ropeman 1 on 9mm line and worked fine on lineman’s belt leaning so thought I would make a tether with it wrong. It Jammed up the ropeman and was very hard to release. So now I’m using an 8mm line with Kong Duck and it works great. I had the setup at Saddlepalooza with XOP climber top. I just climb with the tether and I had a 11mm soft tether and an 8mm stiff tether. Liked the stiff small one much better for sliding up and down the tree. It was much easier and faster. Hope this helps in someway.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
bongo said:
You can also use your tether to go around limbs and that way hang in saddle if need be. And trend setter yes you are you tied the cam jam to one side great idea. But I have used ropeman 1 on 9mm line and worked fine on lineman’s belt leaning so thought I would make a tether with it wrong. It Jammed up the ropeman and was very hard to release. So now I’m using an 8mm line with Kong Duck and it works great. I had the setup at Saddlepalooza with XOP climber top. I just climb with the tether and I had a 11mm soft tether and an 8mm stiff tether. Liked the stiff small one much better for sliding up and down the tree. It was much easier and faster. Hope this helps in someway.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Click to expand...
@bongo I forgot to give props to you for the cam jam idea ;)
I wouldn't try using a smaller diameter rope for the tether, but as far as a lineman's belt it seems plenty good.
Didn't think of using the tether to go around limbs...adding that to my bag of tricks.
 
River Hunter said:
@bongo I forgot to give props to you for the cam jam idea ;)
I wouldn't try using a smaller diameter rope for the tether, but as far as a lineman's belt it seems plenty good.
Didn't think of using the tether to go around limbs...adding that to my bag of tricks.
Click to expand...

If your just hanging in your saddle the smaller doesn’t matter. but when your climbing with it and have to advance it a lot smaller and stiffer works a lot better for me. Not trying to change anyone just what works for me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
red2delta said:
I also did the same. I put a carabiner on my lineman's belt to make it removable so that i can use my tether and lineman's belt in this same manner. I also use my lineman's belt as a secondary tether while hunting. If i have it up there, why not use it right?. I also have two bridges. one is webbing so it doesn't add any weight or problems. This way I have backups the whole time. Very comforting to me.
Click to expand...

So when you run the second bridge are you tying that in or are you using caribener(s)?
 
Interesting. I have 2 identical ropes set up. One for tether and one for my linesman. I have went to a fixed length bridge of amsteel as I do not care for any unnecessary metal which creates potential noise. I am not seeing any advantage using my bridge for a linesman as when you get to hunting height you need you a seperate tether, and bridge to get tethered to the tree while you are still using the lineman belt. So in this case I am not eliminating anything. If I were going to have an adjustable bridge with a ropeman and carabiner attached it may make sense to have a 3rd rope set up.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
 
pilgrimhunter said:
Interesting. I have 2 identical ropes set up. One for tether and one for my linesman. I have went to a fixed length bridge of amsteel as I do not care for any unnecessary metal which creates potential noise. I am not seeing any advantage using my bridge for a linesman as when you get to hunting height you need you a seperate tether, and bridge to get tethered to the tree while you are still using the lineman belt. So in this case I am not eliminating anything. If I were going to have an adjustable bridge with a ropeman and carabiner attached it may make sense to have a 3rd rope set up.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
I'm not using it as the primary linesman belt, just as a secondary to get around branches. At some point when I'm comfortable with my bridge length I may go fixed due to the points you listed above and the bulk of all that rope.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk
 
bigjoe said:
So when you run the second bridge are you tying that in or are you using caribener(s)?
Click to expand...

Per response to bigjoe:
I am still using the aerohunter evolution, which has the metal paws. I removed the blakes hitch and now have a fixed rope bridge. This leaves the top two eyes on the paws open ( not used ), and that is where i attach the additional webbing bridge to on each side. It doesn't get in the way or anything and it is the same length as my rope one, plus it adds no noticeable weight.
I have been playing with the idea of making my rope one just a tiny bit longer than the webbing one, so the webbing holds my weight because it slides much better in the carabiner, then my rope one would be the backup, just a thought tho if that makes sense to you. Either way i hardly notice it, it is worth the security to me.
 
pilgrimhunter said:
Interesting. I have 2 identical ropes set up. One for tether and one for my linesman. I have went to a fixed length bridge of amsteel as I do not care for any unnecessary metal which creates potential noise. I am not seeing any advantage using my bridge for a linesman as when you get to hunting height you need you a seperate tether, and bridge to get tethered to the tree while you are still using the lineman belt. So in this case I am not eliminating anything. If I were going to have an adjustable bridge with a ropeman and carabiner attached it may make sense to have a 3rd rope set up.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
This is how I do it also
 
Would this basically be a 2-in-one linesman that arborist use? Basically, a linesman that's twice as long eliminates the need for the extra lanyard to go around branches and can be also used as your adjustable bridge?I'm thinking that this would only need you to have the 2-in-one linesman and just your tether. but with this set up you can have a linesman, and a secondary for branches, and adjustable bridge and the tether with 2 ropes?
 
River Hunter said:

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk
Click to expand...


Thanks for the video for clarity, being new I'm going to try both that kind of set up and also try a 2 in one lanyard setup. Also if don't like I just cut the extra off and use the bride as a second lanyard like you have it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top