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Making a new tether

devildog

devildog

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2014
Messages
322
Location
St Charles, MO
So I am in the process of setting up a sit drag RC combo right now and need to make a new tether. I was thinking about setting it up with 10mm rope and one prusik and one ropeman like Bowhunter15 is using. I have been using a saddle for a few years now but I have never done any DIY. Where do I order the rope from, any brand recommendations and how many feet?

I appreciate any help you guys can give me.
 
treestuff.com is a great place to order from. Most of the tethers I've made start out between 12 and 14 foot. This leaves plenty of room to tie the knots. I create my tethers on the larger side so that I can hang from almost any tree I find in the woods.
 
redsquirrel said:
treestuff.com is a great place to order from. Most of the tethers I've made start out between 12 and 14 foot. This leaves plenty of room to tie the knots. I create my tethers on the larger side so that I can hang from almost any tree I find in the woods.
Click to expand...

I just remembered that I was using that much when I wrapped the tether around the tree twice. With a rope tether you really don't need to, so you probably won't need quite that much.
 
I use sterling superstatic rope in the 9mm diameter which works well. Run that through a ropeman and your good. I like the idea of using the HSS as it is ready made but I still think that if you can tie your own knots why not make something for less.
 
I use 11 mm.... you guys feel safe with the 9mm for extended sits?
 
I'm using 11mm right now. I would have no problem going down to 9mm Samson UltraTech rated at 10,000 lbs. The 11mm Bluewater Assault line I'm using now is rated just shy of 8,000 pounds.

It's not the size of your rope, it's how you use it. :cool:
 
I hung on some of this for a few sits last year, http://www.treestuff.com/store/catalog.asp?item=1784. It meets the minimum recommended climbing standards, and the strength rating is just a little lower than the yale bandit. The smaller rope packs up much more compact. After a lot of thought and practice with it, I don't have a problem with it. I am more concerned about using a sling for a bridge than using this rope for a tether.
 
Do you guys seriously feel like you need all that tensile strength of those big ropes to be safe?

Looking at some math.... lets say figure 8 knots reduce strength 20% (they don't, but lets fudge on the safe side.) If memory serves me correctly working load limit of a line is 10% of it's tensile strength.

I went with 5.5 mm dyneema climbing accessory cord- BlueWater Titan cord. It's tensile is 3100 lbs.
3100 lbs, tie figure 8 knots in it- that's minus 20% tensile strength so that puts our actual tensile to 2480 lbs. 10% of that tensile is safe work load which is of course 248 lbs. I call it good to go!

Sure.... a fall can build tremendous kinetic energy. But in reality how much fall can a saddle hunter that is set up correctly generate? 18" ?? thats a small force multiplier. And YES I want to have good fall protection figured into my life support. But in 10 years of saddle hunting I have never fallen that 18", not once.

Thoughts?
 
I think the thick rope handles better, is easier to rig on the tree, and I have zero worries about it getting nicked or worn. I used accessory cord for a few things and didn't like it.
 
I like big ropes as well. Especially with the mechanical ascenders.
 
After some experimentation and a little bit of analysis I am switching back to the yale bandit. The bigger rope is not that bad and is easy to use on the tree. It didn't ever fail me before no reason it would now
 
MCDM said:
After some experimentation and a little bit of analysis I am switching back to the yale bandit. The bigger rope is not that bad and is easy to use on the tree. It didn't ever fail me before no reason it would now
Click to expand...
I'm a big fan of the Yale as well for my tether. There are definitely more abrasion resistant options but it is easy to work with and stays in place when I stand on my platform.
 
I like stiff for my lineman and no slip issue with the assault line as a tether. Id like limper rope for transport though.

Bluewater uses 15:1 tensile to working load. Yes this rope has a working load of 600lbs, likely over kill, but it is cheap insurance and the ropeman works well with it. Id go smaller if there was an ascended that was made for it.
 
kenn1320 said:
I like stiff for my lineman and no slip issue with the assault line as a tether. Id like limper rope for transport though.

Bluewater uses 15:1 tensile to working load. Yes this rope has a working load of 600lbs, likely over kill, but it is cheap insurance and the ropeman works well with it. Id go smaller if there was an ascended that was made for it.
Click to expand...

Expensive, but "rescue ascenders" are designed for small lines in emergency "last ditch" rescue rope systems. This one will grip 1/4 line:
http://www.liveactionsafety.com/ultrascender-small-rope-rescue-ascender/
 
Ex Umbra said:
Do you guys seriously feel like you need all that tensile strength of those big ropes to be safe?

Looking at some math.... lets say figure 8 knots reduce strength 20% (they don't, but lets fudge on the safe side.) If memory serves me correctly working load limit of a line is 10% of it's tensile strength.

I went with 5.5 mm dyneema climbing accessory cord- BlueWater Titan cord. It's tensile is 3100 lbs.
3100 lbs, tie figure 8 knots in it- that's minus 20% tensile strength so that puts our actual tensile to 2480 lbs. 10% of that tensile is safe work load which is of course 248 lbs. I call it good to go!

Sure.... a fall can build tremendous kinetic energy. But in reality how much fall can a saddle hunter that is set up correctly generate? 18" ?? thats a small force multiplier. And YES I want to have good fall protection figured into my life support. But in 10 years of saddle hunting I have never fallen that 18", not once.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

From what I can tell, life and safety design factor is 10. The load created by a fall is related to rope elongation, and most of the guys here use static rope. (There's a video out there showing 20,000 lb static rope failing a 5000 lb dynamic drop test, using a 200 lbm dummy.) Also, life and safety design is meant for when something goes wrong, not when everything goes right and you only fall 18". This all leads me to believe that 5.5mm is not the right size static rope for me to be hanging from. :)


16 inch drop creating a 32x dynamic force on a spring scale. Not sure what the spring constant of accessory cord is.
 
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Awesome video, thanks for posting that. Does this mean we should not be using static rope, especially for our lineman where we are at a higher risk of fall?
 
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