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New guy, old questions

C

Cameron

New Member
Joined
Dec 3, 2016
Messages
34
Hey all, I've been skimming through the website for several months and have even purchased a sitdrag earlier this summer. I'm not a tree stand hunter, usually because I never can be still long enough and rarely go to the same place twice. However, there are many times where I've still-hunted all day and want to sit and wait at a wallow or saddle. Most places I'm hunting in have 4-6 foot tall berry bushes and if I can get above this height (say 8-12 feet) I think I could hunt the area very well.

So here's my thought: if I can carry a sitdrag with a rope bridge and one of two options for tethers, then I could always keep it in my pack and use it when a good opportunity arises. For the tether, I'm thinking of either a long line with a girth hitch around a stout limb which I could climb with a Purcell Prussik set. I'm familiar with this setup from search and rescue training a few years ago, but only used it in training sessions. The other option I was looking at was the "stealth climb" where I use a rope stirrup to sit stand my way up the tree.

I'm looking to buy some shorts from Sterling but I don't know how long to get since I'm unsure of the two climbing methods. Any input? I would also like to get my adjustable bridge from the purchased length as well, so I was going to add 3-4 feet.

Any input would be great, or let me know if I missed any details.
 
I'm not too familiar with the climbing stuff, so I can't add value there. However, I think the SitDrag would work well in your scenario. I'm interested to see how you tackle it.
 
Static rope with a distel hitch and a foot ascender. If you're just trying to get 15' or so up you could throw into the tree with the rope its self.
 
Thanks G2, I'm going to see on a tubular webbing belt to keep it up while climbing, and some of your posts have been really helpful. I'll keep that as a separate question in the right place later.
DIY, thanks for the tips on the distel hitch. Is that the method you use? If so, do you use one foot ascender? I liked the idea of being able to use both feet with the Prusiks, but like I said, I'm no expert with it and $60 for a foot ascender isn't too bad.
 
Cameron said:
Thanks G2, I'm going to see on a tubular webbing belt to keep it up while climbing, and some of your posts have been really helpful. I'll keep that as a separate question in the right place later.
DIY, thanks for the tips on the distel hitch. Is that the method you use? If so, do you use one foot ascender? I liked the idea of being able to use both feet with the Prusiks, but like I said, I'm no expert with it and $60 for a foot ascender isn't too bad.
Click to expand...
I have the an extra foot loop attached to the biner for my harness and distel hitch. So I hike up the connection for the harness and my left foot at the same time. Then my right foot has the ascender. But you could do it with stirrups and two distel/prusiks.
 
Thanks!

I'm looking at getting a Poly Static 11mm 50+ foot short rope from Stirling to start playing around. We had always been told to have 70% diameter for Prussik cord (~8mm for this 11mm rope), would that be true with the distel hitch? Any recommendations for what type, where to buy, and how much for three hitches (harness, foot, and adjustable harness)?

Also, is 50' enough for an adjustable bridge and then the rope to climb <20'? Is the Stirlintg short the best way to buy this rope or is there a better recommendation?

Thanks again, I can't wait to get some piece parts and get started
 
Yah, I just bought those end pieces from sterling and they have worked great. Sometimes you get some random colors but thats fine.

I use a rope wrench, DMM hitch climber pulley, and a 30" Ocean Polyester 8mm Sewn Eye and Eye in which I tie a distel hitch. I then have a foot ascender and a HAAS to ascend up the rope.

My setup probably isn't the cheapest option but it works really well. If you aren't using a pulley you can just buy prusik rope.

https://www.treestuff.com/store/catalog.asp?category_id=20&item=2053
 
That's a nice system but if you don't mind me asking, why are you using a hitch climber? Something like a CT micropulley is half the cost and makes for a compact setup.
 
Ignorance would be the first answer. Because I will most likely not be using the saddle system every time, but want to carry it as a viable option when hiking in several miles, I want a simple and light system. To avoid sticks or a platform, I want to try a rope stirrup system and SRT just seems to fit. Then, I was looking at the nice ropewalker setups but they had many metal pieces that seem to be a little heavier and more expensive, so I thought hitches would be lighter and less expensive. I'm still open to recommendations though. I did order 11mm short poly rope today so that will be a start.
 
Brydan in hindsight, the micropulley would work just fine. I thought I needed to have hitch climber to clip in a chest harness so it would ascend up the rope as I climbed but I don't do that and just push it up with my hand as I climb. I do use a micropulley on the end of the rope as I have found that makes it much easier to pull down the rope when I want to get it out of the tree.
 
Cameron,
You aren't going high and you aren't going to always use it...See my thread on No Stick Climbing using an Aider on a tether plus your normal tether to climb.
 
Thanks Dude, that looks pretty awesome too. Do you have a long tether on top to rappel down or do you just inch worm down like the video? I have some mule tape I could try a quick aider once I get the rope in
 
The problem I see with having a saddle and using rope or just aiders to climb is that you'll have no "platform" once you're at height. You're going to need a climbing stick with dual top step, strap on steps, a true platform, or screw in steps or bolts to give yourself an anchor point on the tree to rest your legs and draw against.

That being said, I typically hunt higher, but have several spots where i'm hunting mock orange thickets, and i'll be on the side of a ridge. In these scenarios, i'm only 5-10' up the tree. In this scenario, one climbing stick and a webbing aider is my choice. I can reach 7' or so from ground level setting the stick one time. I climb with a rock harness, so if I need to get higher, i'll hang from the harness and move the stick up. If you're in decent shape, and don't mind hanging from a harness for about 20 seconds, it's a pretty easy method to learn. One climbing stick and aider is 3lbs or under. I use the Muddy short stick and it packs nicely no matter which set up I'm hunting. I often use it as an aid when hiking steep ridges too.

However, the more I think about it - this might be a great application for the jim stepps. I think most people's complaint is the time to set up when climbing 15-25 feet. I'm not sure how tall you are, but I would imagine 4-6 steps would be the max you'd need. Plus, your last step would serve as your platform. I wouldn't be comfortable all day on just this, but for stopping in one spot for an hour or two, it would serve just fine.

Regardless of how you ascend the tree, you're going to need something solid under your feet. The sit drag is not comfortable enough to support all of your weight with your feet hanging. If you ultimately decide to climb with ropes, then a strap on step platform, or a couple jim stepps as a platform, would serve nicely.

To sum up my choice in order of preference would be

Single climbing stick(needs to have dual top step) with aider (two step made from tubular webbing for me, for shorter people a three or four step may be necessary to accommodate shorter stride)

4-6 Jim Stepps

Any of the rope climbing methods, with platform of your choice
 
Thanks Kyler, I was thinking about what Some Dude said last night and got to thinking: if I tie an aider, I could set up the rope stirrups as the top steps. This goes along with what you just stated about needing some sort of platform, and the stirrups being integral to an aider seems like a light and compact way to make it work. Once it's not frigid I'll try some things out in the backyard.

Thanks everyone
 
I still think that isn't going to be rigid enough. When you plant on one foot and try to swing or pivot, that aider is going to slip or rotate some, and it will make noise. you could "jump" up and down to really cinch it tight once at height I guess.
 
My 11mm 80' static rope and 8mm Per rope came today from sterling. The 11mm rope is bright red though. Does the rope color matter much when up in a tree and, if so, is it best to dye it?

Still not sure about SRT vs an aider. I'm about ready to buy some camo tubular webbing for a diy aider but I'm not sure if I want to try a tied version or a sewn version based on some climbing forums. I still have three feet of snow in my years so I won't be climbing for a while anyway.
 
I think red rope will bother you more than the deer.
 
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