So just a question I had, I see videos with everyone with Ropeman 1's and not a lot of people are using fixed pulleys with prusik knots. which is better I see from a cost maybe the pulley and prusik if your going to have about 2-3 of them, the pulley is the most cost-effective?
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Ropeman 1 Vs Fixed Pulley?
- Thread starter Jdelach22
- Start date
ImThere
Well-Known Member
I vote for the Ropeman I believe its more convenient but having said that I've never tried a pulley with a prusik. I love my Ropeman 1!!!!!!!
YEA, being I am new all I'm doing is reading and watching videos. All I see and hear is ropeman and im thinking wear and IF it should fail (understanding you have a better chance getting struck by lighting at a baseball game on a Tuesday). being mechanical and them teeth on the gears... and a lot of arborist vids I saw is just a pulley which is like $10-15 on Amazon. idk I guess I'm looking for different opinions.
ImThere
Well-Known Member
I like it! I wonder if it moves that easy after you load it? Heck i have a Prusik i use like that now with my Ropeman that never gets loaded
The prussik if properly tied will meet the national tree climbing standard. The ropeman is more convenient and simple to use. If not mistaken the ropeman is rated for approx. 900 lbs. There is a new video posted on the rollnlock ascender being used on bridges and testing the break strength. The rollnlock is 20 kN or almost 4500 psi.
Rope grabs like the Ropeman were all the rage in Arboriculture 20 years ago. At the time, they were a big step up from a 3 strand flipline with a 3 strand prusik which was a common set-up back in the day. A grab with say a 16 strand climb line as the lanyard was like magic compared to the old gear. For tree workers though, the one big knock on using a grab is that it's "on/off". You can't release line or finesse the line out with your weight on it which is a problem, or at least not ideal, in a lot climbing situations.
So the trend for a good while now, 15 yrs?, has been going back to a prusik/pulley system with a high performance hitch like a Distel and using long lanyards which in effect becomes a second short climb line in the tree which opens up a ton of options for work positioning in the tree. Whereas historically, lanyards were short and just used for localized positioning. That's why when you see Arborist videos on Youtube they're primarily using a htich/pulley system. Grabs are still used a lot for removals and pitchy trees where climbers don't want to gum up the hitch.
The one thing to keep in mind though is that a lanyard is essentially a DdRT system so the hitch only sees 1/2 the climbers weight more or less. That's what allows a hitch by itself to work easily. Whereas on a tether, it's essentially an SRT system where the hitch sees the full weight of the climber and therefore has a tendency to bind up after being loaded and a mechanical device like the Ropeman won't. To use a hitch and retain smooth function additional friction has to be employed, so that's where in SRT tree climbing videos you'll see Rope Wrenches, Hitchhikers, etc which work in conjunction with the hitch to provide additional friction. Tree workers also use full mechanical multicenders too like the Rope Runner, Unicender, etc but they're expensive and unnecessary for hunting. Standard rock climbing belay devices are more than enough for hunters that want to rappel.
So the trend for a good while now, 15 yrs?, has been going back to a prusik/pulley system with a high performance hitch like a Distel and using long lanyards which in effect becomes a second short climb line in the tree which opens up a ton of options for work positioning in the tree. Whereas historically, lanyards were short and just used for localized positioning. That's why when you see Arborist videos on Youtube they're primarily using a htich/pulley system. Grabs are still used a lot for removals and pitchy trees where climbers don't want to gum up the hitch.
The one thing to keep in mind though is that a lanyard is essentially a DdRT system so the hitch only sees 1/2 the climbers weight more or less. That's what allows a hitch by itself to work easily. Whereas on a tether, it's essentially an SRT system where the hitch sees the full weight of the climber and therefore has a tendency to bind up after being loaded and a mechanical device like the Ropeman won't. To use a hitch and retain smooth function additional friction has to be employed, so that's where in SRT tree climbing videos you'll see Rope Wrenches, Hitchhikers, etc which work in conjunction with the hitch to provide additional friction. Tree workers also use full mechanical multicenders too like the Rope Runner, Unicender, etc but they're expensive and unnecessary for hunting. Standard rock climbing belay devices are more than enough for hunters that want to rappel.
Great points. I agree with everything you said. I like the Ropeman or Roll N Lock www.treestuff.com/store/catalog.asp?item=12216 on my tether and as an adjuster for my bridge. Like brydan said, the tether is more SRT and a hitch doesn't adjust under the load of full body weight very well as it tends to lock up so I like a Ropeman on that. A hitch takes up more room on the tether too so it is more difficult to keep things compact as I like.
I like my lanyard to be smoothly adjustable under load and I don't think the Ropeman type device works as well for that. (I got hung up in a tree once doing arborist work because my lanyard was loaded and I couldn't adjust it under full load and I couldn't let the tension off. You can release the ropeman under tension but it is all off or all on. The adjuster I was using would lock up under load). I like a hitch with a mechanical adjuster like a shizll or pulley on my lanyard. I like the shizll better than a pulley for my saddle hunting lanyard but either would work fine. www.treestuff.com/store/catalog.asp?item=2076
I have an adjustable mechanical adjuster on my tree work flip line (www.treestuff.com/store/catalog.asp?item=1746#) but that is overkill for saddle hunting. Mechanical adjuster is nice if I'm taking down a sappy pine because hitches get sticky and bind up.
One other piece to consider is the ropeman, is a lot quieter than the pulley. The pulley has the ability to rattle on the attaching clip or carabiner
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