Thanks, John! Taking things in turn:
- I am definitely using Sterling 7mm cord, the same you use from RNA. The other cords I mentioned are smaller than I should be using, but stiffer, and thus hold their shape a bit better. Having untied my original hitches for the first time after these numerous loadings I was a little surprised at how internally twisted they are. I don’t think that’s necessarily a concern with safety so much as getting then retuned after each climb. Do you have any thoughts there? Otherwise I am also going to try and make sure the Ghillie and cord are both fully rebalanced before removing my Garda loop and loading them.
- On the crotch, either due to weight, relative inexperience, or ignorance I am always just afraid of climbing on limbs instead of the trunk or a “V” of significant girth. I’m probably too conservative there, but am also just used to SRT where girth hitching the trunk doesn’t penalize me beyond getting the rope down on occasion. Having done more tinkering as of late I can definitely understand why this is less ideal for DSRT or MRS (the latter being something with which I have nothing but recent, accidental experience). I have watched a lot of arborist videos and seen various rules of thumb, I am also simply just fearful of climbing on a limb too small and having it break. I am sure I can be convinced I’m overly cautious on this. I hope I am not the only one that would be helped by a video specific to your system.
- This makes complete sense and I expected as much based on what I know of your perspective. I was mainly just curious but know I, too, need to keep practicing down low with the Munter such that I can get it smoothed out. That’s likely a separate learning effort from getting my hitches right, but so far with limited time I’ve been dealing with both to the end of some frustration. Of course if my rope were better aligned I am guessing this could only help my ability to get one hand on the hitches and get them broken so as to tend them as a backup for rappel.
- On my hitches and bends, I first tied them with a triple fisherman’s given my safety concerns and likely superstitions listed above, but I’ve redone them this evening with the flat overhand. Any thoughts are welcome of course.
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I want to stress just how much I appreciate your effort, clarity, and thoughtfulness in your videos. While I know some guys in the community have lots of experience with knots and rope climbing many of us do not. This is the reason we see a proliferation of ducks, ropemans, and safeguards—many of which are being used out of spec. Although I am having some trouble going up and down seamlessly with your method compared to SRT/RADS (while still fully appreciating the immediate advantages of JRB), I’ve learned more from your videos about knots, rope climbing, and more than I have collectively on those topics my whole life. It’s also just a heck of a lot of fun to play with and that’s about as interesting as hunting to me. One thing on that front that I’ve learned from you just by observing is that with rope clinbing you can often get into a much, much larger tree than with sticks or stands. Although there could be some disadvantages there on shot windows, the ability to hide surpasses anything else of which I am aware. Deer simply can’t see you when the tree is larger than your body. Although not all of this has to be specific to JRB, there's lots to appreciate to name a few:
- Redundancy is well thought out.
- It is relative quiet compared to other rope methods including SRT/RADS and certainly something like one sticking. I am assuming MRS can be louder as well when the rope is moving on rough bark.
- The double, untied rope goes in and out of the tree much easier than most other options.
- The climber is in more control of the system creation which is both rewarding and customized.
- One cannot help but learn a lot in the process.
- The aforementioned tree flexibility.
- Certainly the weight of the system is less than most.
- There are more options for alternatives in the event of a hiccup. For example, as a complete novice to the system I accidentally learned the mechanics of MRS because one of my hitches jammed.
There's a lot of content in your last message and so I'll do my best to hit some of the major points.
1. Thanks. As long as I can help folks, I will. All I ask is that you pass it along and help the next person or generation. Do unto others...
2. Looking at your photos, I can't be certain, but am a bit concerned that the Agile Hitches you created might not be as compact as mine in the video, tied in yellow cordage. Just double check em pls. And then let me know if you’re having performance issues. Send me a PM if ya like... I wanna know your height and weight so i can try to emulate your situation exactly.
3. Regarding crotch selection, in a well formed crotch in a hardwood tree, I am comfortable if the branch is minimally as thick as my wrist or maybe a baseball. In a soft wood like pine, poplar, catalpa, i would want it thicker, like softball size or larger. But we all have different trees and comfort levels. If you're not comfortable, you won't enjoy the hunt. So go thicker.
4. There are a million folks who want you to know what a great hunter they are and i have no problem with that. It's not my style to brag about my hunting success. But suffice it to say it's been a long time since I have not filled my buck tag in respectable fashion. But that shouldn't impress you. But i am proud of this. Last year, i filled over 10 tags again... one buck, the rest doe. Passed on a lot of average bucks. Passed on a lot of doe when hunting for my buck. Lotta time in a tree. And I was never busted by a deer once while in a tree. Sure, I may have bumped a few walking in or out, but once in the tree, I wasn't busted. One doe was taken while i was still ascending. I had my recurve on my back and simply stopped climbing and took the shot. What helps immensely is my ability to hide in bulky trees with branches. And nothing on the tree for them to notice.
5. On the channel, i am adding content on SRT because it's been requested. However, I haven't found even a single statement I need to retract about DSRT/JRB... it remains my preference, except in the few scenarios where SRT has the edge. I just want to bring a rope in the woods with me and be able to do anything I need to do. The Longhorn Agile and Garda are great enablers for me in that regard. Just this weekend, i did a demo climb where I popped off my agile hitches so that I could use the system a different way. And I can put them back on whenever I want. Flexibility is key.
6. I can't tell you how many folks have asked me to build em a system. All were turned down. I put it back on them: "Tell me why you can't create your own." The exercise will be rewarding and educational.
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