Any tips for doing this with the WE steps? Tried it for the first time yesterday. To me it was definitely more difficult than guys make it look in YouTube videos. Hardest part for me was getting a stable grip in the tree with my toes, movement of the linesman while trying to hold on and getting the knee hook off of the step. Using just an aider from WE was much easier to me. Any suggestions? Thanks
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Knaider Swaiders tips......
- Thread starter jgss2
- Start date
The key for me is pushing back into my linesman belt. When I push back into it, it allows me to get a stable toe hold with my foot on the tree. So from the ground this is what I do:
Flip linesman up
Step up and slightly rearward into the swaider pressing my toe into the tree
Hook knaider onto WE stepp.
Flip linesman up again
Step up and rearward into knaider pressing toe into the tree.
When I say rearward I just mean applying pressure on the linesman belt.
If your having trouble with your knaider not unhooking from the crossbar of the stepp you may have it set too high. Try sizing the knaider where the hook is under the kneecap. Just go slow until you get some reps in. They get easier.
Flip linesman up
Step up and slightly rearward into the swaider pressing my toe into the tree
Hook knaider onto WE stepp.
Flip linesman up again
Step up and rearward into knaider pressing toe into the tree.
When I say rearward I just mean applying pressure on the linesman belt.
If your having trouble with your knaider not unhooking from the crossbar of the stepp you may have it set too high. Try sizing the knaider where the hook is under the kneecap. Just go slow until you get some reps in. They get easier.
Appreciate the help. I may be trying to stay to vertical. I’ll try going slightly rearward and practice tomorrow. Thanks for the reply.
When I am climbing with spurs and stop to attach my platform/ROS I'll make a DIY tree squeeze with a prusik and biner. It's quick and quiet, and the prusik lives right there on my lineman belt. So if I am ever climbing trees with lean or trees that are wet which make it easier to lose your grip on the tree and kick out I'll do something similar. I'll bring my DIY tree squeeze above the stepp and cinch it. Then when I'm pushing back into it as Murph said it makes it almost impossible to kick out. This also helps keep the lineman rope above you, which is sometimes hard with the amount of slack you need to keep your toe and knee inline with the tree. I thick that would help people build confidence in the method.
I had troubles at the beginning too but now I have tweaked it to fit just right.
Two things I did and made a world of difference...
1. Made sure my swaider carabiner was about an inch or two under my belt. When I started longer i kept slipping out sideways and didn’t have control.
2. I added hockey tape to my carabiner and steps to prevent any slipping.
I guess there was a third but it was covered. I wasn’t giving enough slack in my lineman’s belt to get the “rearward” pressure to hold me there.
Just keep trying. First few times I tried I was looking up hawk steps and was done with them but now I’m hooked!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Two things I did and made a world of difference...
1. Made sure my swaider carabiner was about an inch or two under my belt. When I started longer i kept slipping out sideways and didn’t have control.
2. I added hockey tape to my carabiner and steps to prevent any slipping.
I guess there was a third but it was covered. I wasn’t giving enough slack in my lineman’s belt to get the “rearward” pressure to hold me there.
Just keep trying. First few times I tried I was looking up hawk steps and was done with them but now I’m hooked!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Murph hit the nail on the head. All about the lineman belt. Your brain will fight against you but lean back hard almost all the time. Master that and it is easy. I have never had a kick out. I owe that to my use of the lineman. I am always stable, even if a step is not set perfectly.
I keep meaning to make a vid because I think this is a very common issue.
Peter
I keep meaning to make a vid because I think this is a very common issue.
Peter
I need to practice more. I tried yesterday in the yard but the tree was wet and I had no luck. Are you using more of your toe on the tree or the ball of your foot? Thanks
Never really thought about it. Probably a combination of the two, meaning it depends on the tree, is it leaning, etc. A wet tree should not matter because foot pressure should be straight against the tree. I think leaning back hard against the belt helps to guarantee proper foot/toe pressure.
This is the part that has always got me and where I don't feel safe. I lose stability once I have to flip the lineman's belt up with no handhold or lineman's belt to lean into.
has anyone just gone with 2 swaiders? i was thinking last night about my LW minis. Gooing to give it a try on the tree this week.
I'm running into a problem connecting with the knaider on my ascent. The amsteel loop i have girth hitched is hard to hook, but its more the angle I'm on. Its like it is not far enough apart from the swaider if that makes sense. I figured two swaiders. One on each step would provide proper spacing.
I'm running into a problem connecting with the knaider on my ascent. The amsteel loop i have girth hitched is hard to hook, but its more the angle I'm on. Its like it is not far enough apart from the swaider if that makes sense. I figured two swaiders. One on each step would provide proper spacing.
Your continuous loops must be made of 7/64 Amsteel you should try the 3/16 continuous loops instead!
Does it make a big difference? I think it’s more the spacing between the swaider and knaider attach points. Swaider on step and knaider close to the post if that makes sense.
I think it would the 3/16 little thicker than the 7/64 making it more stiffer keeping the loops open making it easier to hook up your knaider and swaider!
I FINALLY GOT IT!!! After having issues the first few times I almost gave up on the whole K/S method. Last night I went out for one more practice session and it clicked. This may sound stupid but I think for some reason I was putting my weight more on the tree and the knee hook for my weight support. Last night it hit me to put the weight on the foot loops where it belongs and that the tree and the knee hook are just to support the strap. BAM....I was up 16 feet with 3 steps with ease. I climbed down and repeated multiple times and it got even smoother each time. I don't know why my thought process was so screwed up at first but I guess with anything new it takes time. Anyway....Thanks for all the help. I think this is a great way to climb for long distance trips. I figure with four steps and a platform I could be 22 feet up with no problem.