• The SH Membership has gone live. Only SH Members have access to post in the classifieds. All members can view the classifieds. Starting in 2020 only SH Members will be admitted to the annual hunting contest. Current members will need to follow these steps to upgrade: 1. Click on your username 2. Click on Account upgrades 3. Choose SH Member and purchase.
  • We've been working hard the past few weeks to come up with some big changes to our vendor policies to meet the changing needs of our community. Please see the new vendor rules here: Vendor Access Area Rules

Experienced a fall with linesman belt?

J

J Gregory

New Member
Joined
Sep 6, 2019
Messages
3
Just curious if anyone has experienced a fall with the linesman belt attached to a tree? Does the belt catch pretty quick or do you slide a ways down the tree?
 
I have. Not in a saddle but with a harness. How far you fall depends on how much slack is in your line. I was setting a hang on, had about two feet of line from where the line was touching the tree to where it was clipped to my harness, my foot slipped off the rung of the ladder I was standing on. I fell about a foot and then slammed into the tree and skidded to a stop, my face against the tree broke my fall perfectly. Smashed my glasses up, had a black eye and picked bark outta my face for awhile. FAR MORE PREFERABLE than falling out the tree.
So if you have alotta line played out you might fall a bit further, I suppose in a rare circumstance you could fall/slide all the way down. There's a video on here somewhere that shows a lineman falling during a competition and he literally falls/slides from where he was standing all the way to the bottom. I try and keep mine so I'm as close to the tree as possible, letting slack out to climb and then cinching back down. One thing I've seen some guys do is wrap the line once around the tree. Then when they slack they just move the loop up the tree. In theory that'd certainly arrest your fall but I think it's overkill and a pain to climb that way.
 
Look at the principle behind the linemen's belt. Its main purpose is to allow you to work hands free rather than hold on to the tree or other item while you are working up a tree. Moving a tether line up as you climb or work is the most effective fall arrest there is. Exhumis mentions the same thing I did about tethering to the tree. How inconvenienced you want to be to stay safe or uninjured is up to the individual? You are only one injury away from being sidelined every hunt, how much prevention you practice is on the individual. "Be safe and aim small my friends."
 
I've never taken a fall on just a linesman's belt, but i did see a co-worker gaff out while climbing with a lanyard (lineman's belt). He was cutting the branches up as he was going to the top to remove the tree so there were no branches below him to help stop him anymore. When he fell he slammed into the tree of course thats how its supposed to work your body and the lanyard are a cam. He ended up with his head slightly below where his feet had been so he fell about 3-4ft and slid about 3-4ft he managed to get his arms between the tree and his face so it was his forearms that took most the bark burn and splinters.

Wrapping your lanyard once round the tree is an option but IMO it is more cumbersome alone than advancing your tether and using the lanyard normally as you need to unweight the lanyard for the duration of the advance to loosen it once you weight it you have to start pushed the slack around the tree again. If you use a stiffer rooe it is easier to do it that way.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
 
When I first starting using my WE steps, I was up maybe 4 ft. on my second step, when the step loosened and slipped. Totally my fault. Tied the knot wrong and didn't pre stretch long enough. I came down before I knew what was going on. Thankfully it was only 4 ft. My linesman belt kept me upright and close to the tree. Scratched forearms, face and bruised chest. I have a tree squeeze that I use now with my lb. Cumbersome yes but I'm locked to the tree more secure. Using your tether is also a good idea. As @NikoTheBowHunter said there are several threads on this topic. Please search and read. Always climb and hunt safe.
 
I had a repurposed/DIY climbing stick fail on me once (again completely my fault) as I was stepping to my platform and I did the bounce down the tree for about 3 feet. I was also tethered in but had stupidly left slack in the tether. I came to rest with my platform at eye level and a few bumps, bruises and a slight laceration to my elbow where I hit the platform on my way by. I will say I was glad I was also tethered in as I was thoroughly pinned against the tree in the lineman's belt and had to transfer some weight off it and onto my tether to get untangled.
 
I've un-cammed a squirrelstep when weighting it, and i think maybe had a slip on a bolt or sonething once. They were almost non-events. It happens quickly so it's all down to what you did before. I keep a super high and tight belt (to the point where I'm almost a human tree squeeze...), and loop it over branches/steps/etc. So I slid 6 in or something - and nothing hard/sharp/pointy (like a climbing stick) between me and the tree.
 
I haven't slipped with the LB but I gotta say the green rope that Tethrd uses is kinda sticky. I use my tether to climb and the green rope was a pain so I bought the Tethrd brown rope because it's a little more slicker. I guess what I'm trying to say is the outer sheathing on the green rope grips the three better so it would be better suited for a linesman belt.
 
Experienced my first "fall" from a tree while climbing my WE steps with knaider/swaider last weekend. Totally my fault, as my muscle memory was clearly still operating based upon my old climbing stick method. All my weight was on one foot, as I was attempting to attach the swaider to the next step. My foot pivoted and slipped off. Apparently, I had a bit too much slack in the LB, as I ended up sliding all the way down the tree (8ft). Fortunate for me, I landed on my feet. The only casualties were some cuts on my hands from "hugging" the tree on the way down, and ripping some new ventilation holes into the sleeves of the shirt I was wearing.
 
I had my stick flip on me (my fault not the stick) I clamped my hands to my LB and drove my knees into the tree and slipped maybe 3ft, luckily it was on my bottom stick climbing down, other than a bruised ego and soiled pants, I was ok, also recently had my back up aider cause me to kick out and was hanging 90* off the tree, once again bottom stick climbing down
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top