-
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
1sticking
- Thread starter Robert loper
- Start date
- Joined
- Sep 27, 2018
- Messages
- 3,949
I’ve never done a complete climb using 2TC, but I use it to navigate limbs when 1 sticking. I have a single aider tied using 1” tubular nylon with a carabiner and prusik clipped to my saddle. I attach it to the tail end of my tether then put my foot in it and against the tree. Then I put my LM rope above the limb as a tether and clip in then continue up the tree.
GetHomeSafe
Active Member
My two cents. One sticking has become mainstream. Does not mean it's a good idea. The slack in people's ropes, at times, on every one sticking video i have watched is too much. I have watched a lot of them. Slack in your rope, if you fall, means at the end of the rope your equipment and your body are going to have to absorb a lot of energy. I have seen people with 3,4, or even 5' of slack at times.
Use fall factor calculator enter your weight when climbing in all your stuff. How far you may fall if you slip at the worst possible time. Static or dynamic rope, for most saddle hunters that will be static.
jonkytron
Active Member
I dont understand this slack problem... When I climb up a tree using sticks and a linesman, if I fall, my face and body are smashing into my sticks, and/or the tree, and I am possible sliding down the tree as well. Just as when one sticking, my linesman isnt always in the correct position as I have to move it up with me with each step. If at any point my linesman isnt taught, and above my waist, when I fall, I get hurt. When climbing with a linesman and sticks, I take my hands completely away from the tree and my sticks and rely on my linesman and my feet, having only two points of contact besides my linesman.. meaning that I am fully relying on the stick beneath my feet, which can kick out, straps break, whatever. if that stick falls, and the linesmans works, I am now stuck pined to the tree with no stick below me and now way to get down.
When I one stick, I only have a bit of slack on my tether when I am climbing to the first set of steps above my aider, but at that time, I also have 3 or 4 points of contact besides the tether.. one or two feet in the aider, and one or two hands on the sticks steps above me, or the tree.. So if I did fall taking those steps, I am holding onto a stick that is attached to the tree with two hands. if the stick would have kicked out, it would have done so while I was climbing on the first steps of my aider, and there wouldnt be much slack, and instead of falling with a linesmans rope, I am falling with a tether that is attached to the tree and I would not slide down the tree or get pinned to it. I then rappel down to safetly, no matter how ****ed up I got from the said fall of a foot or two.
Also if I did fall by missing a step or slipping out of my aider, the most that would happen is I would fall down while bracing myself with my hands on my one sticks steps, and then falling into a sitting position in my tether. However, once I reach the bottom step of my one stick, I am immediately standing up while moving the tether up to a safe height, with no slack. then I take another step up, and move the tether again to a height so I have no slack. At any point I can pull in slack using my madrock and also let out slack on my tether for the next move. At no point do I have 4/5 feet of slack, that is crazy.
Last edited:
Slack means a sudden stop at the bottom of your fall. That's the issue.
I think everyone who one sticks should have SRT gear with them. Makes going down to grab something and getting back up stupid simple.
GetHomeSafe
Active Member
I have a friend who fell on sticks. Stitches in his jaw and groin. Doc said he just missed cutting his femoral artery that would have been it. Falling on a stick is a bad scenario. The problem with a lineman's rope is that it is not attached to the tree. Rather it is around the tree. The smaller the tree and the smoother the bark the more potential for trouble. But I am not trying to berate or convince you. Your an adult. You access your own risks and take responsibility for the risks you choose to accept. It's your call and no one else's.
jonkytron
Active Member
Yes this is my exact point!!! With one sticking you are using a tether, that is attached to a tree.. when using sticks and a linesman, you are not attached to the tree, unless you use a linesman and a tether when using multiple sticks, and this now becomes the same as using a one stick
jonkytron
Active Member
Why do you need an SRT? I can just rappel down and pick up whatever I need to pick up, and then one stick back up. It seems to me that SRT is the same as one stick if you just move your tether up each movement as you would doing an SRT climb? What am I missing here?
jonkytron
Active Member
But where do you climb where you dont have slack at somepoint? if using a linesman you have greater risk.. if using a tether, you can move the tether with each step you take, thus not ever having slack.. Also, I would never fall straigh down, as I am leaning backwards as I climb up, so I would actuall fall back, and catch the slack in my harness and have more damage from slamming into the tree than i would from just falling like straight down..
GetHomeSafe
Active Member
I have watched many one stick videos as well as climbed with one stick. Yes I know what a tether is. And I have never seen anyone one stick and maintain zero slack in their tether rope 100% of the time, for the entire climb. If you can, good on you. But for me, it's too risky. As I can carry less than 10# into the woods counting my pack. Only extra is my weapon and my clothes. I can walk up to my tree hook up and climb up with my ropes tight 100% of the time. I have redundancy. If my main hitches fail my secondary hitch catches me. If my bridge fails my secondary bridge catches me. When in rappel if my rappel biner or hitch fail me my main hitches catch me. Up and down if I have a medical event or a bee stings me, if I let go of everything, I stop. The only metal hardware in my system are biners. I am super happy with the safety and weight total being under 10#. You do you. I will do me. I have accessed my risks. I accept them. I know of no safer easier way to climb. You like one sticking. Great. Then one stick.
jonkytron
Active Member
I’m not hating on the way you climb. In fact, I think the safest way to climb is the method that you think is the safest, and not what other people say is the safest. Your confidence and experience with your equipment is one of the greatest factors in safety. What I am saying is that any method of climbing a tree is inherently unsafe, and you are right, the more redundancies, the least amount of slack, and the best quality equipment are all going to make you safer. But in my experience, whatever method you use, I do not believe one sticking to be any more dangerous than any other method if you do it safely. I just feel that a linesman and 3/4 sticks is not more safe for me as a one stick and tether... and there is no time where I have more than a a foot or two of slack in my tether, and at that time, I have several points of contact to the tree.
jcassell207
Member
- Joined
- Oct 26, 2021
- Messages
- 84
You’re taking a risk anytime you go up and down a tree. For me, i got into one stick and single tether because it is just that, a tether that is attached to a tree. I have no issues climbing a tree. I as most on this form hunt public land. We can’t put a anchor in a tree and just come in and move up and down with no issues.
If you think about it even when you use a climber, you are tethered into the tree and your climber in a way is acting as your lineman belt. At the end of the day, if your climber falls down the tree it will be your tether that stops you….
I’m more frustrated at the fact that people think one method is better then another when in reality, it’s a risk we take no matter what method we take. Using 1 stick or 10, using a single rope or combination of tether and lineman, you are taking a risk…
If you really want to talk to professionals, go find your local outdoor store that has rock climbing gear. Pick their brain. These guys legit are anchoring into rocks and climbing way higher then any of us, and they are using the same stuff we are….
Stick to your method of comfort, because when you are not comfortable that is when accidents happen
If you think about it even when you use a climber, you are tethered into the tree and your climber in a way is acting as your lineman belt. At the end of the day, if your climber falls down the tree it will be your tether that stops you….
I’m more frustrated at the fact that people think one method is better then another when in reality, it’s a risk we take no matter what method we take. Using 1 stick or 10, using a single rope or combination of tether and lineman, you are taking a risk…
If you really want to talk to professionals, go find your local outdoor store that has rock climbing gear. Pick their brain. These guys legit are anchoring into rocks and climbing way higher then any of us, and they are using the same stuff we are….
Stick to your method of comfort, because when you are not comfortable that is when accidents happen
jonkytron
Active Member
Here, here. Agreed
It's easier and quicker to SRT back up to my already set line. (That I set one sticking). Literally the only thing extra I carry is a hand ascender and a foot loop.
I usually one stick as that makes most sense for me on public land, but I'll SRT or use my 4 novix minis too, it's all situational.
Empostarr
Well-Known Member
The difference here is that during one sticking you're moving your tether each time you climb up your stick. Then moving your stick and repeating.
If you rappelled down to get something you dropped, SRT is just climbing straight up your tether.
Last night my pull down rope got stuck on a branch. I SRT climbed back up to it in close to 30 seconds, unstuck the pull down, and rappelled back down.
I would agree, if you are rappelling, you should practice SRT climbing and probably already have the gear to do it. You can do the RADS method with hitches and carabiners if you really want to without spending money on mechanical gear. So many people are using mechanical ascenders like ropemans and Kong ducks on their tethers and linemans, you have everything you need to climb back up your rope.
This is true, but SRT with my hand ascender is a heck of a lot easier than with my kong duck! I tried it once and decided to always pack the hand ascender too!
ShooterMike
Well-Known Member
I use a simple change of direction to help keep slack to a minimum when I’m ascending the one-stick. When I get to the top of the stick, I carefully move the tether up and manage slack/rope feed. It’s not perfect, but it’s what works for me, and the change of direction makes climbing even easier.
Semper Fi,
Mike
Semper Fi,
Mike
Empostarr
Well-Known Member
Same! I tried using two ropeman's first, and it's way easier with the hand ascender. Once at height I throw it in one of my pouches so even if I have to rappel down in a hurry, I always have my way back up.This is true, but SRT with my hand ascender is a heck of a lot easier than with my kong duck! I tried it once and decided to always pack the hand ascender too!
DB4x4
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2018
- Messages
- 1,871
One sticking can be done safely if you use a lineman belt and some sort of progress capture on the main line.
I used to climb above my tether (carefully) then connect my lineman belt to advance my tether higher. This was quick and efficient on straight, easy trees, but made me nervous on leaning or sketchy trees.
I added a ropeman for progress capture this year, backed up by a prusik. I also modified my procedure slightly. It takes a little longer this way, but there is never any slack. I feel it is the safest method I've tried yet.
I used to climb above my tether (carefully) then connect my lineman belt to advance my tether higher. This was quick and efficient on straight, easy trees, but made me nervous on leaning or sketchy trees.
I added a ropeman for progress capture this year, backed up by a prusik. I also modified my procedure slightly. It takes a little longer this way, but there is never any slack. I feel it is the safest method I've tried yet.