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DIY lineman's belt and tether vs Tethrd

Amarty734

Amarty734

Active Member
Joined
Feb 18, 2019
Messages
128
Location
Southeast Michigan
I am new to saddle hunting and am beginning to put together my setup. I am contemplating making my own lineman's belt and tether, or to just buy them from Tethrd when I get my mantis. They are pretty close in price actually when all is said and done. Here is a breakdown of what I have found:

DIY: from Wesspur-Samson Predator rope $1.08/ft x 20ft=$21.60, 5 inch sewn splice $25x2=$50 so total for rope is $71.60. Plus shipping $17.70. Total $89.30
from Amazon-3 pack Black Diamond Biners $30.06
DIY Total cost Linemans belt:$64.69, Tether:$54.67. The total price for DIY build of both is $119.36.

Tethrd cost: Lineman's belt(spliced rope,2 biners, prussik)-$59.99, Tether(spliced rope,1 biner, prussik)-$54.99. free shipping with mantis. So a total price of $114.98 with additional bonus of prussik knot on each.

I guess what I'm trying to figure out is if it is worth it to put together my own of these, or to just buy them from Tethrd to have a completed product without the hassle. Which of these have you guys found to have better quality? Is it worth spending the extra money to DIY? Is Samson predator the better rope option, or is there something better? Are there any carabiners better than the black diamonds or Tethrd ones? Also I understand that 10 ft may be long, I will cut them down to my preferred length. I am not worried about the prussik knot for a diy rope because I will be buying ropeman 1s for each.
 
You cannot go wrong as a new saddle hunter going with the tethrd ropes IMO... There will be all kinds of opinions on how to go but the tethrd ropes pack well and wear well and like you said the prussic is on it. The spliced rope is great and makes it more packable than knots.
 
It was a no brainer for me but maybe i had lower standards. I bought rope at a local climbing store and already had the biners. I just tied knots rather than having eyes sewn. For tether, linemans, and bridge i had just over $30 invested (minus ropeman). Sure the knots are a little bulkier but im cheap. The deer don't seem to keep from getting dead.

Good luck on your decision. At those price points i would prob order it pre made and be done.

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I had Predator rope with my Kestrel. When I sold it I did the same price comparison as you and quickly realized it was simpler to just order the ropes from Tetherd. I actually ordered two Tethers, so that I can swap them as I get to limbs and then use whichever one I end up with as the tether at the top. I am happy with the Tethrd stuff, it is quality rope and biners.
 
GCTerpfan said:
I had Predator rope with my Kestrel. When I sold it I did the same price comparison as you and quickly realized it was simpler to just order the ropes from Tetherd. I actually ordered two Tethers, so that I can swap them as I get to limbs and then use whichever one I end up with as the tether at the top. I am happy with the Tethrd stuff, it is quality rope and biners.
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X2
 
Having the bulk of a knot compared to a spliced loop. Actually is the no brainer get them with the Mantis


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ImThere said:
Having the bulk of a knot compared to a spliced loop. Actually is the no brainer get them with the Mantis


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The tethrd ropes themselves are pretty big. So the bulk savings isn't what it could be.
 
I think a few people are missing that you are buying the predator rope pre spliced. I think tethrd may have changed their rope from when I bought mine. I didn’t like the tethrd rope. The outer sleeve was loose because who ever spliced it didn’t milk it out. So that was something many members done on there own once it came in. I ended up buying 20ft of predator rope spliced on both ends like you mentioned. I like the predator rope a lot better than the tethrd rope and wespur did a great job on the splices plus added castration bands to each. Just how I always used them to slide over the loop to help pinch it down while wrapped around the tree so no slack forms in the tether and slides down the tree.
You could even find a smaller diameter rope than the predator and really drop some bulk. Just have to research what will work safely in the ropeman and still be rated as a lifeline.
 
^^^ your right I did miss that. I hate knots. I think they are way too bulky. I hate the rope that came with my kestrel also. I’m not sure what the Tethrd rope is in comparison
I use muddy rope which I’m told is like sterling htp?


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LeanMachine said:
It was a no brainer for me but maybe i had lower standards. I bought rope at a local climbing store and already had the biners. I just tied knots rather than having eyes sewn. For tether, linemans, and bridge i had just over $30 invested (minus ropeman). Sure the knots are a little bulkier but im cheap. The deer don't seem to keep from getting dead.

Good luck on your decision. At those price points i would prob order it pre made and be done.

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Click to expand...
The rope itself is pretty cheap, and I'm sure I could find some good enough at REI or something local, but I was planning on having them spliced because I want to use them for a long time hopefully. Might as well pay a little more up front to be more satisfied in the long run. I definitely see your option if I was trying to keep my budget down.
 
ImThere said:
^^^ your right I did miss that. I hate knots. I think they are way too bulky. I hate the rope that came with my kestrel also. I’m not sure what the Tethrd rope is in comparison
I use muddy rope which I’m told is like sterling htp?


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Click to expand...
I believe the Kestrel comes with Samson Predator but I'm not 100% sure. You are saying you didn't like the quality of that rope, or you didn't like the knot it came with?
 
Amarty734 said:
I believe the Kestrel comes with Samson Predator but I'm not 100% sure. You are saying you didn't like the quality of that rope, or you didn't like the knot it came with?
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Predator is a nicer rope than the tethrd stuff. Splicing aside.
 
Samson XLS line at 52 cents per foot and I splice it myself. 5800 lb avg breaking strength at 7/16. Splicing is not hard. Pull up a youtube vid and just follow along. It is actually a lot of fun to do. I am still mesmerized by the eye splice process, and I have a bunch under my belt at this point.
 
Peterk1234 said:
Pull up a youtube vid and just follow along. It is actually a lot of fun to do. I am still mesmerized by the eye splice process, and I have a bunch under my belt at this point.
Click to expand...
Sorry for resurrecting an old thread, but curious if you purchased a fid and proper tools like the YT videos use or if you rigged something up.

Thanks.
 
I haven't priced everything out for tethers and LBs but I know Dano at doublestep.com sells spliced or sewn rope and all the parts you need. His prices are very reasonable and I have ordered several items from that have really helped getting me efficient in the saddle. After using the tethrd ropes and then receiving my AH flex, I did not appreciate the bulk of the AH knots/ropes. Trophyline has pre made ropes also but the are a little more expensive.
 
As others have said doublesteps sells spliced predator ropes, and wild edge sells spliced oplux if you want something a bit smaller diameter.
 
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