I’ve followed this thread quite a bit since I’ve gotten started on gathering gear, practicing in the yard, and I too have come to the conclusion that I’m not comfortable with a lineman’s only. I climb on sticks, so best I can tell, a squeeze isn’t going to work too great. But I did come across some threads on using what I guess is called a monkey tail. I’ve got a carabiner in a strangle poacher’s knot on the left. (Wiregate in the photo. Maybe I should switch to a screw gate to up the safety.) Blake’s hitch on the right with a stopper behind it.
I assume you keep the hitch pretty snug against the tree, but if you’re keeping the lineman’s above your hips, what keeps the carabiner from sliding back down the lineman’s back toward your loop? I guess I just can’t envision how it cinches onto the tree in the event of a misstep.
Just looking for input on ways to improve it, make it safer, and just generally understand how it works. Not opposed to trying the flingin’ X method or just using my tether as I go. Or just tie a Blake’s on each side...