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Dog Leash Gear Hoist

JBDaddy

JBDaddy

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2018
Messages
766
Location
Lenawee, MI
Every year ye olde Gear Hoist thread reappears here, regular as velvet on antlers. In it, you'll see Doyles Hoist, Allen, Hawk, Summit, and Thumb & Pinky. In the past I've also flirted with Antique Automatic Fly Fishing Reels, and even chalk-line reels.

One idea in the annual threads I flat out rejected was the "dog leash" idea. I've owned a few and had them apart. They cost more on Amazon than I want to waste, inner coil spring was a pita, they felt heavy, and the cord or webbing inside it was only 10, maybe 16 feet. Not long enough. Rejected.

The other day I happened across this video:
with a new (to me) angle.

Harbor Freight's $6 retractable dog leash has a 24 foot length, and it's really cheap. You should watch it. And Like And Subscribe (no, it's not my channel, it's just consistently good, and the guy deserves it)

Not content to leave well enough alone, I bought 2 HF leashes today, plus a 50' length of "mini" paracord (allegedly rated for 350 lbs). The HF version is easy to take apart AND put back together, and capable of taking 30-40ft of thin paracord, not just the 24 they include (which is longer than any dog leash I've seen on Amazon, too).

If you don't have a auto-retracting gear hoist rope solution, you should look into this. $6 for the leash, and you could stop there. Or another $6 for longer cord, if you want.

DIY bliss.

www.harborfreight.com

24 Ft. Retractable Dog Leash

Amazing deals on this 24Ft Retractable Dog Leash at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.
www.harborfreight.com www.harborfreight.com
 
The muddy 1 they have on camofire is pretty decent...I think it was 15 dollars. I got it to have as a backup for my doyles... It's a little larger but pretty comparable to the doyles
 
Hey, I use to use that. It worked great for pulling things up and it still sits in the back up box.

Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk
 
i've been meaning to do this. thanks for reminding me! lol
 
I'm going to be making a HF trip this week so I'll have to snag one of these up. Been wanting to try a Doyles for a while but couldn't stomach the cost and lets be honest the 550 cord I have been using is very capable. But worth $6 bucks to give it a go in my opinion.
 
I have used a retractable dog leash for a few years now. I suppose I could stealth strip it but there area advantages and disadvantages. I normally only use it for my hang on stands. The biggest drawbacks are that it can be noisy - either with the clip or with the locking mechanisms. The biggest drawback is that when using it to lower your weapon from up in the tree, you don't always know when to stop. Old style pull ropes height were set when the hang on was set up - no fuss with the height. However, I have been using the tag end of my tether rope to pull up my pack and using my sling across my shoulders for my weapon when climbing.
 
Coachschaller said:
I have used a retractable dog leash for a few years now. I suppose I could stealth strip it but there area advantages and disadvantages. I normally only use it for my hang on stands. The biggest drawbacks are that it can be noisy - either with the clip or with the locking mechanisms. The biggest drawback is that when using it to lower your weapon from up in the tree, you don't always know when to stop. Old style pull ropes height were set when the hang on was set up - no fuss with the height. However, I have been using the tag end of my tether rope to pull up my pack and using my sling across my shoulders for my weapon when climbing.
Click to expand...

I've used a hacksaw to cut off the handle & locking mechanism - less noise, smaller size. I ran a piece of extra cord through the hole that created and tied it in a loop to connect to my saddle, no additional metal.

I lower my bow on an open hook, slowly until I see it turn as it hits the ground, then lay it down gently, and wiggle the line to free the hook so it can come back up to me. Then I attach that to my tether so when I rappel down it can be used after to pull my tether free and down to the ground.

I weighed the cut-down dog leash from HF against my automatic fly fishing reel - both came out to 9.6oz, with cord on them. I'd like something lighter and smaller (the fly fishing reel is smaller across, but deeper, but until I figure out 3d printing a real alternative, this will do.
 
I love me some harbor freight! Their grinders will do the job too! RM Grab the right one like in the original post…..sounds like something I’d have done too, lol.
 
bfriendly said:
I love me some harbor freight! Their grinders will do the job too! RM Grab the right one like in the original post…..sounds like something I’d have done too, lol.
Click to expand...
haha, just seen the "shiny" and had to have it. lol
 
Here's a thought I've been playing around with, I'll have to dig out my dog leash and see how feasible it is...

Mark the haul line every so many feet - say, every yard or 5 feet. As you climb, you can periodically reference it to see how high you've climbed. I bet a few stitches of colorful embroidery thread, or reflective strands of some kind, would be pretty easy to stitch into the line, without tangling up the mechanism.
 
Iron_llama said:
Here's a thought I've been playing around with, I'll have to dig out my dog leash and see how feasible it is...

Mark the haul line every so many feet - say, every yard or 5 feet. As you climb, you can periodically reference it to see how high you've climbed. I bet a few stitches of colorful embroidery thread, or reflective strands of some kind, would be pretty easy to stitch into the line, without tangling up the mechanism.
Click to expand...
Ive see folks do this with the silver sharpie or something similar
 
Iron_llama said:
Here's a thought I've been playing around with, I'll have to dig out my dog leash and see how feasible it is...

Mark the haul line every so many feet - say, every yard or 5 feet. As you climb, you can periodically reference it to see how high you've climbed. I bet a few stitches of colorful embroidery thread, or reflective strands of some kind, would be pretty easy to stitch into the line, without tangling up the mechanism.
Click to expand...
Not using a retractable, but every time I am up, I wonder how high I am. Might do the sharpie or tape on my pull down cord thing since it’s always the same distance no matter tree size…….thanks for the tip!
I climb with everything on my back so there is nothing to pull up. I do lower my bow before descending but it also serves as a reminder to hook my cord to my rope. Are y’all using the retractable to help pull down rope?
 
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