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Fixed Rope for Long Term Placement in the Woods?

Archerichards

Archerichards

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Sep 18, 2023
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My buddy and I hunt a several hundred acre property and have the option of erecting half a dozen stands each having a fixed rope and steps (we carry our platform in with us). We will hunt these all of these stands five or six times during the season. The rope is girth hitched at top about 28' high. We use the rope as a safety line when ascending, and rappel down from it when descending.

Tell me: What size and type of rope do you recommend for this long term, fixed application, especially considering that it will be in the woods and subject to weather for six months and may be reused a couple of years in a row?

Advice welcomed.
 
I wouldn’t recommend leaving a rope in the woods exposed to the elements & then rappelling with it. I’d prep each tree with a pull-up line & prep from there. There’s a bunch of guys that prep multiple trees on here & I’ll let them add best practices. But don’t recommend the path your currently considering.
 
Bigterp said:
I wouldn’t recommend leaving a rope in the woods exposed to the elements & then rappelling with it. I’d prep each tree with a pull-up line & prep from there. There’s a bunch of guys that prep multiple trees on here & I’ll let them add best practices. But don’t recommend the path your currently considering.
Click to expand...
Read this post again, then consider that beside the elements, squirrels, porcupines, mice, raccoons, etc. can chew on your rope--which you may not realize until you are 15' in the air.
 
X3 for not leaving rope in the woods. Beside all the other factors mentioned, UV from the sun degrades rope over time.
 
Caution: Do this at your own risk. Technically it's not best practice, but if you select the proper product, it's ok.

I do what you're describing with Teufelberger KMIII Max, 11mm. It's as tough as nails and designed for high use, long term placement.

6months is no problem, provided nothing chews on it. I have never had any of mine sustain damage and it's a squirrel sanctuary where I hunt.

I'm planning on having some break tested this August. It would have been out around a year by then.IMG_9616.jpeg
 
If you're planning on doing several presets then using something like this would cheaper and safer in the long run. At around $15 a piece , 10 of these kits would be less expensive than 10 separate lengths of climb rated rope and then you can carry a single length of rappel rope and set up quickly each time once the system is up in the tree. Aside from cost, you're not leaving anything that's life support critical in the woods where it can't be fully inspected prior to use.

https://saddlehunter.com/community/index.php?threads/cgm-preset-kit.56424/post-812292
 
I have safety life lines in several trees. I install them in august. I only use them in trees with branches that i would have to go around with my linemans. I dont repell down. I remove them after season. It speeds the climb up a little, but everything we do has risk.
 
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