I think I’m done rappelling - Rant/Question

[greg728]

I got into one sticking last year and really enjoyed it for a brief time. I realized I don’t personally like the amount of movement so I kept my rappel setup and went back to 4 sticks and rappelled down since that was the biggest perk to me. I also didn’t love the amount of ropes I had to manage but I just tolerated it since I enjoyed rappelling down. Now that I’m running a ROS with my platform it adds to the list of things I need to fidget with to get setup.
I’m already leaning towards eventually ditching the predator platform from my primary hunting strategy and just running a ros.

After getting my 35’ of bow tow/rappel pull down rope hung up in my rappel rope that took me 20 minutes to get down I think I’m ready to get back to basics. Run 4 sticks with buckle straps, a solid retractable bow tow rope, hys strap, lineman rope and tether, and just climb up and down with my lineman’s rope. Keep daisy chain amsteel for wider trees and a 3 step aider in my bookbag if needed. I think the cons of rope wrangling outweigh the perk of rappelling down for me.

Would I be able to sell my rappel setup? It’s 35’ of Serling c-iv canyon rope that I bought from cruzr as well as my madrock. Both perform well and have one year of use on them. Also, if there’s anything I’m missing I’m open to hearing other suggestions. I’m not dead set on ditching the rappel thing but I think after a couple years of saddle hunting I definitely favor simplicity, as little fidget factor as possible and shooting from a ROS. With how light climbing sticks are now running 4 sticks is nothing.

 

[Zero One Actual]

That's how I've always done it. Four sticks. A LB. A tether. A platform.

I have been running the Arsenal sticks and love them. They pack very easily and also attach around the tree very easily as well. But any four sticks (one sticks or whatever other brand you like) will work.

 

[Ajbradley]

I did the lineman/tether but now I am doing the 4 sticks with rappelling. It is more to manage but I can have all the stuff off the tree way faster by rappelling down and keeping my hands free. Also there is no chance for a misstep on the way down.

 

[SNIPERBBB]

How are you getting the two tangled? Thats a pretty good trick unless you're shoving them together in your pack while your at height.

 

[Apex7]

I got into one sticking last year and really enjoyed it for a brief time. I realized I don’t personally like the amount of movement so I kept my rappel setup and went back to 4 sticks and rappelled down since that was the biggest perk to me. I also didn’t love the amount of ropes I had to manage but I just tolerated it since I enjoyed rappelling down. Now that I’m running a ROS with my platform it adds to the list of things I need to fidget with to get setup.
I’m already leaning towards eventually ditching the predator platform from my primary hunting strategy and just running a ros.

After getting my 35’ of bow tow/rappel pull down rope hung up in my rappel rope that took me 20 minutes to get down I think I’m ready to get back to basics. Run 4 sticks with buckle straps, a solid retractable bow tow rope, hys strap, lineman rope and tether, and just climb up and down with my lineman’s rope. Keep daisy chain amsteel for wider trees and a 3 step aider in my bookbag if needed. I think the cons of rope wrangling outweigh the perk of rappelling down for me.

Would I be able to sell my rappel setup? It’s 35’ of Serling c-iv canyon rope that I bought from cruzr as well as my madrock. Both perform well and have one year of use on them. Also, if there’s anything I’m missing I’m open to hearing other suggestions. I’m not dead set on ditching the rappel thing but I think after a couple years of saddle hunting I definitely favor simplicity, as little fidget factor as possible and shooting from a ROS. With how light climbing sticks are now running 4 sticks is nothing.

How does it take 20 minutes to get down?
When I use 4 sticks instead of my one stick it takes way less than 20 minutes to get down.
I use a retractable Doyle gear hoist for my bow and everything else goes on my saddle like platform and sticks or ROS when I use them. Plus I use aiders on my sticks so when coming down in the dark it's much safer to rappel down. But I'm not in a race to get down or up the tree. So time doesn't really matter. But it never took me 20 minutes to get down.

 

[GeoFish]

I got into one sticking last year and really enjoyed it for a brief time. I realized I don’t personally like the amount of movement so I kept my rappel setup and went back to 4 sticks and rappelled down since that was the biggest perk to me. I also didn’t love the amount of ropes I had to manage but I just tolerated it since I enjoyed rappelling down. Now that I’m running a ROS with my platform it adds to the list of things I need to fidget with to get setup.
I’m already leaning towards eventually ditching the predator platform from my primary hunting strategy and just running a ros.

After getting my 35’ of bow tow/rappel pull down rope hung up in my rappel rope that took me 20 minutes to get down I think I’m ready to get back to basics. Run 4 sticks with buckle straps, a solid retractable bow tow rope, hys strap, lineman rope and tether, and just climb up and down with my lineman’s rope. Keep daisy chain amsteel for wider trees and a 3 step aider in my bookbag if needed. I think the cons of rope wrangling outweigh the perk of rappelling down for me.

Would I be able to sell my rappel setup? It’s 35’ of Serling c-iv canyon rope that I bought from cruzr as well as my madrock. Both perform well and have one year of use on them. Also, if there’s anything I’m missing I’m open to hearing other suggestions. I’m not dead set on ditching the rappel thing but I think after a couple years of saddle hunting I definitely favor simplicity, as little fidget factor as possible and shooting from a ROS. With how light climbing sticks are now running 4 sticks is nothing.

Rappel no way, I can't even spell it.
Four sticks, 3 to 4 steps, I have come to hate aiders.

 

[greg728]

How are you getting the two tangled? Thats a pretty good trick unless you're shoving them together in your pack while your at height.

Leaning tree so gravity was pulling me away. I was trying to stay behind the tree because there were does in the field and was more focused on being quiet than managing multiple ropes. When I got down I saw they were tangled. Didn’t see it happen but I had it neatly rolled up like usual.

 

[greg728]

How does it take 20 minutes to get down?
When I use 4 sticks instead of my one stick it takes way less than 20 minutes to get down.
I use a retractable Doyle gear hoist for my bow and everything else goes on my saddle like platform and sticks or ROS when I use them. Plus I use aiders on my sticks so when coming down in the dark it's much safer to rappel down. But I'm not in a race to get down or up the tree. So time doesn't really matter. But it never took me 20 minutes to get down.

It took 20 minutes to pull my rappel rope down. It got tangled with my retrieve rope. Isn’t the first time I’ve fought with retrieving my rappel. In the ideal tree in ideal surroundings I have no problem getting it down but I’ve been hunting in thicker areas with a lot of small vines and brairs surrounding my tree. That’s not as fun retrieving my stuff.

 

[greg728]

That's how I've always done it. Four sticks. A LB. A tether. A platform.

I have been running the Arsenal sticks and love them. They pack very easily and also attach around the tree very easily as well. But any four sticks (one sticks or whatever other brand you like) will work.

I use beast stick minis. Super light and bites into the tree nice.

 

[greg728]

I did the lineman/tether but now I am doing the 4 sticks with rappelling. It is more to manage but I can have all the stuff off the tree way faster by rappelling down and keeping my hands free. Also there is no chance for a misstep on the way down.

A mis step is the only thing that worries me. Mainly when I ran amsteel daisy chains for my sticks and they became loose. With buckle straps they’re locked in tight so I feel a lot more confident. I may also run a quick link on my tether so I can travel my tether down as well as my lineman’s for more sketchy climbs.

 

[spinal tap]

I got into one sticking last year and really enjoyed it for a brief time. I realized I don’t personally like the amount of movement so I kept my rappel setup and went back to 4 sticks and rappelled down since that was the biggest perk to me. I also didn’t love the amount of ropes I had to manage but I just tolerated it since I enjoyed rappelling down. Now that I’m running a ROS with my platform it adds to the list of things I need to fidget with to get setup.
I’m already leaning towards eventually ditching the predator platform from my primary hunting strategy and just running a ros.

After getting my 35’ of bow tow/rappel pull down rope hung up in my rappel rope that took me 20 minutes to get down I think I’m ready to get back to basics. Run 4 sticks with buckle straps, a solid retractable bow tow rope, hys strap, lineman rope and tether, and just climb up and down with my lineman’s rope. Keep daisy chain amsteel for wider trees and a 3 step aider in my bookbag if needed. I think the cons of rope wrangling outweigh the perk of rappelling down for me.

Would I be able to sell my rappel setup? It’s 35’ of Serling c-iv canyon rope that I bought from cruzr as well as my madrock. Both perform well and have one year of use on them. Also, if there’s anything I’m missing I’m open to hearing other suggestions. I’m not dead set on ditching the rappel thing but I think after a couple years of saddle hunting I definitely favor simplicity, as little fidget factor as possible and shooting from a ROS. With how light climbing sticks are now running 4 sticks is nothing.

Where are you attaching your line to pull it down? I've had difficulties if I attached it to the quicklink. That resulted in difficult to get it started. I've also had problems of almost tangling if I just attach my pull line around the tether rope behind the knot. The issue is it can slip around to the other side of the tree when it slacks and I guess it could tangle - perhaps what you experienced? I've had it "catch" and also create issues around branches. However, I've never had a problem since I tied in a small loop of throw line behind the know and attached my pull line to that. That way, the pull always comes from that side of knot, yet cannot move around the tether loop and get hung up. I'm not where I can take a picture, hopefully you can visualize it.

 

[Samcirrus]

Leaning tree so gravity was pulling me away. I was trying to stay behind the tree because there were does in the field and was more focused on being quiet than managing multiple ropes. When I got down I saw they were tangled. Didn’t see it happen but I had it neatly rolled up like usual.

You should try an remote releaseable(aka an exploding) hitch like the Maverick or JRB hitch,, before you swear it off. It makes pulling a rope out of a tree so easy.

 

[Exhumis]

You shouldn’t have a problem selling it as long as you price it right. C-iv is good line.
One thing you might try is securing your pull down line on the loop halfway around the tree that way there’s no possible way they’ll tangle instead of clipping it right next to where your rappel line is hanging. I also noticed my pull-down line you’d to whip around a bit with the wind so I tied off a carabiner to the other end to give it some weight so it just dead hangs.

 

[Cbigbear]

It took 20 minutes to pull my rappel rope down. It got tangled with my retrieve rope. Isn’t the first time I’ve fought with retrieving my rappel. In the ideal tree in ideal surroundings I have no problem getting it down but I’ve been hunting in thicker areas with a lot of small vines and brairs surrounding my tree. That’s not as fun retrieving my stuff.

Yep - I ditched the rappelling gear last year for the same reason. Pulling and managing ropes in the thick isn’t efficient. I climb down either using one or multiple stick(s). I haven’t found it takes any longer.

 

[greg728]

Where are you attaching your line to pull it down? I've had difficulties if I attached it to the quicklink. That resulted in difficult to get it started. I've also had problems of almost tangling if I just attach my pull line around the tether rope behind the knot. The issue is it can slip around to the other side of the tree when it slacks and I guess it could tangle - perhaps what you experienced? I've had it "catch" and also create issues around branches. However, I've never had a problem since I tied in a small loop of throw line behind the know and attached my pull line to that. That way, the pull always comes from that side of knot, yet cannot move around the tether loop and get hung up. I'm not where I can take a picture, hopefully you can visualize it.

I attach it to my tether locker. There’s a small hole to hook into. I also didn’t like attaching to the quick link.

 

[SNIPERBBB]

Leaning tree so gravity was pulling me away. I was trying to stay behind the tree because there were does in the field and was more focused on being quiet than managing multiple ropes. When I got down I saw they were tangled. Didn’t see it happen but I had it neatly rolled up like usual.

If you pack up the ropes after you get settled in the tree, you really shouldnt have that problem anymore. Just try to keep em seperate so the lil gremlins in your pack dont tie em together in your pack.

 

[greg728]

You should try a remote releaseable(aka an exploding) hitch like the Maverick or JRB hitch,, before you swear it off. It makes pulling a rope out of a tree so easy.

Is this something I can find on YouTube?

 

[Dope on a Rope]

I’ve had several days where I had to disassemble/pull the whole thing down because I passed limbs, it’s frustrating… but it’s never taken me more than 10 min to get it down and packed up(well, one time I did leave it in the tree on my private spot, but it was dark and I was getting yelled at to get home). Ignore the voice, rappelling is worth it, just practice in the off-season with the new info/without the pressure. And honestly I think the same about one stick. Tossing a single stick on your saddle, rappel down, hit the ground and leave…it’s nice.

 

[wdarby]

I attach it to my tether locker. There’s a small hole to hook into. I also didn’t like attaching to the quick link.

Me too - a previous version of this - https://www.innovatingtheoutdoors.com/product-page/the-flexi-ohm-tether-locker


I wish I was a headlight on a north-bound train

 

[Westdesign03]

I tried the rappel stuff too a couple years ago and never made it out of the yard with it. I don’t like heights and as cool as it was, for whatever reason it was terrifying to rappel off the platform or stand or whatever I used. Always felt like I was gonna lose control and basically drop to the ground uncontrollably. Or drop fast and jerk stop every couple feet on the line cause I couldn’t get the technique down. I’m back to 4 sticks and a platform or stand and gonna down on both. Also could never get in to aiders. Even 1 step ones. Just assume use a 4th stick and I always get as high as I’m comfortable with. Been running the latitude carbon sticks. They are awesome, but you do have to be careful not to clang them together. They are fairly loud. A part of me still misses my beast sticks.