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Linemans belt risk

To the tree squeeze guys have you tried making one wrap around the tree with your regular linesmans rope. Linesmans belt safety is another place the ropeman rocks. I adjust it pretty close to the tree when tying on the next step for added stability. With the ropeman it’s just so easy to adjust that there is no point in not keeping it adjusted.

@kyler1945 not any ruffled feathers here. Unlike a power pole the backside of most trees are rough. If you push away from a tree the rope is going to grip the back side and swing you into the tree where you will come to a grinding halt. The tighter your linesmans rope it the shorter the fall. Of course the grinding will be your belly and face so we really don’t want it to come to that. But like you say most people will not push back. It’s instinct to claw at the tree like a cat trying to hold on.
I think of a linesmans rope like a seatbelt in a car. Its not gauranteed to prevent death but it increases your odds immensely.
At the end of the day you are 100 percent correct in that it is a work positioning tool that helps maintain balance reducing the chance of a fall. If you do fall you probably wouldn’t hit the ground but it’s still going to hurt. How much it hurts will depend on your climbing method and adjustment of the rope.
 
I would like a better method than the linesmen. My line is lower than it should be alot of the time. When yur busy hanging steps or taking a big step it can fall down. I don’t need all thats in a Bucksqueeze. I may try something similar with some biners and ropemans or a prussic.


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EricS said:
To the tree squeeze guys have you tried making one wrap around the tree with your regular linesmans rope. Linesmans belt safety is another place the ropeman rocks. I adjust it pretty close to the tree when tying on the next step for added stability. With the ropeman it’s just so easy to adjust that there is no point in not keeping it adjusted.

@kyler1945 not any ruffled feathers here. Unlike a power pole the backside of most trees are rough. If you push away from a tree the rope is going to grip the back side and swing you into the tree where you will come to a grinding halt. The tighter your linesmans rope it the shorter the fall. Of course the grinding will be your belly and face so we really don’t want it to come to that. But like you say most people will not push back. It’s instinct to claw at the tree like a cat trying to hold on.
I think of a linesmans rope like a seatbelt in a car. Its not gauranteed to prevent death but it increases your odds immensely.
At the end of the day you are 100 percent correct in that it is a work positioning tool that helps maintain balance reducing the chance of a fall. If you do fall you probably wouldn’t hit the ground but it’s still going to hurt. How much it hurts will depend on your climbing method and adjustment of the rope.
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Definitely not ruffling feathers - the whole point in me taking a very succinct stance on this is to cause people new to hunting this way to pause and reflect.

A better analogy to a seatbelt is your tether. A seatbelt is a safety restraint device. It's intention is to prevent you from leaving your seat in a crash. Yes, it is not guaranteed to prevent death, but it's purpose is built into it's name. We know it increases your odds of survival across all types of accidents. Your tether is a fall restraint device. It's intention is to keep you from falling down the tree. Used properly, you WILL NOT fall further than the slack in your tether, which should be kept to a minimum. Like a seatbelt, it won't guarantee safety, but will keep you where you're supposed to be.

You said it - a lineman's belt is a work positioning tool designed to help maintain balance and reduce the RISK of a fall. My concern is that if folks don't understand the intent and purpose of a piece of equipment, they may mismanage their expectations of use of said equipment. Getting comfortable with high risk endeavors because of a lack of understanding of the actual risks/ways to mitigate them is probably the lion's share of why accidents happen.

Yes, in many cases your lineman's belt will keep you from going all the way to the ground in a fall. Until it doesn't. Yes it's a little less fun to be conscious of the risks you're taking. The best way to overcome that is to study up, get good gear, practice while slowly pushing the limit/increasing the risk, find a point where you're comfortable, and relax and have fun while confident in your setup.
 
will be moving my tether up as i go- along with linemans belt- alot of times the temperature dictates going slow anyway to keep from being soaked with sweat. plus the ground hurts like u know what especially once your beard gets solid white.
 
Orion5 said:
This is why I am considering red squirrel’s aider and attaching to the tether as a climbing safety with a Prusik above the ascender. Not sure if it will work but I will have to play with it once I get all my gear.
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I was thinking that is what I would do if using that method. I haven't tried it yet, but I was worried that dealing with the tether and linemans belt would get tricky. It probably wouldn't be that bad if you had a lot of time to practice with it.

I am all about the poor man's tree squeeze. All you need is some accessory cord to tie a blakes hitch around one side of your linemans belt and a carabiner or delta screw on the other side. It's pretty easy to adjust to go around stuff, sticks and stepps, just pull the blakes hitch out move up then push it back in. I used this last year when I climbed with my spurs while down in GA for the big pig hunt. I did have a spur slip out and it caught me instantly, no sliding, scrapes or anything. I'm planning on using this to climb with sticks and with my WE stepps, but since I'm injured I haven't had a chance to practice any of this stuff, lol.
 
I also had a stick kick out on me when I first starting to climb w an aider at the bottom of each step. The LB 100% caught me and it wasn’t comfortable or easy to get back to a climbing position but the alternative is way worse than a few bruises and scrapes. Needless to say that was the last time using an aider w stick and rope mod. Lol. I like the wild edge steps when I’m mobile.


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Jefferson10940 said:
I also had a stick kick out on me when I first starting to climb w an aider at the bottom of each step. The LB 100% caught me and it wasn’t comfortable or easy to get back to a climbing position but the alternative is way worse than a few bruises and scrapes. Needless to say that was the last time using an aider w stick and rope mod. Lol. I like the wild edge steps when I’m mobile.


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that is the reason I went back to the cam buckle straps. I never had one kick out on me but I always thought there was a risk of it happening. When I added the versa button to my helium’s I just used the cam buckle straps from my lone wolfs.
 
I've had my spurs kick out numerous times. My worst incident was a massive Yellow Pine that had bark so thick my gaffs couldn't get in deep enough to bite wood. I was probably 50ish feet up when I kicked out. I stopped sliding at a point low enough to unclip my flipline (lineman's belt) and hop down to the ground. I was trying to grab my flipline and squeeze it together, but by the time I stopped myself, I didn't have much skin left on my knuckles. That said, it most definitely would have been a fatal fall without a flipline. @EricS had a good point about wrapping your belt once around the tree. You won't go anywhere with that method, it's just difficult to advance a soft, flexible rope flipline up a large diameter tree when it's wrapped. Practice helps. Good luck this season, and BE SAFE.
 
donnieballgame said:
I was thinking that is what I would do if using that method. I haven't tried it yet, but I was worried that dealing with the tether and linemans belt would get tricky. It probably wouldn't be that bad if you had a lot of time to practice with it.

I am all about the poor man's tree squeeze. All you need is some accessory cord to tie a blakes hitch around one side of your linemans belt and a carabiner or delta screw on the other side. It's pretty easy to adjust to go around stuff, sticks and stepps, just pull the blakes hitch out move up then push it back in. I used this last year when I climbed with my spurs while down in GA for the big pig hunt. I did have a spur slip out and it caught me instantly, no sliding, scrapes or anything. I'm planning on using this to climb with sticks and with my WE stepps, but since I'm injured I haven't had a chance to practice any of this stuff, lol.
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Can you share a picture of your poor man’s tree squeeze? I am definitely interested in this. Thanks!
 
sojourner said:
Can you share a picture of your poor man’s tree squeeze? I am definitely interested in this. Thanks!
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I'm interested in this as well. I'm practicing with WE stepps and I've been okay so far but I'd like the linemans belt to grip the tree better.
 
So the "poor man's tree squeeze" is accomplished simply by taking the lineman's belt/rope one complete wrap around the tree? Sounds effective from a safety perspective but cumbersome to maneuver up/down the tree, let alone trying to use this when climbing with sticks. I'm interested in hearing more about this, too.
 
Nah man not my "poor man's tree squeeze" I think that is what@EricS suggested

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Here you go, obviously the carabiner on the left should be a locking carabiner or even better the delta screw. Hitch on the right moves in and out when you move up. Keep in mind I've only used this with spurs, will try it in a few months when I can.
3b6c9d4b4d1b5e4728bbbeb7def91534.jpg


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donnieballgame said:
Here you go, obviously the carabiner on the left should be a locking carabiner or even better the delta screw. Hitch on the right moves in and out when you move up. Keep in mind I've only used this with spurs, will try it in a few months when I can.
3b6c9d4b4d1b5e4728bbbeb7def91534.jpg


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Thanks! I am definitely going to use that idea. I hope you heal up fast.
 
I
donnieballgame said:
Here you go, obviously the carabiner on the left should be a locking carabiner or even better the delta screw. Hitch on the right moves in and out when you move up. Keep in mind I've only used this with spurs, will try it in a few months when I can.
3b6c9d4b4d1b5e4728bbbeb7def91534.jpg


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I like it. What type of hitch knot is that?
 
donnieballgame said:
I am all about the poor man's tree squeeze. All you need is some accessory cord to tie a blakes hitch around one side of your linemans belt and a carabiner or delta screw on the other side. It's pretty easy to adjust to go around stuff, sticks and stepps, just pull the blakes hitch out move up then push it back in. I used this last year when I climbed with my spurs while down in GA for the big pig hunt. I did have a spur slip out and it caught me instantly, no sliding, scrapes or anything. I'm planning on using this to climb with sticks and with my WE stepps, but since I'm injured I haven't had a chance to practice any of this stuff, lol.
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The piece you rigged up there is called a Monkey Tail. They're available from Arborist supply houses. A Tree Squeeze allows the the climber to descend to the ground DdRT. In your configuration with the flipline you can't descend from the tree. If the Monkey Tail was used with a long enough tether then one could descend to the ground SRT.
 
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