• The SH Membership has gone live. Only SH Members have access to post in the classifieds. All members can view the classifieds. Starting in 2020 only SH Members will be admitted to the annual hunting contest. Current members will need to follow these steps to upgrade: 1. Click on your username 2. Click on Account upgrades 3. Choose SH Member and purchase.
  • We've been working hard the past few weeks to come up with some big changes to our vendor policies to meet the changing needs of our community. Please see the new vendor rules here: Vendor Access Area Rules

Lineman's rope and tree tether rope questions.

B

buckyusn

New Member
SH Member
Joined
Aug 15, 2023
Messages
3
Good evening. I'm new to saddle hunting and am still reading through the introduction. I have a question about buying vs. building my own tether and lineman rope. Here are the ropes I'm looking at possibly buying:


I like the sewn eye, but I don't know if these are decent ropes and I should build my own. I have four climb rated, locking carabiners that I've purchased over the years, so those I'm good with. Are there any other, or better pre-built ropes that I should examine for these two pieces of equipment? Is building these two ropes any more risky than buying pre-made ones? I know from fishing that there is always a strength penalty when tying a knot in a line, and that penalty is dependent upon several factors, including the type of knot, material, etc.. Given the ratings of some of these climbing ropes (5,000 lbs +), am I being overly concerned?

FWIF I am planning to purchase a "Lock Down" saddle from Tethrd, since I'm concerned about being comfortable when on stand in order to remain as motionless as I am able (buy once, cry once). I am also planning to use the SRT/RDS method for climbing into the stand position. I like the idea of using arborist techniques to climb into the tree (maximum flexibility for multiple stands), plus it seems safer than climbing sticks, since you are always tethered to the tree on the climb and descent.

I'm excited to gather my equipment and start learning/practicing.

Thank you in advance for your advice/help.

Bill
 
I would buy your ropes from a reputable rope dealer. No idea who or how those ropes were made or tested. I would buy roped from EWO, rei or hangfree. I wouldn't buy anything my life was hanging from off of Amazon
 
I’ve got to buy an EWO Lineman’s rope myself. I’m getting the Sampson Predator 11.4mm. I just haven’t bought it yet.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
You guys are going to want to ditch that 11 mm line by the end of the season. There's plenty of 8 and 9 mm ropes that have great ratings for safety and are so much lighter and store easier.
Also, I would never buy life support equipment from Amazon. But I have no concerns buying from @DanO at EWO
 
Only reason to go with 10 or 11mm rope is to use a mechanical device like a Ropeman. However an 8mm rope with a Schwabisch hitch works just a well for me (I’m 250 lbs), with no metal. And it packs up to half the size of an 11mm rope.

I would never buy life support gear from Amazon.

doublesteps.com

Ultimate Tree Tether / Lineman’s Rope Kit (8mm)

Fully assembled kit for your saddle tree tether or lineman’s rope. Comes complete with an 8′ Resc Tech 8mm rope with 5″ sewn eye on one end along with a 22″ 6mm eye-to-eye t…
doublesteps.com doublesteps.com
 
Thank you all for the replies. I was going to ask what EWO is, but I did a quick check in the vendor area and saw it is Eastern Woods Outdoors. I will check it out. I will also check out the 8mm rope as an option instead of 11mm.

In regards to buying rope and tying in loops vice buying rope with pre-built loops, any preference or noticeable difference between the two? I figure that even if I buy "factory built" loops in the ropes I use, it would still be good to practice knot tying as a backup skill, should I need it.

Thanks again for your help!
 
Sewn loops are lighter, because they require less rope, and less bulky. For a lineman’s belt a loop that is too small to tie a girth hitch kind of sucks, so make sure you get an adequate sized loop.

For a rappel rope knot, such as a scaffold knot, can cinch very hard to a quick link so it doesn’t move which is nice. But it’s also more likely to get caught in the crotch of a tree. That’s why some hunting oriented places sell rappel ropes with very small sewn eyes to just fit a quick link.
 
jkwill5 said:
You guys are going to want to ditch that 11 mm line by the end of the season. There's plenty of 8 and 9 mm ropes that have great ratings for safety and are so much lighter and store easier.
Also, I would never buy life support equipment from Amazon. But I have no concerns buying from @DanO at EWO
Click to expand...

I don’t store my lineman’s in a dump pouch, I roll it up like a lasso, and hook it to the side of my saddle. I don’t think bulk will be an issue doing this. I want something extremely stiff for a lineman’s rope. I use a 9 mm for the tether, and I have a 9mm lineman’s that’s to limp. If I don’t like it, I’ll sell it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
shmelton said:
I don’t store my lineman’s in a dump pouch, I roll it up like a lasso, and hook it to the side of my saddle. I don’t think bulk will be an issue doing this. I want something extremely stiff for a lineman’s rope. I use a 9 mm for the tether, and I have a 9mm lineman’s that’s to limp. If I don’t like it, I’ll sell it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
I have 2 different 9 mm ropes that I use for tether and lineman's belt, they are both quite varied in their stiffness. I think my LB is the Sterling HTP static 9 mm and had good stiffness. But to each their own, everyone had different preferences
 
Doublesteps.com
Customgearmodifications.com
Wildlineropes.com
Woodtreesaddles.com
Or anything [mention]Brocky [/mention] sells on the classifieds

Any of the above or other saddle companies can get you quality stuff for about the same price!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top