Linemen's Belt & Bridge

[Twenty Up]

What's up guys,

Been lurking on the forums for a while and recently picked up a Sit Drag.. I've been interested in reducing what I carry into the woods and got the idea to have my linemen's belt dual as my bridge.

What I'm contemplating on is using the linemen's belt to get me to my hunting height, then attach my safety rope around the tree and attach my RC harness, then take the linemen's belt off and switch it to a second, higher up carabiner that's attached to a prussic knot on the same rope, but my RopeMan will be able to adjust the length of my bridge.

In Short:
linemen's belt w/ 1 carabiner on each side with my RopMane on 1 side for adjust ability.
10ft 11mm static line tie-off rope with 2 carabiners tied to prussic knots. One for bridge (higher up) and a second for my RC harness

I have everything all rigged up, just need to sew on some buckles and find some free time to give it a try... I'm just asking here first before I do it to save myself a trip if there's something I'm missing? I'm assuming someone else here has given it a try.

 

[essdub]

Re: Linemen's Belt & Bridge

I've tried using the lineman as bridge before.
It will work, but not worth it to me.
I ended up using a longer rope that I could rappel down with and using that one long rope as bridge/dual lineman belt/tether/descent rope.
It leaves you with a loop that I put on my left hip that will be your dual lineman belt, but if you use want to use multiple prussic knots, you can remove them to eliminate the extra loop once you're at height and just store your prussic knots somewhere until you need them again.
Sounds more complicated than it is. But this way, I wear my minimal saddle in with my spurs, I carry one long rope (thirty to forty feet usually) and a handful of accessory cords to use as prussic s plus a couple ropeman1 s and Kong duck plus my grigri2. Easy. Spur up, grigri2 down, pull rope out. Walk away

 

[g2outdoors]

What you describe will work. Especially if you're using a RC harness in addition to your SitDrag. The issue for most guys using the Lineman belt as a bridge is the transition from Lineman belt to locking into your tether. During this time you would be unsecured from the tree. That's also usually a 2 handed operation and doesn't lend itself to safety.

The way you're doing it by tying off to your RC first, then making the transition will work.

You may want to consider adding a fixed bridge to your SitDrag. It won't add any weight and will make the hookup process a bit more simple.

 

[Twenty Up]

Thanks for the input guys.

Like I said I've yet to give it a try, just wanted some input from guys who have hung in a saddle before to see if it would be safe/worthwhile to attempt. I will more than likely make some adjustments along the way to suit my needs. Figured it may be easier to hook my carabiners up like an "X" from shoulder to shoulder and strap down the RopeMan & Prusic's so they fit snug on my back and shoulders.

 

[Scott F]

The basis of my lineman's belt is a cam buckle very similar to a LW climbing stick.
I'm very confident with this set up because it is secure, quiet, and easy to operate with one hand.

IMHO the most important aspect of a serviceable lineman's belt is comfort in using it. There is NO excuse for heading to the woods without practicing with this important piece of safety gear. The transition time that G2 mentioned is the critical time when trouble can happen, staying attached at all times is the only way to go.

 

[Cbigbear]

What you describe is the setup I've been running since last yr. Tree tether with dual prussic knots & using my linemen's rope as a bridge. Works great for me.

 

[justsomedude]

Don't risk the transition. That is when most accidents happen. I have been halfway through attaching my tether and had something get in my way or dropped something and you don't want to be hanging on to the tree with one hand while fumbling around in the dark.

The Tree Spider Vertical belt is a great easy to use linesman belt but it has to attach to something. I just ordered a Tree Hopper which is a Belt with D Rings on it. Will be trying it out in a few days.

 

[redsquirrel]

Don't risk the transition. That is when most accidents happen.

I strongly agree with this statement.

 

[kenn1320]

I strongly agree with this statement.

Yep I was planning on using bridge as lineman last yr. A trial run at ground level revealed the risk of not being securely attached during the transition. However thinking about it now, as long as I put up my tether while using lineman, Im attaching myself to loose end of tether via RC harness. Then make transition to bridge. For those not using an RC harness/ tether connection, I wouldn't take the risk.

 

[Maustypsu]

Gonna admit... I've done it.
Your life, your limbs, your spine, your mouths to feed. I know it is a risk. I hook my tether to one of my linemans belt loops while I transition the one rope from belt to bridge. But then there is still the transition where at one point I am holding onto the tree with one hand (and two solid feet) and disconnecting my tether from one of my linemans loops to connect to my bridge.

Not safe, don't recommend it. I don't even walk far enough to be concerned about the weight. But I've done it...

 

[redsquirrel]

Gonna admit... I've done it.
Your life, your limbs, your spine, your mouths to feed. I know it is a risk. I hook my tether to one of my linemans belt loops while I transition the one rope from belt to bridge. But then there is still the transition where at one point I am holding onto the tree with one hand (and two solid feet) and disconnecting my tether from one of my linemans loops to connect to my bridge.

Not safe, don't recommend it. I don't even walk far enough to be concerned about the weight. But I've done it...

Yeah I was about to say, you keep saying that you're not walking that far anyways. So why?!?!

 

[Maustypsu]

It started when I decided to leave the Guido's Web bridge home and use a rope bridge.
The trees I hunted for the next few hunts both had big split limbs. I straddled them and really felt like I couldn't fall. The lack of fear meant I kept forgetting to bring the third rope.

So for the second half of the season I was really complacent (or stupid). My plan is three ropes or a fixed bridge this year from that Amsteel that I can "tuck in" to my belt to keep it off the steps. Or three ropes all with a pair of carabiners and Ropmen. That was how I finished the last two or three hunts after I finally put the third rope in my pack last season.

 

[justsomedude]

Something you might want to consider that I do is to carry a Climbing Daisy Chain. They are not made for taking a fall (like a real rock climbing fall) but you can hang from them all day.
I use them as a backup for transitions. Lighter and more compact than rope and you don't need any knots. Just a Carabiner.
Then I use it as a gear hanger. When I am tearing down I clip into it again as I am taking down my Tether. If it's a scary climb, I might even keep it attached while coming down

It started when I decided to leave the Guido's Web bridge home and use a rope bridge.
The trees I hunted for the next few hunts both had big split limbs. I straddled them and really felt like I couldn't fall. The lack of fear meant I kept forgetting to bring the third rope.

So for the second half of the season I was really complacent (or stupid). My plan is three ropes or a fixed bridge this year from that Amsteel that I can "tuck in" to my belt to keep it off the steps. Or three ropes all with a pair of carabiners and Ropmen. That was how I finished the last two or three hunts after I finally put the third rope in my pack last season.