First let me apologize for being extremely late posting this. I had a few people ask me too but with the season and holidays, im just getting around to it, @gcr0003 .
Over the last few years as my tree-climbing and tree-climbing equipment knowledge base expanded, i found myself doing alot of reading on various arborist forums and im sure thats where the idea came from.
So basically my original intent was a two-part one. A) I was irritated by having to pull out my tether in order to pass limbs during ascent and do it in a safe manner. On trees with alot of limbs, i found myself doing the ole quick snap-flip around the limb while holding on....not safe at all. B) After contemplating the change, i figured one rope would be less gear, bulk, and/or weight, than two.
Shortly thereafter, i was on the wesspur site one day and they were offering free eye splices with any rope order. I jumped at the offer and ordered a 10ft piece of 11mm blaze with sewn tight eyes on each end ($30 worth of sewn eyes for free!). After trying it out, i immediately made the permanent switch. Over the coarse of the last year, i have gradually transitioned away from mechanical hardware on my lanyard(duck/ropeman), one piece at a time. It has proven just as efficient (if done correctly), probably a little lighter, and definitely quieter. I will say that in the beginning, using the same rope as my tether once at hunting height, proved to be a challenge and there were several time it caused me quite a bit of frustration. Once i figured out a system, however, its quicker and easier, imo. Also, i implemented the change during season which obviously isnt the best way to do it.
What i do is attach one end of my lanyard to my lineman loops as normally and keep the other end daisy chained and clipped to the back of my saddle. If i come to a limb, i unclip the other end, flip it above the limb, clip in on the other side, and then unclip the lower/1st carabiner that comes back around the tree and to the back of my saddle. Then i proceed. Im never not clipped in.
Once at height, i take the free end of my lanyard and wrap it around the tree, remove the carabiner, and clip the steel screw-lock into the eye, which is tighted down via the attached prussic loop. This also eliminates any chance my tether will slip down the tree when unweighted. To go down, everything is reversed.
In order to use a lanyard in this manner, the hitches (in my case, distel hitches) must be tied in opposing manners. If you wanted to only use one friction hitch, it would need to be one that grabs in both directions, like the prussic. You could rig up something to allow it to tend in both directions, however, i chose not to do this for the off change the tending device somehow put pressure on the hitch causing it to break over. I doubt this would actually happen but i have never tested it so if you choose this route. test at ground level, as with everything.
Last week i finally got around to splicing up a few new lanyards because my original wasnt quite long enough at times. I chose 8mm and 10mm OP (oceans polyester). I dont know which one ill elect to keep and use but if i had to guess, itll be the 10mm. Still have to lockstitch them and im planning on doing a few new hitch ropes too. Heres a few pics i took to show everything, sorry for the crappy pics but hopefully youll get the just. Ill try to add some better ones soon. Merry Christmas!
Over the last few years as my tree-climbing and tree-climbing equipment knowledge base expanded, i found myself doing alot of reading on various arborist forums and im sure thats where the idea came from.
So basically my original intent was a two-part one. A) I was irritated by having to pull out my tether in order to pass limbs during ascent and do it in a safe manner. On trees with alot of limbs, i found myself doing the ole quick snap-flip around the limb while holding on....not safe at all. B) After contemplating the change, i figured one rope would be less gear, bulk, and/or weight, than two.
Shortly thereafter, i was on the wesspur site one day and they were offering free eye splices with any rope order. I jumped at the offer and ordered a 10ft piece of 11mm blaze with sewn tight eyes on each end ($30 worth of sewn eyes for free!). After trying it out, i immediately made the permanent switch. Over the coarse of the last year, i have gradually transitioned away from mechanical hardware on my lanyard(duck/ropeman), one piece at a time. It has proven just as efficient (if done correctly), probably a little lighter, and definitely quieter. I will say that in the beginning, using the same rope as my tether once at hunting height, proved to be a challenge and there were several time it caused me quite a bit of frustration. Once i figured out a system, however, its quicker and easier, imo. Also, i implemented the change during season which obviously isnt the best way to do it.
What i do is attach one end of my lanyard to my lineman loops as normally and keep the other end daisy chained and clipped to the back of my saddle. If i come to a limb, i unclip the other end, flip it above the limb, clip in on the other side, and then unclip the lower/1st carabiner that comes back around the tree and to the back of my saddle. Then i proceed. Im never not clipped in.
Once at height, i take the free end of my lanyard and wrap it around the tree, remove the carabiner, and clip the steel screw-lock into the eye, which is tighted down via the attached prussic loop. This also eliminates any chance my tether will slip down the tree when unweighted. To go down, everything is reversed.
In order to use a lanyard in this manner, the hitches (in my case, distel hitches) must be tied in opposing manners. If you wanted to only use one friction hitch, it would need to be one that grabs in both directions, like the prussic. You could rig up something to allow it to tend in both directions, however, i chose not to do this for the off change the tending device somehow put pressure on the hitch causing it to break over. I doubt this would actually happen but i have never tested it so if you choose this route. test at ground level, as with everything.
Last week i finally got around to splicing up a few new lanyards because my original wasnt quite long enough at times. I chose 8mm and 10mm OP (oceans polyester). I dont know which one ill elect to keep and use but if i had to guess, itll be the 10mm. Still have to lockstitch them and im planning on doing a few new hitch ropes too. Heres a few pics i took to show everything, sorry for the crappy pics but hopefully youll get the just. Ill try to add some better ones soon. Merry Christmas!
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