Oh totally Greg , I've looked at the specs , trust me you look at that rope and go , ok I'm trusting my life to this. You look at the specs , and I know the slice is stronger. I was going to actually ask you about the tree tether and if I could custom order one w two spliced ends. I've been climbing trees for a long time now. I do believe that this is the safest way to hunt. I'm still working out the bugs. We all have our preferences as to how we set up. My hunting season has not been a successful kill hunt but it has been successful in getting me closer to him. And other deer. I've had so many close encounters it's not funny and they keep happening at just before day break, when I can't fully make him out. He is going on six years old. I just looked out my front window and a huge six pointer was standing in my front yard. The deer God's are talking to me. I probably should have been in a tree today but I've froze for days on end and needed a break.
I've really been looking at the wild Edge steps for just this reason , and that they are much quite then all these stick methods. The kiss method you know. They have a whoopie sling aider and they pass it through the step to keep it from kicking out. The step also keeps the aider away from the tree. I've had issues w the stick methods w an aider kicking to the side. You are able to stop yourself. I've watched a ton of these methods. I watched one guy mess w an aider and it took him forever to get up a tree. This is not what you want to be doing trying to get up a tree. Especially in the dark. Next I think using the ropeman is a great idea but if! And that's a big IF, it failed I'd sure want that carabiner hooked to that pursik
I saw dyi sportsmen in a recent video with that set up. Which isn't a bad idea. I have a tethred saddle which come w an amsteel bridge. S rather then cut the bridge I would use a ropeman on my tree tether. That way you have easier adjustment. I have had some pain in my hip and back sitting for long periods. I also think a back strap may help. I'm still waiting for the micro adjusters to come and hoping they help out.
If you want a tether that has a splice on each end go to wesspur.com and make your own. I made a 9' tether out of Samson Predator with a 5" hand made splice and a smaller sewn splice on the tail end for 55 bucks shipped. It was cheaper and I got 2 splices the way I wanted it. I wanted the sewn on the tail because it has less bulk but it still gives me some weight to throw it around the tree.
I thought about doing that too. Do you reconnect back through your saddle? I noticed the guy from wild Edge does it and that's what gave me the idea as a back up safety
That's what my plan is to do. I was going to use it as my back up and hook it to my linesman loop or bridge loop.
So the prussick needs to be long enuff so as not to be a pain to move back and forth Everytime I move the ropeman
So here is the thing , safety first !!!!!!!!!! This subject has come up a number of times. I'm not going to argue here, every person that climbs has the potential to fall , or have equipment failure. The rope man is a great tool! it can help you re position yourself, nice and quickly. that being said just in another post a guy said his friend had a climbing stick break. Any rock climber will tell you something fails its the end of your life! You could break your back! There are other rope grabs with higher fall arrest ratings, most guys are using the ropeman because its small and compact. now what about wear and tear guys. We are adding weight to a piece of aluminum, over time things wear out. yes we should be inspecting our gear often. now during hunting season I'm often going full tilt just to get in the woods!
End of my tether has figure 8 on a bite and hooked to my rch(rock climbing harness). I'm backing up my saddle and Ropeman. I've also used my lineman as a second tether at waist level on a few occasions where I had an iffy feeling. Theres a post on it today. If I was gonna bother with a prusik above the Ropeman, I'd just ditch the Ropeman. Seems the prusik would just get in the way.
You dont need to use a prusik hitch, theres infinite better friction hitches out there that can be used in its place.
