g2outdoors said:
LOL. If you do ever go for it I would make sure you just give your self plenty of time to get used to it, and to set up trees with paracord for easy access.
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Climbing rope for tree access
- Thread starter BlinemanB
- Start date
LOL. If you do ever go for it I would make sure you just give your self plenty of time to get used to it, and to set up trees with paracord for easy access.
Whispers Death
Well-Known Member
Red Squirrel,
You make me sad.
You make me sad.
Whispers Death said:
Because I haven't converted yet? I am completely open to this system, but I just don't have enough time and practice in with it yet to be effective.
Don't be sad! The info you have posted has helped a ton of guys!
Whispers Death said:
HA! I really want to give this system a try. It's not going to be this season though.
Whispers Death said:
I'm still sad that you're sad...
withakri
Member
I just got this system setup about a month ago after reading this forum topic and here are some suggestions that might be helpful. I am a poor grad student so I did some research prior to purchasing to reduce overall cost. I have to admit I was pretty confused the first couple of times I read through the forum but it is pretty easy and I think is going to work awesome.
1) I bought a petzl ID on ebay instead of buying a brand new grigri or petzl Rig. It is a bit larger than the Rig but really nice and I got it for $80 on ebay and it is basically brand new. The ID is more than $250 brand new. There are always a handful up for auction. Remember to bid in the last 10 seconds or you will be real pissed when you lose the auction in the last couple of seconds.
2) I got a couple nice climbing ropes from sterling rope. They have an outlet section and sell what must be end pieces for $20 (ca. 50'). Just request dark colors or you can just get some dark dye.
3) I have the tree saddle so just have a carabiner around the trophyline belt that clips into the ID. I just adjust that bridge length with the climbing rope through the ID. Just bought a small pulley and hand ascender brand new as they weren't that much. I'm sure I could have found those on ebay for cheap as well. Go to EMS or REI with the hand ascender and pulley and find a carabiner that is easy to clip on and off the ascender. You don't want this one to be a locking carabiner.
4) I bought a spool of throwline and a small throw bag from treestuff.com. Oh and I bought these from them to tie on the end of the climbing rope. I ended up getting a couple of the smalls. They are real nice and pretty cheap. https://www.treestuff.com/store/catalog.asp?item=931
The first thing I did after I got everything was tape up all the spots where there was metal to metal contact and now it is real quiet. Just used black electric tape.
I thought the throwline was going to be real tough but I drove down to an area I hunt in Rhode Island a couple of weeks ago and setup a number of trees that looked to be in prime locations. At first I was like no way I am going to get this throw line through that high Y in the tree or over that limb but I usually did after a few attempts. I was worried I was going to embarrass myself in front of my hunting buddy but I ended up looking like a real professional. I just tied the throwline off and now I can go back this Fall or probably five years from now and I am ready to tie in my climbing rope and hunt. You want to definitely have gloves for this as the throw line can beat up your hands a bit. I would spin it in my right hand and then let go, but my buddy was pretty good at just throwing it like a football. I did that once and felt like I pulled an ab muscle.
I've been using one muddy stick that I setup where I want to be positioned in the tree. I've got an old treestand seat all wrapped on the top steps which allows me to sit on it if I want and wrap my legs around the tree. Then I just screw in a couple of cranford folding steps on each side of the tree and with that I've got some good movement around the tree. I usually setup in fairly small diameter trees so 1 step on each side is plenty.
I think that is it. I'll try to make a video at some point. I also just bought a climbing helmet as I've got my first young one coming in a few weeks and I figure why the heck not. Found one in grey which should match the bark on most of the hardwoods around here.
Sometimes I wonder about trying the new tribe saddle, but I'm not sure it will be radically different than my tree saddle. I'm pretty sure I bought one of the last ones as all that was left was extra small. I ordered it thinking they were belly up but sure enough a few weeks later it arrived in the mail.
1) I bought a petzl ID on ebay instead of buying a brand new grigri or petzl Rig. It is a bit larger than the Rig but really nice and I got it for $80 on ebay and it is basically brand new. The ID is more than $250 brand new. There are always a handful up for auction. Remember to bid in the last 10 seconds or you will be real pissed when you lose the auction in the last couple of seconds
.2) I got a couple nice climbing ropes from sterling rope. They have an outlet section and sell what must be end pieces for $20 (ca. 50'). Just request dark colors or you can just get some dark dye.
3) I have the tree saddle so just have a carabiner around the trophyline belt that clips into the ID. I just adjust that bridge length with the climbing rope through the ID. Just bought a small pulley and hand ascender brand new as they weren't that much. I'm sure I could have found those on ebay for cheap as well. Go to EMS or REI with the hand ascender and pulley and find a carabiner that is easy to clip on and off the ascender. You don't want this one to be a locking carabiner.
4) I bought a spool of throwline and a small throw bag from treestuff.com. Oh and I bought these from them to tie on the end of the climbing rope. I ended up getting a couple of the smalls. They are real nice and pretty cheap. https://www.treestuff.com/store/catalog.asp?item=931
The first thing I did after I got everything was tape up all the spots where there was metal to metal contact and now it is real quiet. Just used black electric tape.
I thought the throwline was going to be real tough but I drove down to an area I hunt in Rhode Island a couple of weeks ago and setup a number of trees that looked to be in prime locations. At first I was like no way I am going to get this throw line through that high Y in the tree or over that limb but I usually did after a few attempts. I was worried I was going to embarrass myself in front of my hunting buddy but I ended up looking like a real professional
. I just tied the throwline off and now I can go back this Fall or probably five years from now and I am ready to tie in my climbing rope and hunt. You want to definitely have gloves for this as the throw line can beat up your hands a bit. I would spin it in my right hand and then let go, but my buddy was pretty good at just throwing it like a football. I did that once and felt like I pulled an ab muscle. I've been using one muddy stick that I setup where I want to be positioned in the tree. I've got an old treestand seat all wrapped on the top steps which allows me to sit on it if I want and wrap my legs around the tree. Then I just screw in a couple of cranford folding steps on each side of the tree and with that I've got some good movement around the tree. I usually setup in fairly small diameter trees so 1 step on each side is plenty.
I think that is it. I'll try to make a video at some point. I also just bought a climbing helmet as I've got my first young one coming in a few weeks and I figure why the heck not. Found one in grey which should match the bark on most of the hardwoods around here.
Sometimes I wonder about trying the new tribe saddle, but I'm not sure it will be radically different than my tree saddle. I'm pretty sure I bought one of the last ones as all that was left was extra small. I ordered it thinking they were belly up but sure enough a few weeks later it arrived in the mail.
withakri
Member
I bought 2 of the Poly Static 11mm-7/16" 33-49' (10-15M)
I honestly haven't used them yet cause I had a black climbing rope that I got cheap on ebay. I think in reality you don't need more than 1 rope but I want to have a tree setup in the woods next to my house for target practice that I just leave the rope on.
I honestly haven't used them yet cause I had a black climbing rope that I got cheap on ebay. I think in reality you don't need more than 1 rope but I want to have a tree setup in the woods next to my house for target practice that I just leave the rope on.
Whispers Death
Well-Known Member
Which harness?
Whispers Death
Well-Known Member
Page 13.
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2014
- Messages
- 94
Hi guys,
When thinking about climbing rope for tree access, I am only seeing talk about climbing SRT which while it can be less strenuous then DRT it means buying some spendy hardware as well as adding more unwanted metal to your system.
I am a recreational climber. I climb pretty basic and climb DRT most of the time unless I am climbing a really big tree. I have seen someone on this thread talk about how you need to shorten your bridge to climb rope. Traditionally, this is true as you do not want be out of reach of your set up. I have since learned that many tree climbers are going to adjustable bridges and here is why.
Some of the systems that they are using advance the blakes hitch for you when climbing DRT. This can happen when they lengthen out their bridge moving themselves farther away from their set up. When they reach their climbing height they shorten their bridge to bring them back to their set up. Sometimes a pulley might be used to advance the blakes hitch but I substituted a small beveled ring from SMC. This is a new set up for me that I have only sampled. I will be trying it out more when I climb next time.
I don't do what you guys do and welcome learning reasons that this would not work for you. I just thought I would share what I learned to see if it could be helpful for people who are thinking about climbing rope for their tree access. This is a picture of the front and back of the set up.
When thinking about climbing rope for tree access, I am only seeing talk about climbing SRT which while it can be less strenuous then DRT it means buying some spendy hardware as well as adding more unwanted metal to your system.
I am a recreational climber. I climb pretty basic and climb DRT most of the time unless I am climbing a really big tree. I have seen someone on this thread talk about how you need to shorten your bridge to climb rope. Traditionally, this is true as you do not want be out of reach of your set up. I have since learned that many tree climbers are going to adjustable bridges and here is why.
Some of the systems that they are using advance the blakes hitch for you when climbing DRT. This can happen when they lengthen out their bridge moving themselves farther away from their set up. When they reach their climbing height they shorten their bridge to bring them back to their set up. Sometimes a pulley might be used to advance the blakes hitch but I substituted a small beveled ring from SMC. This is a new set up for me that I have only sampled. I will be trying it out more when I climb next time.
I don't do what you guys do and welcome learning reasons that this would not work for you. I just thought I would share what I learned to see if it could be helpful for people who are thinking about climbing rope for their tree access. This is a picture of the front and back of the set up.
Attachments
I tried ddrt climbing on a short length of bandit, seemed like a ton of work. My very limited experience was that SRT was easier and had the added benefit of not needing an isolated TIP (if you carry enough rope).
That's why I chose SRT: seemed easier and a little more flexible.
That's why I chose SRT: seemed easier and a little more flexible.
So I made Whispers Death sad, and I don't like to make people sad, so I've been doing some research the past week to see if I could address the problems I was having with this system. (remember I didn't give up on it, I just shelved it for the time being )
My 2 main problems were:
1. Lots of effort to get to hunting height in a hunting situation
2. Lots of trouble getting throwline "isolated" (yes I learnt some new terms) in order to be where I wanted to be.
To tackle #1 I started looking at SRT methods other than RADS. From what I was reading, different methods seem to work for different people. There are a few methods out there, you can read about some here: http://vtio.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2 ... ique-i.pdf
I stumbled upon a video on youtube called the microfrog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SpQ1AC0Ikw, and I thought something like this might work better for me because I have much more lower body strength than upper body strength. It is uses limited gear, all I needed to pick up in addition to what I already had was a petzl croll chest ascender and a petzl pantin foot ascender. I have been practicing in the backyard this week and I like this method alot. The microfrog is a variation on the frog. I have seen the regular frog with 2 footloops instead of a foot ascender and other variations as well. With the microfrog you are supposed to climb left, right, left so that you advance each time you step. I haven't completely gotten that coordination down yet but I can at least easily climb the rope just by standing with both feet and advancing the hand ascender. It is more efficent than RADs because there is no pulley so you advance as far as you stand.
So anyways, this is a minimally gear intensive climbing method that I wanted to let you guys know was out there and you just have to find what works for you. The biggest disadvantage is that you do not have a descender hooked up so you would have to switch over once you got to hunting height, but that isn't be a big deal.
#2 It was very frustrating trying to get the throwline where I wanted it and not wrapped around other branches that would prevent me from hooking the line up to the single branch or fork that I wanted. The term for that is called an isolated branch. The way to overcome this is by using a ground level tie off: http://www.treeclimbercoalition.org/Tre ... icleid=174. If you use a ground level tie off you no longer need to isolate a branch, so as long as you can get your throwline over the branch or fork that you want, you can tie off to the base of your tree or a nearby tree and ascend the other half of the rope. The disadvantage to this is that you need to carry double the rope (but I also don't see this as a huge deal. 100 ft of yale bandit is 6 pounds).
I am still learning about climbing methods and equipment and am by no means any sort of expert. I welcome any and all input you guys have
)My 2 main problems were:
1. Lots of effort to get to hunting height in a hunting situation
2. Lots of trouble getting throwline "isolated" (yes I learnt some new terms) in order to be where I wanted to be.
To tackle #1 I started looking at SRT methods other than RADS. From what I was reading, different methods seem to work for different people. There are a few methods out there, you can read about some here: http://vtio.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2 ... ique-i.pdf
I stumbled upon a video on youtube called the microfrog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SpQ1AC0Ikw, and I thought something like this might work better for me because I have much more lower body strength than upper body strength. It is uses limited gear, all I needed to pick up in addition to what I already had was a petzl croll chest ascender and a petzl pantin foot ascender. I have been practicing in the backyard this week and I like this method alot. The microfrog is a variation on the frog. I have seen the regular frog with 2 footloops instead of a foot ascender and other variations as well. With the microfrog you are supposed to climb left, right, left so that you advance each time you step. I haven't completely gotten that coordination down yet but I can at least easily climb the rope just by standing with both feet and advancing the hand ascender. It is more efficent than RADs because there is no pulley so you advance as far as you stand.
So anyways, this is a minimally gear intensive climbing method that I wanted to let you guys know was out there and you just have to find what works for you. The biggest disadvantage is that you do not have a descender hooked up so you would have to switch over once you got to hunting height, but that isn't be a big deal.
#2 It was very frustrating trying to get the throwline where I wanted it and not wrapped around other branches that would prevent me from hooking the line up to the single branch or fork that I wanted. The term for that is called an isolated branch. The way to overcome this is by using a ground level tie off: http://www.treeclimbercoalition.org/Tre ... icleid=174. If you use a ground level tie off you no longer need to isolate a branch, so as long as you can get your throwline over the branch or fork that you want, you can tie off to the base of your tree or a nearby tree and ascend the other half of the rope. The disadvantage to this is that you need to carry double the rope (but I also don't see this as a huge deal. 100 ft of yale bandit is 6 pounds).
I am still learning about climbing methods and equipment and am by no means any sort of expert. I welcome any and all input you guys have
Yeah, bought 75 feet of rope with a sewn splice on one end. Should be long enough to tie off at the base if necessary. My throw line is about the same length so I can gauge whether I have enough rope to make it.
The few climbs I have done, I didn't have too much trouble isolating a TIP, but I am sure that will change.
I still need to do a test climb with my gear. The first one I did was in 75* heat at noon wearing jeans and a black shirt, so I was obviously sweating after 3 climbs. I plan on pulling up my jacket and a couple of layers when it gets really cold, as I did when I used sticks or a climber.
The few climbs I have done, I didn't have too much trouble isolating a TIP, but I am sure that will change.
I still need to do a test climb with my gear. The first one I did was in 75* heat at noon wearing jeans and a black shirt, so I was obviously sweating after 3 climbs. I plan on pulling up my jacket and a couple of layers when it gets really cold, as I did when I used sticks or a climber.
I've been following this thread from the start and it sounds like a fun and safe way to get up Into the trees. How are you guys anchoring you rope up in the tree? Is it easy and quiet enough to do in the dark setting up for a morning hunt?
I can't speak from a lot of experience but this is how I have been doing it. Basically, just throwing it over a limb, wrapping around the trunk, and cinching the line, leaving the throw line attached so I can pull the line down at the end.
viewtopic.php?p=2117#p2117
A pre set tree would be easiest but its not too tough to do, just need to practice throwing and be careful not too tangle too much!
viewtopic.php?p=2117#p2117
A pre set tree would be easiest but its not too tough to do, just need to practice throwing and be careful not too tangle too much!
bowbender73
Active Member
- Joined
- Sep 21, 2015
- Messages
- 178
Hi all,
New member here but have been over at AT (SDC- decided I needed a more creative handle LOL) for a long time. Last year I actually sold some gear to Whispers Death, and during communication for the transaction he told me about this alternative method of climbing without the muddy sticks I was using. Honestly it sounded a little spendy to try, especially if it didn't work out. That said, after more discussion (LOTS of questions to Whispers Death) I little by little accumulated all the parts and pieces and started practicing. After a short while I got it down, and my stick's have been sitting idle ever since :mrgreen: . As a matter of fact I prepped several trees last season, and yesterday A.M. I went for my first bowhunt of the season, I walked up to a tree I had paracord in from last year, pulled up my rope, climbed up and was silently set in I'd guess 6-8 minutes! I forgot how much I appreciated WD teaching my this method....will never willingly go back :thumbup: Thanks!
New member here but have been over at AT (SDC- decided I needed a more creative handle LOL) for a long time. Last year I actually sold some gear to Whispers Death, and during communication for the transaction he told me about this alternative method of climbing without the muddy sticks I was using. Honestly it sounded a little spendy to try, especially if it didn't work out. That said, after more discussion (LOTS of questions to Whispers Death) I little by little accumulated all the parts and pieces and started practicing. After a short while I got it down, and my stick's have been sitting idle ever since :mrgreen: . As a matter of fact I prepped several trees last season, and yesterday A.M. I went for my first bowhunt of the season, I walked up to a tree I had paracord in from last year, pulled up my rope, climbed up and was silently set in I'd guess 6-8 minutes! I forgot how much I appreciated WD teaching my this method....will never willingly go back :thumbup: Thanks!
DIYSaddler
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2015
- Messages
- 632
redsquirrel said:
I use the double prusik and for loop method with a petzel pirana for decent. I only carry about 60' ft of rope in case I don't have time to isolate the limb I'm throwing over or the tree is to complicated so I can tie to the base of the tree. Just make sure if you base tie it's too a limb the can support double your weight as it doubles the downward force on the limb.
