New spur climber

[pdqdl]

Using a continuous loop for tying a prussic is ok, but it is tedious to re-tie and it can bind up too tight. This takes more energy to loosen, and accelerates your fatigue in a tree.

Consider changing over to an eye-to-eye prussic. You can use the same rope, tie it onto the carabiner with the same "fishermans knot", and then you can use one of the more advanced friction hitches like these:

VT's: http://www.mytreelessons.com/user/VT variations.JPG
http://www.mytreelessons.com/user/Schwab Notes.jpg#WIDTH: 117px; HEIGHT: 189px
http://www.mytreelessons.com/user/Kleim-notes.jpg.jpeg
Distel Hitch | How to tie the Distel Hitch | Climbing Knots
Icicle Hitch | How to tie the Icicle Hitch Using the End | Boating Knots
Klemheist Knot | How to tie the Klemheist Knot | Climbing Knots
http://www.mytreelessons.com/photogallery/Knut & TK HItches.JPG

 

[cairologger]

Thanks y'all for all the good info, I did change my prusik from loop to 2 single fisherman knots and attached it to the lanyard by 4 coils and the saddle with a delta link. It's working very well for now. Thanks for all the new friction hitch pics. I'll try some ( after some testing ) later. I climbed again yesterday with the 1-5/8 spurs and the proctective covering removed from the flipline, I liked that a lot better, the line was much easier to get up the tree and the strain on my legs was less with the shorter spurs. I don't have a problem with heights but I am having to get use to trusting that flipline! I thought about rigging some form of a choker that would be tied to the middle d ring and taking it up with the flip line, if i gaff out with both, the choker would catch me. Have y'all tried it? Or do you have any better safety ideas? Also my weaver wide back double d climbing saddle had a label attached to the middle Ds that said use with snaps only. Does anyone know why? I called weaver and they did'nt know. I use trilock carabiners for everything, is this right or do I need snaps for hooking to the Ds?

Thanks, Jake

 

[tree md]

No need for a choker, the flipline will catch you if you gaff out. That's what it's there for. Just have to learn to trust your ropes and gear.

 

[John Ellison]

You could do like TreeMD mentioned above and rig your climbing rope too. I seen in your earlier post that you had the rope climbing gear. I am a greenhorn climber too and am mostly just Drt climbing. Am gradually trusting it more and more. I tried spurs and flipline without the Drt setup and was shakey as soon as I left the ground. Having the climbing rope rigged up gives me the confidence I need so that I am not worried about gaffing out and wondering if I can catch myself.

 

[beowulf343]

I don't have a problem with heights but I am having to get use to trusting that flipline! I thought about rigging some form of a choker that would be tied to the middle d ring and taking it up with the flip line, if i gaff out with both, the choker would catch me. Have y'all tried it? Or do you have any better safety ideas? Also my weaver wide back double d climbing saddle had a label attached to the middle Ds that said use with snaps only. Does anyone know why? I called weaver and they did'nt know. I use trilock carabiners for everything, is this right or do I need snaps for hooking to the Ds?

Your lanyard will stop you from hitting the ground if you gaff out. However, if you are in something skinny and want more stability, just wrap your lanyard around the tree twice-this will cinch it down if you slip. A double wrap is a pain to climb with, but might ease your mind a bit.
Your carabiners are fine to us on your lanyard. It probably says snaps because that is what was used for so long and weaver is a bit behind the times. I actually like snaps on my lanyard, just easier for me to snap and unsnap even with heavy gloves-some of these trilocks can get a bit ridiculous.

 

[troythetreeman]

im old school self taught climber, and yeah, i agree spikes arent "good" for trees but i have several customers wont hire anyone else and have climbed several trees many times over the years, i like klein spikes, tried a few others, buckingham arent bad, bashlin, gecho or any other "light weight" spikes suck ass
and just as important is boot choice, i wear red wing loggers
i climb the occasional pole with mine to drop cable or phone lines, they work fine
i have a very unique style and with few exceptions i move faster and smoother in a tree then most guys
i use a weaver basic saddle with the wide back and no gadgets
i climb with an echo cs340 with a fixed ring for my belt hook
if i cant do it with one hand i dont want it in the tree
as for your lanyard, ive grown pretty fond of my cable cored lanyard and a micortender
for ropes i use poison ivy and true blue, if youre doing something too big for a true blue hire a crane, youll have it down in a couple hours so it _well_ worth the cost
i do 90% of my roping myself so i prefer a shorter rope 90% of the time
and unless im roping very large limbs i dont have a lot of use for friction savers or porta wraps
with practice you will learn how not to burn ropes and if you do you own roping you need fewer people on the ground and shorter ropes mean less fighting and faster rigging
back to spikes, keep them _sharp_, walk dont stomp and be aware of the damage they do to trees you trim and strive to minumize
once a sharp spike is in the tree, it cant go anywhere but deeper unless you twist it out (excluding dead or dieing elm trees, beware those, be sure you spike is in and pointed the right way)
ive only ever had a lanyard catch me once in 15 years, i was climbing for someone else and using his gear, dull spikes in a dead hard maple, some lessons you only need to learn once
and if youre climbing youll learn a few im sure, trust yourself
trust your gear
and dont doubt for a second, falling isnt the real threat, that saw is, if you cant run one on the ground, dont take it in the tree
this is your life and limb, dont cut corners

 

[lostcoastland]

You Da man...one handed Echo doing crane removals..do you climb back down and operate the crane after?:hmm3grin2orange:

 

[troythetreeman]

ofc you bring a bigger saw into the tree for bigger cutting, i use a husqvarna 350 pretty regular, got it cheap from a customer, its light and has plenty of power to pull an aggressive chain on an 18inch bar. step up from that the stihl 46 magnum, then the 66 magnum and then the husky 3120xp
and i use a leash when i have rear handled saws in the tree

 

[jefflovstrom]

im old school self taught climber, and yeah, i move faster and smoother in a tree then most guys

Really? :msp_w00t:
Jeff

 

[Kottonwood]

Cairo,
I think some folks have already mentioned it on here but if you already have the rope climbing gear you should really be learning that first or simultaneously. Spurs are great, but nothing is faster or easier than using a combination of spur climbing and rope climbing. If you have good rope climbing technique climbing on spurs will come much easier. Even if you just bring an extra long lanyard/ short climb line up with you. You can throw it in and use it as extra support when you are moving around. Those advanced friction hitches in combo with a micro pulley is definitely the way you want to go, even on a lanyard. It gives you the ability to adjust completely one handed which is really nice. Don't worry about the size of your spurs so much. Once you get used to climbing you'll be able to climb just about anything with just about any spurs. My last piece of advice is that spurs aren't comfortable... they are just slightly less uncomfortable when you are using them right.


and just a note..... I don't care what customers say, if you are spike trimming you're a hack, customers generally don't know what the hell is good for their trees and they count on professional arborists to give them good advice and maintain their trees properly. If you are conning them into letting you spike trim their trees.... you're a hack. Rope climbing is just as fast and easy as with spikes.

 

[TreeClimber57]

and just a note..... I don't care what customers say, if you are spike trimming you're a hack, customers generally don't know what the hell is good for their trees and they count on professional arborists to give them good advice and maintain their trees properly. If you are conning them into letting you spike trim their trees.... you're a hack. Rope climbing is just as fast and easy as with spikes.

Agreed.. although a bucket (if it is accessable) is faster than either

 

[Kottonwood]

agreed, I have never used a bucket myself, but they look pretty fast.

 

[lostcoastland]

climbing without spikes is wayy harder dudes. some trees you can pretty much freeclimb but climbing without spikes involves hoisting your self up the tree every time you want to move. if you dont have a crotch directly above you in the direction your going you wont be goign that way. even a couple steps without spikes can be a huge ordeal requiring multiple climb lines ascenders and foot loops. perhaps you could get away with it on a spruce but big willows, oaks and maples that have oddly curving profiles can give you hell and are some of the hardest ive done, especially chinese elms in the socal region which are smooth and have odd corkscrew branches that go way out and weep down after. this is where i tell the foremen let the bucket truck do it its going to take too long. Climbers are still need in some spots where the bucket cant get because of wires ect. Spike climbing is a million times easier anyone who says otherwise is stubburn and in denial..why do you think you see park trees ten fifteen feet high with grabable branches right there and theres spike markes like some guy couldnt pull himself into the tree or use a ladder. Spike climbing really messes up trees, some trees can handle it others its like a really bad case of acne. some production pruning like utilty work looks past spikes because it would just be way too slow to have a bunch of guys spikeless climbing miles of powerlines and people prioritize electricity over tree health and appearance..there would be trees falling on lines before people got anything done, on the other hand beatiful park trees would be hacked and pock marked. gotta learn both time and place for each, i hated ladders but if you removing a large leader sometimes you can reach it with a ladder and wear spikes on the job without damaging the actual tree...

 

[troythetreeman]

most guys who use spikes dont belong in a tree and if youre doing noticeable damage youre not using youre equipment correctly
i will not deny spikes arent good for trees, they arent, but you dont need to hammer them in, you dont need to leave big holes or tears, if someone can stand further then 4 feet from a tree and see that its been spiked, the last guy to climb was using dull spikes and using them incorrectly
i wear spikes in a tree, but im very aware of the damage they do and i dont spike when i dont need to
one of my best friends is a spikeless climber, hes amazing in a tree, and i dont say that lightly
learn both ways, thats good advise
but while spikeless climbing doesnt put spike marks in trees, it is harder, it does take longer, you cant reach everything i can and because you cant set yourself the way i can youre going to make alot of poor cuts, which, if were all being honest, is much worse as a poor cut takes a lot longer to heal then spike holes
call me a hack if you like, youre judging my methods without seeing my work

 

[troythetreeman]

as for a bucket truck, 85% of the jobs i do the bucket truck either cant get to or wouldnt be better, we have one, but it sets in the yard more often then not
no sense firing it up to save 20 minutes in a tree
buckets are nice for mid sized removals, small removals are faster to climb and large removals are safer to climb (generally) in a large removal i want to be in the tree where i know i can always be clear of swinging limbs, that or get a crane in, just be sure your crane guy knows what hes doing, ive worked with a few, and south side is the only one im willing to work with anymore
the more variables you can remove from an equation the better

 

[lostcoastland]

alot of time guys in bucket trucks break limbs with the boom mostly pruning after they just pruned it all nice.

 

[Nailsbeats]

alot of time guys in bucket trucks break limbs with the boom mostly pruning after they just pruned it all nice.

Done it with mine, just a little colatteral damage to spruce up before putting er' back in the cradle.

 

[jefflovstrom]

You sound like a 'hack' to me!
Jeff

 

[tree md]

Was doing sub work for a local guy here in Alabama the first week I got here. I had to climb one large pine that was staying, hang a bull line and swing over to another large pine that was uprooted and coming out. I went to shoot a line in the first tree to ascend on and the owner asked me what I was doing. I told him I was going up the tree that was staying spikless... He said "that's just silly". LOL

If you want to do high end work on nice large trees in affluent and historical neighborhoods, you better learn how to climb without spikes...

 

[Bermie]

When climbing spikeless, a few loop runners take the place of spikes...